India's Home Minister Amit Shah recently proposed to make Hindi a compulsory subject in schools in the northeastern states, but his move is being opposed in many states including Assam. However, many organizations in this area said that they have no objection to keeping Hindi as an optional subject.
Describing Hindi as the 'language of India', Union Home Minister Amit Shah said last Thursday that all eight states of the Northeast have agreed to make Hindi compulsory in schools up to class X.
Amit Shah is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language. He had said that 22 thousand teachers have been reinstated to teach Hindi in these eight states of the Northeast. Shah also pointed out that nine tribal communities of the Northeast have changed the script of their dialects to Devanagari.
Given the kind of politics the BJP has played in the Northeast in the last few years, the recent announcements have left many skeptical. It is suspected that under the 'Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan' formula, efforts are being made to make Hindi a compulsory subject in the schools of the Northeast.
Such reactions are coming out about this that efforts are being made to make India a country where there will be one culture, one language, and one religion. There is also a discussion that making Hindi compulsory in schools will increase the burden on school children here because it will be very difficult for non-Hindi-speaking people to learn Hindi.
Expressing his protest, Samuel B. Jirwa, president of the North East Students' Organization, told the BBC, "By making Hindi compulsory our mother tongue will disappear because Hindi is not our mother tongue. Hindi is an optional subject in Meghalaya and other states of the Northeast. We have no objection to keeping Hindi as an optional subject. This talk of forcibly imposing Hindi on the students here is not acceptable in any way."
Memorandum sent to Home Minister
Although people are showing displeasure over this topic, they are not making up their minds to protest about it.
Samuel says about this, "At present, we have not thought of holding any kind of protest against this issue. But in this context, we have sent a memorandum to the Home Minister on Monday. We have eight prominent student organizations in the Northeast. Together they have expressed their views on this proposal of the Home Minister. The Government of India has to understand that India is not a homogeneous state. Here (in the Northeast) Hindi is not the mother tongue of any state. In addition to the local language, English education is one of our state's preferred mediums."
Former Meghalaya minister Mazal Amparin Lyngdoh has criticized the central government for making Hindi a compulsory subject in the northeastern states, saying that the Home Minister's proposal to make Hindi a compulsory subject in the schools of the northeastern states is in a way. A state of confusion has arisen.
She raises questions about how they are planning to make Hindi compulsory.
According to Mazal Amparin Lyngdoh, "Hindi is as compulsory as a third language in Meghalaya till 8th standard. If their motive is to make Hindi compulsory by removing our local languages, then it will not be acceptable in any way. In Meghalaya, for many years A group of Hindi teachers is working. The Meghalaya government is teaching Hindi to the children. If after this the Government of India is being asked to do something like this, then it creates fear. If we have Hindi in 10th and 12th here If it is made mandatory, what will happen to our mother tongue? If the decree of the Government of India is implemented, what will happen to the Khasi and Garo languages, which are the main languages here.
Amarin, who has been the education minister of the state and the sitting MLA, says, "We do not want any division in the name of language and religion in this country. If my children are not able to read my language then it will be very dangerous. My language may be It will end. I am not against Hindi. I got my education from Delhi and I speak Hindi quite well. All three of my children know how to write and speak Hindi and Sanskrit. Even youth in rural areas of Meghalaya also listen to Hindi songs. But it will not be acceptable to make Hindi compulsory in its place by replacing our mother tongue.
language is a sensitive issue
The issue related to the language of the people of the Northeast has always been very sensitive.
Ardent Miller Basiawmoit, president of The Voice of the People Party in Meghalaya, alleges that the BJP, which is in power at the Center, is trying to convert India into a Hindu nation through such changes.
Former MLA Basiawmoit told the media on this issue, "On the instructions of the Union Home Minister, the North-East states including Meghalaya have agreed to make Hindi compulsory in schools up to class 10th. But it is a part of India by the BJP-led NDA government. There is an effort to transform it into a country where there will be one culture, one religion, and one language."
The language was the main reason behind the formation of Meghalaya from Assam. The people of Meghalaya had raised the demand to give prominence to their language instead of the Assamese language.
In addition, the Bengali language movement in the Barak Valley of Assam was also against the Assam government's decision to make Assamese the sole official language of the state. During that time, the main incident related to the language protest took place on May 19, 1961, at Silchar railway station, in which 11 Bengali people died.
In addition, the Bengali language movement in the Barak Valley of Assam was also against the Assam government's decision to make Assamese the sole official language of the state. During that time, the main incident related to the language protest took place on May 19, 1961, at Silchar railway station, in which 11 Bengali people died.
'Glimpses of BJP's 'Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan' formula
Baikuntha Nath Goswami, a senior journalist from Assam, says, "If someone learns Hindi or any other language for his own need, then no one has any objection to it. Hindi is being taught as an optional language in schools here for years. But the way the central government seems to be trying to impose Hindi on the people here, the first glimpse of the Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan formula of BJP-RSS is visible.
One of the major reasons for this is that his party has a government in most of the northeastern states.
Many such questions come to the fore that what is the reason that BJP is planning to forcibly impose Hindi here at this time.
He claims, "It is also his political thinking that one issue or the other should heat the atmosphere of Assam. Because the promises made in the party's election manifesto are not working according to them. People on issues like inflation-unemployment Now questions are being asked. So to bypass these major questions, the issue of language has been raised now."
The Assam Sahitya Sabha, the apex literary organization of Assam, also issued a statement opposing this proposal of the Central Government, saying, "The Union Home Minister should have taken steps for the development of Assamese and other indigenous languages instead of imposing Hindi. Such steps are a sign of a bleak future for Assamese and all indigenous languages of the Northeast. Sahitya Sabha demands that the decision to make Hindi compulsory till class 10 be revoked."
Lurin Jyoti Gogoi, president of the regional party Asom Jatiya Parishad, formed during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act, described this proposal of the Center as unfortunate.
He said, "When many census reports say that Assamese and other ethnic languages are in crisis, instead of developing our language, BJP is planning to impose Hindi. It is the BJP's claim. denies that they care more for the people of the Northeast, their sentiments, and their culture. Such a proposal should be withdrawn immediately. Attempts to snatch the mother tongue from the indigenous inhabitants of the Northeast will not be accepted."
What do BJP leaders have to say?
But Vijay Gupta, a senior leader of Assam Pradesh BJP and president of Assam Financial Corporation, while replying to the Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan talk, says, "Language is a very sensitive subject. There should never be politics about it. There is no comparison with any other language. Every language has its importance and that is why our government has formulated policies to further enrich the local language."
"But in today's environment, we all are learning Hindi for our own needs. Hindi is also the official language. From social media to other platforms, people are speaking English more in today's time. There is no need for politics in any way. Whoever wants to, he should study in that language. Hindi will not be imposed on anyone. So those who are seeing this by linking Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan are trying to mislead people unnecessarily."
The 'three language formula' is being followed in many northeastern states including Assam. Hindi is taught compulsorily here till class VIII except in Arunachal Pradesh. Whereas in Arunachal Pradesh, Hindi is a compulsory language till the 10th standard. Hindi is not compulsory in Tripura up to any class.
Each of the many tribal groups in Arunachal Pradesh has its language. Hence Hindi has emerged as the contact language there. There are 26 tribes and 256 sub-tribes of the state, but due to diversity, Hindi is considered to be a big reason for popularity there.
Cleanliness of Himanta Biswa Sarma
However, in response to all the reactions, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that till now the state government has not received any direction from the Center to make Hindi a compulsory subject.
He said, "Assam's mother tongue and medium of instruction is Assamese. Amit Shah had talked about giving elementary knowledge of Hindi to the students up to class 10th. He never said that people should give up education in their mother tongue. Even That the new education policy also advocates that the medium of instruction should be in the mother tongue at least up to grade 5.
Giving information, Chief Minister Sarma said that the Assam Government has prepared a 'Four Language Policy' in consultation with the Assam Sahitya Sabha and other Adivasi Sahitya Sabhas. Under this policy, Assamese and other local languages will get prominence. However, due to some objections of Bodo Sahitya Sabha, this language policy has not been implemented yet.
The Chief Minister said that once there was a debate in the Assam Legislative Assembly regarding the need to learn the Arabic language. During that time there was no controversy over it, but Amit Shah's remark about learning the Hindi language has become an unprovoked controversy.
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