The Indian union formed by the coming together of several provinces, and especially people from various backgrounds, practising different cultures and speaking many languages set a unique case in the list of democratic countries in the late forties. It is this diversity in India, and the diversity behind the one identity of Indianness that keeps India's attractive quotient alive even today. This diversity needs to be cherished, protected and nourished in order to insure a bright future for generations that inherit this nation from us.
With this background, a nation 'constructed' by the union of such diverse people would be expected to peacefully co-exist (internally) and prosper only when all of its shared heritages find equal respect in the union, and no one particular constituent heritage gets any special attention & focus of the government and its undertakings regardless of the expanse of geography and population who inherit that one heritage or culture.
Unfortunately in the last 6 decades this doesn't seem to have happened - with documents right from the Indian constitution to various legislations passed in the parliament and various rules framed for the executive wing to operate in - have all shown serious bias towards the Hindi language:-
- Beginning right from "Part-17" of the Indian constitution which proclaims Hindi to be the "official language" of the Indian Union - one particular constituent language of the union is made Official here, indirectly rejecting all other Indian languages as unofficial and signaling them as second-grade or unwelcome in the union.
- The omnipresent Three-Language policy of the union government also makes Hindi usage (even in non-Hindi speaking areas) mandatory simply because the concerned organization is remotely, partly or fully funded by the central government - a govt that is elected so as to be neutral, equal & federal in its structure and operations!
- Legislations that bind appointed ministers to use only Hindi while speaking in the parliament, denying them basic rights to even speak in their mother tongue are but clear examples of such undue bias shown towards Hindi much at the peril of fair representation and progress of the Indian peoples speaking different languages.
As a result (Cultural) Diversity which formed the foundation stone of unity (& thereby progress) of this pillaring nation, has gradually been converted & demonized as something that the nation must dread and hate in the background while picturing Hindi in the foreground as 'one language' that can unite the different peoples of this subcontinent. All this at a dear cost to the various non-Hindi cultures of this subcontinent.
The various policies incorporated by subsequent elected governments at the center only seem to have imposed and further engraved in people's minds that uniformity (anti- diversity) is required to build & sustain unity in the Indian union. This unity rhetoric is dangerous, not just wrong, because neither unity nor progress, nor development of the Indian union retains any further meaning after the nation is left without its characteristic diversity and 'one selected' language is licensed to bulldoze upon all other Indian languages and permitted to feign representation of the entire linguistic & cultural landscape of the nation.
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| (image technology courtesy www.ragemaker.com) |
However wrong that might be, incidental progress & developments continue to be shown as by-products of this unity. But this unity, whatever it is actually, is coming at the cost of several bonds being broken between people and their respective cherished identities. This Hindi imposition upon different peoples of India is sucking the rich diversity of India from within, creating big problems for all the non-Hindi speakers in India. Above all problems, Hindi imposition is a highly immoral and illegal activity for a democratically elected government to indulge in.
Going by available data, be it in relation to
- TV channels,
- Textbooks,
- Banks,
- Railway network,
- Airports,
- Highways,
- Museums,
- Cultural, Tourist & Archaelogical hotspots
- Subsidy programs,
- People enumeration/enrolment programs
among other Union Government undertakings, even some state government undertakings, or even some projects that the emerging private sector in India runs in the post-liberalization era, the projected image of Hindi suggests that it represents the entire nation and its citizens, and this single medium is 'enough' to reach out to a massively diverse Indian society. This is the myth people of India need to wake up to. This is the myth we Kannadigas need to wake up to, and oppose Hindi imposition in all its forms. That is the only way this nation's tall pillars can be held strong, the only way people of all backgrounds, cultures and languages can get fair & equal representation and chance to retain their identity even while carving out better lives for themselves. For that is indeed true development of people - one that happens without requiring an individual to give up his/her inherited identity altogether.
Now, lets look at this in current context - on September 14th every year the Indian government runs nationwide celebrations labeled as Hindi Divas - a day, and lately a complete week (Hindi Saptaah) in which programs run under the aegis of center's Department of Official language drain public money - towards rewarding people & govt. organizations that display 'excellence' in Hindi, towards fostering better 'performances' in coming years promising & announcing promotions to people who successfully deploy Hindi in their daily usage at work instead of their respective mother tongues. While these expenditures appear biased towards Hindi and aren't justifiable themselves, this is just a valedictory of year-long expenditures of similar kind. For instance, statistics from various central govt. programs show that more money gets spent on Hindi programs than towards Civil Defence - most vital for internal security.
With such glaring examples, the ill-effects of Hindi imposition can't be clearer. I strongly oppose Hindi Imposition and the various programs & celebrations that follow on its lines.
Saku Hindi Herike Nillisi!
Hindi Imposition Must Stop!
