<div>The debate on the eroding status of Hindi language in contemporary Indian society is never ending. The burden of this neglect is shared by English language, which has now become a link language, considering its business utility in the globalised world. However, the decline hasn’t trampled spirits of Hindi academicians and lovers who believe the language is instrumental in understanding our history and past.<br /><br />“It is our inheritance, because whenever we need to understand our history and past, language will be the instrument to understand it. To manifest the tradition, Hindi and its literature is very important,” says Chandradev Yadav, associate professor, Department of Hindi, Jamia Millia Islamia.<br /><br />From the days of Independence struggle - when Hindi became a language of unity – to a time when Hindi sammelan’s(conferences) are being organised to propagate the language, Hindi has undergone major changes. “Though Sanskritised Hindi is no longer in vogue, what we see nowadays is Hinglish or a variant of Hindi. Grammatically, Hindi still remains the same and it will flourish,” Nutan Kapur, poetess and Hindi teacher from Gyan Bharati school, Saket tells Metrolife.<br /><br />Spoken as a native language by 258 million people, Hindi is recognised as the fourth largest language in the world, by the Languages for the Future report. And to reinforce this popularity, Hindi Diwas is celebrated on September 14 every year. The celebrations are mostly restricted to government institutes and schools and annual Hindi Diwas awards are also given to luminaries from various fields related to the language. <br /><br />Mudit Jain Sethia, a programming language enthusiast associates with the Hindi language since his school days, as he reminisces how debate and elocution competitions were organised on Hindi Diwas in his school. “I always used to participate. But now, when I see my younger siblings, they show traits of becoming British even with their mannerisms.”<br /><br />The mistaken association of English language as “a language of intelligent and educated” has created a caveat in the society that has picked up the tendency of judging people on their command in the link language. Invariably, Hindi has taken a backseat. But Sethia raises a pertinent question, “When the prime minister speaks in Hindi abroad, we feel proud. But then, why do we become a part of the crowd that feels proud to speak in English than Hindi?” <br /><br />The champions of Hindi language might feel sidelined but there are many individuals who are persistently making conscious efforts to stay connected to their roots. One of them is Shadab Moizee, a multimedia journalist, who often expresses his views in Hindi on social media.<br /><br />He admits it has a lot to do with his upbringing in Darbhanga, Bihar. “I was born in a home where both Hindi and Urdu were used. But I grew up with people who spoke Hindi and Maithli and then when I came to Delhi, people spoke Hindi and English. So, I thought Hindi is a common link at every stage which motivates me to write in this language,” he says. <br /> <br />According to Kapur, the reason for the deterioration of the language could be “the growing need to communicate in a language the world understands.”<br /><br />“Generations learn from what they see and hear. Today they are exposed to the media, a globalised world and television advertisements. So these could be the possible reasons.”<br /><br />However, Hindi becomes a necessity for people who head to northern Indian cities where Hindi is the lingua franca. As 27-year-old Rinngam Huileng candidly admits about his initial struggles with the language. “Being from Manipur, it was hard for me to learn Hindi and the way people made fun of me discouraged me even more. But it’s a struggle to find a job and make friends without knowing the language.”<br /><br />Even Marlo Philip, a motivational speaker and pastor, tells Metrolife that at some point, not knowing Hindi language can be problematic. “I studied Hindi till fourth grade and later opted for Malayalam. I am dependent on translators when it comes to understanding the language and this can lead to miscommunication, especiallywhen they fail to explain what I really want to say. Sometimes I regret not learning the language.”<br /><br />Parvesh Bhanot, a Hindi teacher at St Kabir Modern Senior Secondary School, Nilothi, feels there are two aspects of Hindi language that pose hindrance to popularise it .<br /><br />“One is the rigidity in terms of grammar of the language and secondly, how to popularise it so that it caters to the common people. The people who would want to learn will stay away if we keep on clutching to the ‘purity of the language’,” Bhanot, who has been teaching Hindi for more than 30 years, tells Metrolife. Several Hindi literary critics believe that the language isn’t facing identify crisis and it is a matter of time till it reclaims its glorious days.<br /><br /></div>
<div>The debate on the eroding status of Hindi language in contemporary Indian society is never ending. The burden of this neglect is shared by English language, which has now become a link language, considering its business utility in the globalised world. However, the decline hasn’t trampled spirits of Hindi academicians and lovers who believe the language is instrumental in understanding our history and past.<br /><br />“It is our inheritance, because whenever we need to understand our history and past, language will be the instrument to understand it. To manifest the tradition, Hindi and its literature is very important,” says Chandradev Yadav, associate professor, Department of Hindi, Jamia Millia Islamia.<br /><br />From the days of Independence struggle - when Hindi became a language of unity – to a time when Hindi sammelan’s(conferences) are being organised to propagate the language, Hindi has undergone major changes. “Though Sanskritised Hindi is no longer in vogue, what we see nowadays is Hinglish or a variant of Hindi. Grammatically, Hindi still remains the same and it will flourish,” Nutan Kapur, poetess and Hindi teacher from Gyan Bharati school, Saket tells Metrolife.<br /><br />Spoken as a native language by 258 million people, Hindi is recognised as the fourth largest language in the world, by the Languages for the Future report. And to reinforce this popularity, Hindi Diwas is celebrated on September 14 every year. The celebrations are mostly restricted to government institutes and schools and annual Hindi Diwas awards are also given to luminaries from various fields related to the language. <br /><br />Mudit Jain Sethia, a programming language enthusiast associates with the Hindi language since his school days, as he reminisces how debate and elocution competitions were organised on Hindi Diwas in his school. “I always used to participate. But now, when I see my younger siblings, they show traits of becoming British even with their mannerisms.”<br /><br />The mistaken association of English language as “a language of intelligent and educated” has created a caveat in the society that has picked up the tendency of judging people on their command in the link language. Invariably, Hindi has taken a backseat. But Sethia raises a pertinent question, “When the prime minister speaks in Hindi abroad, we feel proud. But then, why do we become a part of the crowd that feels proud to speak in English than Hindi?” <br /><br />The champions of Hindi language might feel sidelined but there are many individuals who are persistently making conscious efforts to stay connected to their roots. One of them is Shadab Moizee, a multimedia journalist, who often expresses his views in Hindi on social media.<br /><br />He admits it has a lot to do with his upbringing in Darbhanga, Bihar. “I was born in a home where both Hindi and Urdu were used. But I grew up with people who spoke Hindi and Maithli and then when I came to Delhi, people spoke Hindi and English. So, I thought Hindi is a common link at every stage which motivates me to write in this language,” he says. <br /> <br />According to Kapur, the reason for the deterioration of the language could be “the growing need to communicate in a language the world understands.”<br /><br />“Generations learn from what they see and hear. Today they are exposed to the media, a globalised world and television advertisements. So these could be the possible reasons.”<br /><br />However, Hindi becomes a necessity for people who head to northern Indian cities where Hindi is the lingua franca. As 27-year-old Rinngam Huileng candidly admits about his initial struggles with the language. “Being from Manipur, it was hard for me to learn Hindi and the way people made fun of me discouraged me even more. But it’s a struggle to find a job and make friends without knowing the language.”<br /><br />Even Marlo Philip, a motivational speaker and pastor, tells Metrolife that at some point, not knowing Hindi language can be problematic. “I studied Hindi till fourth grade and later opted for Malayalam. I am dependent on translators when it comes to understanding the language and this can lead to miscommunication, especiallywhen they fail to explain what I really want to say. Sometimes I regret not learning the language.”<br /><br />Parvesh Bhanot, a Hindi teacher at St Kabir Modern Senior Secondary School, Nilothi, feels there are two aspects of Hindi language that pose hindrance to popularise it .<br /><br />“One is the rigidity in terms of grammar of the language and secondly, how to popularise it so that it caters to the common people. The people who would want to learn will stay away if we keep on clutching to the ‘purity of the language’,” Bhanot, who has been teaching Hindi for more than 30 years, tells Metrolife. Several Hindi literary critics believe that the language isn’t facing identify crisis and it is a matter of time till it reclaims its glorious days.<br /><br /></div>
