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Rachna says

Hindi Hegemony

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Rachna

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I watched this discussion on “We the People” on NDTV last night and it set me thinking. Few words of wisdom from me :). I am a Hindi speaker or as they call a Hindi wallah, originally from UP, brought up in Mumbai and yes, I am a little finicky about proper Hindi in terms of grammar, words etc. in my usage. Hindi is my mother tongue. I am fluent in Hindi and English. I have a working knowledge of Marathi and Gujarati. A few points about National Language. All Indian languages are national languages and not only Hindi as is a mistaken concept. Hindi and English are recognized as official languages. Languages cannot and should not be forced upon people and this only leads to bad blood and distrust. I think in a country like India with its plethora of language, a 3-language formula can work fine if implemented uniformly across the entire country. As the Hindi-speaking regions did not implement it as well as the South did, the entire system collapsed and a sense of Hindi hegemony creeped in. Frankly, all regional languages are equivalent. Hindi or any other language does not make one more Indian or binds them if it is forced down the throats of people. It actually has quite a reverse effect. I think in our country we have to teach our kids to learn and respect the language of the place they reside in. The flip side that just because someone is unable to learn or converse in that language does not automatically mean an absence of desire or a disrespect for the local language.

In India, there is no more a concept of local. We are born, brought up and work in different places around the country hence there is no question of belonging or being from one part or region. The aim is to make each other comfortable. The language activism of Karnataka and Maharashtra is goondaism and defintely does no good to the cause of Kannada and Marathi respectively. I would love your language and respect it if you give me the time and opportunity to take a liking to it. If you make it compulsory in any way, it is a lost cause and only leads to resentment. The same applies to pushing Hindi to be learned or the Hindi-speaking folks expecting to be accomodated without making the same concessions towards another language. I think the best media for propagating language is cinema, theatre and books. Also a language will be learned if it furthers one’s prospects for eg. like English does.

Let us not have that your vs. mine approach in this country. This diverse country can only survive if its multilingual character is nurtured. No language is superior and should grow at the cost of other. When we teach our kids, let us teach them tolerance and respect not only for languages but also for different cultures and for diversity in general. I hope all Indians realize, especially the Hindi-speaking ones, that Indianness does not begin and end with their language alone.

I hope that language and religion become a non-issue in our interactions with each other in the not so distant future.

4 responses to “Hindi Hegemony”

  1. Prem Nizar Hameed Avatar
    Prem Nizar Hameed

    We both go on the same line. That is called Unity in Diversity, the quality of Hindustan Hamaara..I wish to see you on the international media. Keep it up.

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  2. Rachna Avatar
    Rachna

    Thanks a lot for your encouragement!

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  3. BhavanaDiary Avatar
    BhavanaDiary

    I agree with you that hooliganism and military ways to make non-kannadigas learn kannada will not help.
    I feel there is not smoke without fire.
    During early 2000, thanks to IT and ITES boom, people from different parts of the country started to come to Bangalore for opportunities. We bangaloreans (atleast the people I know or knew) are very friendly. But things started to take a bad turn against the kannadigas. The non-kannadigas started to mock kannadigas about their language, the skin colour, movies and so on. For sometime, kannadigas tolerated it and some kannadigas even joined with non-kannadigas to mock their own language. I was little angry on these kind of kannadigas for degrading their own language more than the non-kannadigas.
    After this I moved to Czech Republic in 2006 and I could not witness what happened next. But according to few sources, I was told that clashes had started between kannadigas and non-kannadigas in bangalore. I was not in the least surprised.
    But as I said there is no smoke without fire. I keep on telling these military kannadigas that first make your family adore your language, speak the language, read the literature and then others will follow. If kannadigas themselves look down upon their language, they have no right to blame the non-kannadigas, isn’t it? Just blind love towards one’s own language is not healthy. I had seen many kannada families where they did not even let their children speak in kannada and their children had problems in speaking with their grand parents who could not speak English. I call this false prestige.
    Yes, non-kannadigas can make their efforts to respect the local culture (this applies to anyone who moves to a new place anywhere in the world). Every culture is different and I have seen some non-kannadigas who are quite rude. As I said in my other comment, India is one country made of several nations. Each region has its own culture and heritage. Each of us should be decent enough to respect each other. That’s when the harmony finds its place 
    I have seen some people trying to make Hindi the only main language of India again in a military fashion, It is not good at all. India is a federal country and was built based on local languages. They should know our country’s history better, isn’t it? 
    One person here in Czech Republic was trying to tell me how it would be good to have only one language as our Indian language. I could not help but laugh. This will only divide the country..
    Gosh, I write so much.. :-/
    Nice post 🙂

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    1. Rachna Avatar
      Rachna

      And your points are completely valid. I have seen the same too. Can you imagine that a Kannadiga actually made her child take Hindi as the second language! Kannada can come later. And all these so-called politicos send their kids to English medium schools and expect others to study in Kannada medium. Yes, people should respect others’ culture and language. We are such idiots in this regard. I hope more of us aim for a symbiotic relationship with each other.

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I’m Rachna

Welcome to Rachna says, my first abode on the internet where I share snippets of my mundane life, as I navigate empty nest with my husband. You can also get my recipes at my food blog, Rachna cooks.

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