Foolish pursuit of Hindi dominance

Implementation of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the use of Hindi will undermine the idea of India based on diversities, including its multiplicity of languages. Its proposal on the medium of instruction in higher education institutions will upset the entire education system.

The committee has recommended progressive replacement of English and the use of Hindi or local languages in its place. It wants the medium of instruction to be Hindi in IITs, institutions like the AIIMS, central universities and Kendriya Vidyalayas in Hindi-speaking states, and local languages in other states. It also wants Hindi to be the mandatory medium in recruitment exams. Hindi should also be the language used in organisations like the ISRO and DRDO. There are 112 recommendations in the report which seek to promote Hindi in various fields.

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It is a faulty and counter-productive idea to have Hindi or local languages as the language in higher education institutions, including technical institutes like the IITs. Admissions to these institutions are based on national-level competitive tests. Even if the tests are held in Hindi and other languages, which will disadvantage many students, the qualifying students who go to an institution in another state will have to learn the local language of that state.

The students who graduate from one state will find it difficult to work in another. All of them will find it difficult to pursue higher education or jobs within and outside the country. Learning in the mother tongue is good but it should be tailored to the conditions in India. The examples of China and Japan are not relevant because those countries do not have the multiplicity of languages that India has.

There is a level playing field and sense of equality among students and those who graduate from institutions now as all of them have a common language, which is English. But the new system will give dominance to those who have studied in Hindi because they will be more numerous and privileged. This will lead to discrimination and other problems. It will be extremely unwise to insist that the work in institutions like the ISRO and DRDO be done in Hindi. Other recommendations for mandatory use of Hindi in offices and other places will also work against the interests of people from non-Hindi states. Mobility within the country will depend on knowledge of Hindi. Though the local languages are mentioned along with Hindi, it is clear that the recommendations are intended to ensure the domination of Hindi. It is a move towards linguistic majoritarianism and will undermine the idea of India and the federal bargain that undergirds its unity.