Dear Editor,
It is high time Sushma Swaraj, BJP and the Central regime realise that no language has been solely declared as the “National Language” of India. Hindi is also just another language of the multi-lingual democratic nation named India whose right over the country is neither superior nor inferior to the rest of the Indian languages. This is the very reason why the Constitution has not declared Hindi as the “national language” and the division bench of Gujarat High Court comprising of Chief Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya and Justice AS Dave has categorically stated that there is no national language in India.
Moreover, since India is a conglomeration of different regions, each possessing a distinct cultural and linguistic identity of its own; Hindi cannot ideally enjoy more importance than the indigenous languages in the concerned regions. Again the enlightened and Honorable High Court of Gujarat has delivered an extremely praiseworthy judgement regarding this particular issue. The bench, comprising of Justice VM Sahai and AJ Desai, has opined that Hindi is nothing but a FOREIGN LANGUAGE for Gujaratis who were protesting against the National Highway Authority of India who had dared to issue a notification in Hindi only right on the soil of Gujarat. This directly proves that the indigenous languages in the non-Hindi speaking regions are superior in status than Hindi which is actually nothing but a mere regional language spoken in the North Indian states, but absolutely foreign outside it. Thus, those who zealously project Hindi as the “national language” are merely assaulting the very basis of the Constitution and the powers who are imposing Hindi upon the non-Hindi speaking population are actually demeaning the esteemed judiciary.
Yet under the leadership of the regime based on the rabid communal divisive imperialist ideology of ‘Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan’; this multi-lingual multi-religious secular diverse democratic nation is being cleverly demeaned into a highly intolerant cesspool or colony of Hindi-speaking upper caste Hindus.
So it is being scandalously witnessed how the Union Government is not only imposing Hindi upon this land of linguistic diversities and addressing this heterogeneous Indian society in the language of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh; the lion’s share of Central funds related to promotion of languages are also being allocated to Hindi only. Is the right of any other language in India a bit lesser than Hindi? Yet the shameless parochial Central regime is zealously proclaiming that not a “mere” Rs.40 crore, but the Government is “ready to pay even Rs.400 crore if required” to make Hindi one of the official languages of the United Nations! Why will the tax from the hard-earned income of the non-Hindi speakers, who form more than 70% of the Indian population be squandered to pamper the language of few North Indian states? Is it a clever ploy to impart an image in the international community that India is “actually a monolingual Hindi-speaking country”? All true Indians are indeed ashamed of witnessing the fangs of Hindi chauvinism and muscle flexing of the linguistic imperialists.
Billions of Indians are gasping for breath thanks to the nexus of hunger-malnutrition-illiteracy-joblessness-bonded labour-child labour-human trafficking and what not. Innocent helpless are dying like cats and dogs on the footpaths and slums without medicines. Millions of Indians are escaping from the wretchedness and absolute hopelessness prevailing in this “elite” country of attaining Mars orbit to lead a life of virtual slaves in West Asia or in war-torn African nations in worst of conditions. Yet far from investing maximum resource, time and energy to save India from meeting its doom and award a bit of relief to the scars of poorest of poor Indians; the Union Government is disgracefully flexing its Hindi-imperialist muscle of paying even Rs.400 crore just to establish the language of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the United Nations! What a heartlessness and matter of callousness!
By drawing inspiration from the bold upright Shashi Tharoor who protested against this linguistic gimmick of Swaraj and NDA ; all non-Hindi speaking Parliamentarians, individuals, intellectuals, press and state Governments residing outside cowbelt should unitedly protest against the parochial imperialist stance of projecting “Hindi is India” in international forum and such barbaric squandering of resources which can be properly utilised for the welfare of common Indians.
Yours,
Kajal Chatterjee,
Kolkata