Students fined for speaking Hindi

Students of St Thomas School, Ghaziabad, are fined for speaking in their mother tongue Hindi during schools hours.

Indignant over the school’s diktat, parents have raised the matter with the All India Parents Association which has written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, condemning the rule.

The parents have called the school’s decision a violation of freedom to speech.

They added that if any student is found speaking in Hindi, even while conversing among themselves, his/her identity card is confiscated and forced to pay a penalty of Rs 10 to get it back. Teachers have been given special instructions by the school management to keep an eye on students to make this rule effective.

“It is to be noted that the school does not give any receipt in lieu of the penalty paid, nor is there any transparency about how much money is collected by way of this exercise. And towards which fund it is appropriated and how it is utilised,” reads the letter sent to the chief minister. Parents have argued that the rule “grossly violates” the right to freedom of speech.

“Freedom of choice of language is integral to the freedom of expression. The absolute restriction upon Hindi-speaking is by no means reasonable,” said a parent. “Therefore it cannot be sustained as Hindi is the mother tongue for many children living in UP.”

Parents said Hindi has also been declared as the “official language of the Union” under Article 347 of the Constitution. “The over-emphasis on speaking English at the cost of Hindi is resulting in ignorance of Hindi literature among the young generation,” said another parent. “This phenomenon is not only affecting the development of the literature but also resulting in widening of the urban-rural divide.”

They sought refund of the money as it has been “illegally collected” by the school without issuing a receipt.