Relevance: GS-2: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

Key Phrases: Devanagari script, 22 scheduled languages, National Policy on Education, 1968, three-language formula, SK Dhar commission, JVP Committee

Why in News?

• Recently Union Home Minister has made a statement on making Hindi the language of communication for people of non-Hindi speaking areas or States.
• He called for the use of an Indian language among people who spoke languages other than Hindi.
• He also stated that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not to local languages and it should be left up to the people of any two non-Hindi speaking states to decide what their language ofcommunication should be.

About Hindi Language:

• The word Hindi originated from the Persian Word Hind, meaning the land of the Indus River.
• Literary Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, has been strongly influenced by Sanskrit.
• The language has other variants as well, like Awadhi, Braj and Khadi Boli.
• It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Republic of India. However, India has two official languages: English and Hindi.
• In 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India had recognized and adopted Hindi, an Indo-Aryan language written in the Devanagari script as the official language of the country.
• According to the 2011 census, in India, there are roughly about 43.6 percent speakers, who identify Hindi as their mother tongue.
• Apart from India, the language is also spoken in Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Fiji, and Mauritius.
• As a linguistic variety, Hindi is the fourth most-spoken first language in the world, after Mandarin, Spanish and English.
• In 1948, the SK Dhar commission was appointed by the government to look into the need for the reorganization of states on a linguistic basis. However, the Commission preferred reorganization of states on the basis of administrative convenience including historical and geographical considerations instead of on linguistic lines.
• In December 1948, the JVP Committee comprising Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabh Bhai Patel, and Pattabhi Sitaramayya was formed to study the issue. The Committee rejected the idea of a reorganization of states on a linguistic basis but said that the issue could be looked at afresh in the light of public demand.

Advantages of having Hindi as the common official language of India:

• Common Identity for India: As India is the country of different languages, one common language would reflect the identity of India in the world.
• Unity among the people of India: Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, the common Hindi language will unite people from different parts of the country.
• Lingua Franca: The people of this nation of different states are sometimes not able to communicate with each other, just because of the diversity in languages. Adopting a common national language helps them communicate with other linguistic groups.
• National Language/Identity: Indians can’t accept a foreign language as a national language. As Hindi has already been accepted as the Official language, imposition can provide its national status.
• Constitutional Provision: Article 343 mentions that official language of the union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
• Majority Language: Less than half of all Indians speak Hindi, the most widely spoken language. It is the mother tongue of only 26% of India’s population. second-most widely spoken language, English, is spoken by around 10% of Indians.

Disadvantages of having Hindi as common official language:

• Hindi Imperialism: Many of the critics believed that imposition of one common language for India as an imposition of Hindi imperialism for others Non-Hindi speaking
• Against Diversity of this country: As India is a diverse country with many languages, the imposition of Hindi as a common language will break the beauty of diversity in languages.
• Endanger Diversity: It can also endanger other languages and dialects and reduce diversity. National integration cannot come at the cost of people’s linguistic identities.
• Linguistic Divide: Apart from the general divide between the North and the South, there is also a Linguistic Divide. South India is home to Dravidian states. These states are not really willing to readily accept Hindi as an official language.
• Create Differences among People: If Hindi is given priority, then it will create differences among the people who don’t speak it making them feel as second class citizens.

Hindi Vs Non-Hindi & Draft National Education Policy Controversy:

• The teaching of Hindi across the country was crystallized into policy in an official document in the National Policy on Education, 1968.
• Recently, the draft National Education Policy, 2019, prepared by a committee headed by scientist Dr. Kasturirangan recommended the three-language formula from the primary education level.
• Salient features of the draft policy:
  • The medium of instruction must either be the home language/mother-tongue/local language until grade five and preferable until grade eight, wherever possible.
  • Introduced by the first NEP, the three-language formula states that state governments should adopt and implement the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking states, and of Hindi along with the regional language and English in the non-Hindi speaking states.
  • The southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala protested. Finally, the clause was omitted in the modified new draft issued. Since 1968 Tamil Nadu is following the two-language formula of learning only Tamil and English.

Conclusion:

• National integration in a multilingual country does not require the imposition of one official language on the country, especially when the language selected for the purpose is one of its many regional languages even if it happens to be that of the largest linguistic group in the country. The focus should not be on establishing one national language, but should be shifted to strengthening the official languages whose importance cannot be disregarded.

Sources:  The Hindu  Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. Recently there was a controversy regarding making the Hindi as the language of communication for people of non-Hindi Speaking States. In this context discuss the advantages and disadvantages of making Hindi as a common official language, support your answer with relevant constitutional provisions?