What is the national language of India ?

It is GK time folks.. What is the national language of India? How many of you answered Hindi? From my experience, before central government textbooks were corrected recently to say “India has NO national language”, we all were lied to by successive governments into believing that Hindi is the national language. Now, pause let that sink into your head – yes India does not have a national language. Wake up and smell the coffee folks, ensure that awareness of this is spread amongst your friends and Near-N-Dear.

Why did I decide to post this, though this is mainly a compilation of several responses I wrote in a chat forum to educate people? Two reasons… First, recently the Gujarat HC delivered a judgment legally establishing that Hindi is not our national language -- for that matter there is NO national language altogether either in the official laws or Government of India or in the constitution itself. Second, when I observed a Bihari baggage handler, arrogantly declaring to passengers that “If you don’t know Hindi, what are doing in India?” – That too in of all places in Chennai at the airport, I was incensed. I raised the issue with his manager who quickly apologized on his behalf and settled the issue. The arrogance behind the attitude led me to think about it and reiterate my thoughts on this….

Yes, folks there is no national language in India and rightly so. India is a union of states with every state having the ultimate freedom to adopt any language as its official language. Once a state does that - the language also merits a place as a duly notified official language in the relevant schedule of the constitution…

At the present moment there are the following types of folks who have a firm stance on this.
1. Those that are from the Hindi belt and native speakers of Hindi – Of course their stance is understandable, I would like Tamil to be the national language too. Both of us entitled to this stance, because by rooting for our own language we shift the “cost of integration” totally to those that don’t know the language. Easy… It is best to show sympathy to this lot and ignore them.
2. There is a subservient lot, who usually say for national integration this is paramount that we have one national language. This is fear mongering at best based on the premise that somehow India will disintegrate unless and until everyone speaks Hindi. Again, it is best to ignore this lot as well. There are several successful examples of singular nations Singapore, Belgium, Switzerland and larger societies like European Union etc. were multi-lingualism thrives and actually creates a stronger diverse society.
3. The third kind says, what if I get a job outside my state ? Well, if you have that singular need then learn that language. The onus is on you to cover this bet for yourself, you can’t burden entire society to learn another language so that your risk in getting job outside the state, is covered ? It would be entirely laughable, if this thought weren’t so pathetically selfish. Again the best option is to ignore this lot as well.
4. Finally, there is a lot that says Hindi has the largest number of speakers so it should be the national language. Well, precisely because of this reason the constitution requires Hindi to be an official language along with English to address the practical needs already. If commonality and large numbers where the sole criteria then Hinduism should be our national religion, Rat our national animal and Crow our national bird. Do you get the point ?

So after ignoring these buckets (which should cut down most of the noise) let us look at the issue objectively and firm up stances…

Another frequent tactic of the fear mongers is to ask “Why are you against Hindi ?” The question itself is stupid, as I am not against the language at all, I am as fluent in it as anybody else. I am against anointing it as a national language, which is totally unnecessary in my opinion. Plus, there are dangers of certain rights and powers being arrogated by the government, once it becomes a national language. Just look at how the government arrogated the right to use our national flag to itself for so many years. It took herculean litigation to let the citizens celebrate things by waving the flag!!!

Already due the fact that it is the co-official language of the Union government, the Hindi belt enjoys undue advantages. E.g. IIT/AIEE entrance exams are conducted in Hindi as well. But not in other official languages listed in the constitution. If the situation is like this now, if Hindi were to become a national language, imagine what life would be for a rural student in TN, Andhra etc. who are educated well in Tamil, Telugu etc… That thought alone should stop anyone dead on their tracks and oppose declaration of any language as National. Just answer as to why would anyone applying for Job for BHEL in TN from Tamil Nadu be required to learn Hindi ? That is what you would have to deal with.

Response 1, I had written in another forum

Let us look at a common statement, “you are an Indian, who wouldn’t you learn Hindi ?”. What does this mean ? Are you implying that for Indianness I should know Hindi ? This precisely the arrogance that our founding fathers foresaw and cleverly omitted “National Language” from the constitution totally and even from the list of National Symbols.

Just think as to why those set of individuals who went to great lengths to identify national symbols (Bird, Animal, Flag heck even a Calendar and Game) will leave out national language ? Because, language is as much an emotional issue as religion in many portions of India. All the constitution mandates is that Union Government of India conduct its business in English and Hindi, that is it. Nothing more Nothing less. It also gives the freedom for each state to choose its own language and most importantly it requires the states’ concurrence when there is a common language need for interaction. Please read the constitution, not some web site or some JoeBloke’s interpretation.

Unless and until all the states agree on it, we will not have a national language -- for that the national symbols act or the constitution will have to be modified. Please read the lok-sabha archives for the debates on language, you would be amazed at the depth of issues those folks foresaw and limited Hindi to one of the official languages.

Most of us have been lied to in our civics class that we have a national language so that some states can use that lie to impose a “national language”. We never had one and we never will, as long as state’s consent is required. The most vociferous opposition to Hindi during the debates of the constituent Lok Sabha came from Punjab, Bengal, Kashmir, NE States (then Assam), Maharashtra, Orissa and all the southern states. Even now only 7 states have voted for it (only in the Hindi belt). Even in the Hindi Belt, states routinely have Local dialects or Urdu as Official Languages, why is that ?

India is not USA which is a land of immigrants, that you can require all those who want to be citizens to learn a particular language. The societies that exist in India and most of the languages have a very long history. If we even have an ounce of respect for Diversity, we will realize that there is no need for national language. Rightly, we don’t have one.

Also, the true intent of the constitution is not a monolithic India, it is a federal setup, with states having distinct set of powers as does the centre. Certain subjects are concurrent, including Education. How many of you know that just as religious minorities, linguistic minorities have the right to setup their own educational institutions and be totally outside the purview of regulatory requirements with the same freedom as religious minorities ? Please ponder as to why the constitution is so liberal. It is with a sense of really respecting “Unity in Diversity” and not paying lip-service to it.

I have nothing for or against any language, I simply abhor anyone telling me that to be Indian I have to learn Hindi, that to me would mean two sets of India. One, Punya Bhoomi for those that are born in the Hindi Belt and Two, Karma Bhoomi for those of us outside. This is simply not acceptable.

Response 2:

Someone said that if we had an ounce of concern for the soldiers in the Indian Army, we will immediately accept Hindi as the national language… My response is…

This is a clever attempt at appealing on emotion, when logic/reason are not on your side.

1. Who said that you shouldn’t need a common language for Army. If at all there is a case, this is where we should adopt the language that is known to most of the soldiers. I will happily to adopt Hindi if that is the easiest route in this case.
2. Already JaiJavan programs are there and they are in Hindi, I have no issues with that. Tell me, would that be such a demoralizing effect for Hindi soldiers, if say, a tamil soldier who is fighting on the same front, were to write a request for a Tamil Song. Should JaiJavan program ignore that totally ? It does now....

If Singapore, Belgium, Switzerland all can peacefully exist with several languages, and European Union can be an successful entity and can have seamless borders, why can’t India have the same ?

It is just plain fear mongering to say that we will dis-integrate unless we have a National language.

Most people who have been fed constant crap that India==Xyz language will not get the concerns that people who are not natives of that language.

Everybody wants to be an Indian, just don’t require anyone to prove it by learning a specific language. E.g. Try this simple proposal in the Hindi belt. “In addition to Hindi, every student has to learn one of Tamil/Telugu/Malayalam/Bengali/Kannada..... etc.”, please fine tune winning people over with this strategy, then come and talk to the non-hindi states about adoption of Hindi and National Integration etc.

We have a saying in Tamil “நீ அரிசி கொண்டு வா நான் உமி கொண்டு வருகிறேன் இரண்டையும் கலந்து ஊதி ஊதி சாப்பிடலாம்”, which means “You bring Rice, I will bring Husk, let us mix it up, blow the waste away and share the rest”. It is a good deal for who ? At least, now do you get the point, as to who has to bear the total cost of this so called “integration” ? When even on simple issues like UPSC, IAS, AIEE or IIT, I am not seeing a common sense strategy of “Let us conduct these exams in all Indian languages”, without any such sensitivity being displayed it is a very tough ask to require me learn a language, because they simply will not find any use for it.

Someone else waxed eloquently on how it is Bharat Heavy Electricals, so you have to learn Hindi or, I plan to do a Bharat Darshan so Hindi is a must etc. Do you all even realize the offensive arrogance behind such statements ? To me, it implies Bharat == Hindi, isn’t it ? Is that what this country means to me ?

Everybody wants be an Indian, let them be. If you force any language or religion or culture, perhaps fighting for Independence is the only option then.....

Response 3:

See whether the statement below is acceptable.

“Hinduism will be made the national religion of India. All those who are not followers will be required to learn Hinduism and adopt it, along with their native religion. Over time all people in India will be followers of Hinduism”.

Is it acceptable ? Now, replace Hinduism with Hindi, follower with speaker and religion with language in the statement above and tell me whether it is still acceptable ?

Just as religions transcend languages and regions, languages also transcend regions and religions in India. In my opinion, all the reasons which would rule out a national religion should rule out national language as well…

Finally, don’t you mistake me for some chauvinist, I am not.Some of my best friends are from UP, Bihar, Bengal, Maharashtra and many other regions… I am very proud of my identity as an Indian Tamil, whose history culture and should merit its own pride of place in India. Just don’t require me to prove my Indianness by learning Xyz…

For the record, I am as fluent as anybody else in Hindi. I learnt that language on my own just as I learnt Sanskrit when I was young. It was done without fear or persuasion of any kind whatsoever and that should be the way for everybody else….

So let me now ask again, “What is the national language of India ?”