The idea of International Mother Language Day has origins in the brutal history of the subcontinent. As inhabitants of the subcontinent, we need not even go on a world tour to identify the repercussions of such acts. Those trying to impose Hindi upon other languages must look into the experience around the globe to see the failures of the projects which sought to impose an alien language on a population. South India has successfully resisted such imposition attempt till now. Marathi, even with the presence of a strong cultural and literary tradition, is facing severe threat from Hindi. For most of these languages marginalization near completion. In the process of creating a single language, the Hindi has already intruded into the space of other languages in north India like the mythili, Bhojpuri, Marwari, etc. BJP is clear that it needs to teach each and every child of this country Hindi. Temporary withdrawal must not be seen as the final victory over these elements. is meant to test the waters, to find the strength of the opposition to this move. In 1937, 1946, 1963, 1965, 1967, 19 the attempts were made to smuggle Hindi into the syllabuses and were withdrawn due to the protest.Ī draft policy, like the one which has become controversial now. Rajagopalachari also played a role as the person who attempted to impose Hindi upon the Tamil population. People like Purushottam Das Tandon, who was also the national president of Indian National Congress, were at the forefront of Hindi imposition. Obviously, BJP is not the only entity which tried to impose Hindi on the Indian population, Congress had played its own role. It was the strong opposition to Hindi imposition from the states like Tamil Nadu which actually stopped the forward march of the north Indian language. “To say that English should continue at the Centre so long as even a single non-Hindi state desires, is an index that the Congress Working Committee does not honestly desire the replacement of English by Hindi as the Centre’s Official language.” The predecessor of the BJP, the Jan Sangh in its resolution on 10th July 1965 accused Indian National Congress of going back on Hindi imposition. Not just the any Hindi, but the Hindi which has been thoroughly Sanskritized.īJP’s obsession with the Hindi imposition precedes even the organization itself.
So all citizens within the nation, for them, must communicate to the Indian state through Hindi. Irrespective of the regional variation, which may be allowed, the national body ought to be, in this perspective, dominated by these elements. For the Hindu nationalist, these elements are the building blocks of the nation as they conceive it. Hindutva, the ideology of the ruling party in India, has always been immersed in its view of India as dominated by these elements, the Hindu and Hindi which in their perspective is the culture and language respectively of the true Indian.
It comes from a peculiar understanding of nationalism. The aim of Hindi imposition upon the states which does not have Hindi as a regional language is plain and clear. Three language formula inherently is a root to allow for Hindi imposition, one could find no other reason than this for the emphasis on the number, three. Recommendation regarding the implementation of a three-language formula remains intact. The modified draft under the heading ‘Flexibility in the choice of languages’, has omitted references to the language that students may choose. Undoubtedly, under the pressure from South Indian states, especially from Tamil Nadu the center has budged a little. Is there anything surprising about the draft New Educational Policy, especially it’s view on language education? Anyone who had gone through the BJP’s language education policies over the years would respond with an emphatic, No.