Hindi imposition is a form of linguistic imperialism in which the use of

Modern Standard Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been des ...

is preferred over

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

that do not use or desire to use Hindi as a regional language. The term is rooted in the

anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu The anti-Hindi-imposition agitations in Tamil Nadu were a series of agitations that happened in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (formerly Madras State and part of Madras Presidency) during both pre- and post-independence periods. The agitations ...

, where it was proposed for Hindi to be taught in schools in the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. The idea of modern Hindi imposition developed from Hindi and English being designated as an official language of the Indian Republic, with a motion to replace English with Hindi within 15 years of its designationwhich has not happened.

Background

In India in 1951, there were around 1,652 languages used as a

mother tongue A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

, with 87% of the country's population of approximately 450 million speaking one of 14 different languages. The most popular was Hindi, spoken by around 30% of India's population.

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

the prime minister of India at the timeviewed a ''

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' as necessary due to the diversity of languages. He suggested that the

Hindustani language Hindustani (; Devanagari: , * * * * ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lan ...

(Hindi–Urdu) was the best option, as it was easy-to-learn, was already spoken by a majority of the population, and was thought to forge unity between Hindu and Muslim communitieswhereas English would not be a viable due to the difficulties in educating a foreign language to millions of people. The

Constitution of India The Constitution of India (IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental ri ...

, therefore, designated Hindi and English as co-official languages, with the latter being phased out within 15 years. The Constitution of India also states that efforts should be undertaken to promote the use of Hindiwhere the

three-language formula The three-language formula is a language learning policy first formulated in 1968 by the Ministry of Education of the Government of India in consultation with the states. History The first recommendation for a three-language policy was made by the ...

was suggested. In this format, a student's first language would be their own mother tongue, the second language would be Hindi, and the third language would be English. This was described as an educational burden where Hindi speakers would only have to learn two languages, whereas others would have to learn three, or possibly four languages if one's mother tongue was not the state's official language. Nehru also suggested that efforts should be made to simplify the amount of languages spoken by absorbing variants of Hindi into a single language, and creating one

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

for

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Arguments

Modern Hindi imposition has been used as a political tool, with many supporting the use of Hindi as a sole language of India with various arguments, while others oppose this action. The term ''One Nation, One Language'' has repeatedly been used to justify the imposition of Hindi.

Hindu nationalists Hindu nationalism has been collectively referred to as the expression of social and political thought, based on the native spiritual and cultural traditions of the Indian subcontinent. "Hindu nationalism" or the correct term ''Hindū rāṣṭ ...

have used the phrase "Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan", and are in favour of imposing a

Sanskritised Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek 'upward' mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper ...

Hindi.

Uniformity

It has been suggested that the use of Hindi as a national language can unite its population, and can be used as an official medium of communication within India. People from the southern states have stated that it is redundant to use two different languages as a official language, when only one can be used instead.

Impact

Efforts by politicians to implement the imposition of Hindi has been criticised in the media, suggesting that politicians are calling non-Hindi speakers second-class citizens within their own nation. To protest attempts at Hindi imposition, an 85-year-old farmer in

Salem, Tamil Nadu Salem (), is a major city in Salem district, located on the banks of Thirumanimutharu river in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is the List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, sixth largest urban agglomeration and metropolitan city in ...

committed suicide, stating that forcing Hindi in education would heavily disadvantage students.

Suggested remedies

M. K. Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin ( , born 1 March 1953), often referred to by his initials MKS, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin ...

, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, have both demanded that all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution receive equal treatment. Vijayan has specifically stated that exam papers for standardised examinations should be prepared in all languages, while Stalin has urged the government of India to promote all languages and maintain equal educational and employment opportunities for speakers of all languages.

References