Stop the Hindification of India

What is Hindification?

India’s strength is its unity in diversity. Its multitude of languages, religions and cultures. But this diversity is being undermined by the excessive importance given to one language, Hindi. A misguided sense of patriotism has allowed Hindi to become the dominant language, and the Hindi-speaking culture to become the supposed “national” culture. National integration is wrongly associated with speaking Hindi and accept Hindi domination meekly. This meekness is termed as a virtue, and anyone who tries to promote his regional language is labelled as parochial, chauvinistic and anti-national. To non-Indians, Hindi is often portrayed as the de-facto lingua franca of India.

There’s a prevalent “All Indians must know Hindi” attitude which reeks of imperialism. It’s common to find Hindi-speakers living in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata or the North East without knowing the local language. They simply expect the locals to speak in Hindi. In some places like Mumbai, the locals do the Hindi-speakers a favour by conversing in Hindi. But when this happens, the Hindi-speakers start taking it for granted, and assume that it’s their divine right to be spoken to in Hindi.

The Indian Government has institutionalised Hindi imposition in the Constitution, giving it an undemocratically higher status than other languages. This blog depicts the various ways Hindi has been officially imposed in the Indian Government.

Indians who do not know Hindi are subjected to ridicule, insult and abuse. This can be seen from many comments here. A common rant is that “Hindi is the national language but you don’t know it”. In certain countries, the moment they see that we are Indians, they start speaking to us in Hindi. They treat Hindi as the de-facto link language of Indians.

To the international community, Bollywood is projected as the only film industry in India. In the International “Indian” Film Academy Awards (IIFA), there is space only for Bollywood movies, and none for regional movie industries. In several overseas universities, the Indian Associations have Bollywood Movie Screenings, but no attempts to showcase regional cinema. Only Hindi movies are known to the international community, but regional movies are not. This contributes to the dominant status of Hindi.

We need to contain the monopolistic influence of Hindi, to give due recognition and limelight to regional languages. We need to ensure that regional languages become part of the national and global culture along with Hindi.

Why is Hindification a problem?

1. Hindification gives secondary status to all the other languages of India. Other languages are becoming less important, less useful, and less relevant. Hindification will lead to the gradual marginalization and ultimate death of all the other languages of India. For example, some Marathi children in Mumbai ask their parents, “Why should we speak Marathi, now that everyone in Mumbai speaks in Hindi?” Similarly, Punjabis often speak to each other in Hindi. Evidence of these can be found in some comments here. Regional languages are simply waiting in line for their death sentences, with some being ahead in the line.

2. Hindification prevents regional languages from becoming part of the global culture. The global community is not even aware of the existence of most regional languages. They do not know that movie industries exist in those regional languages. With this lack of international recognition, it’s just a matter of time before the regional languages perish. They will become provincial languages with little relevance in the globalized world. To ensure the survival of regional languages, they need to become part of the global culture. These regional languages must ride the wave of globalization and not be drowned underneath the wave. This is what we must ensure.

3. The Hindification of India causes tensions between Hindi Indians and non-Hindi Indians. Hindi has taken root and marginalized the local language in places like Mumbai, causing resentment among the locals. This is the root cause of violence against Hindi-speakers in Maharashtra, as I have discussed here. Hindification has also caused resentment among South Indians. This is the root cause of the North-South divide, as I have discussed here. Hindification is the root cause of the now-defunct Sikh separatism. Hindification is the root cause of separatist movements in the North East, including violence against Hindi-speakers in Assam. Continued Hindification would be bad for the safety of Hindi-speakers and the communal harmony of India.

4. The status of Hindi as the dominant language is undemocratic, and against the spirit of India. In a truly secular country, all languages should be given equal importance. Just as Hindus do not impose their religion on Muslims or Sikhs, Hindi-speakers should not impose their language on Telugu-speakers or Marathi-speakers.

What we can do to stop the Hindification of India

If your native language is a regional language

1. Speak Hindi only while you’re in the Hindi-speaking region. In your home state, speak only two languages: Your mother tongue (with people who speak your mother tongue), and English (with people who do not speak your mother tongue).

2. When Hindi-speakers migrate to your state, encourage them to learn the local language.

3. If a Hindi-speaker visiting your home state speaks in Hindi, politely ask him to speak in either English or the state language. Be firm about this. Don’t be diffident. E.g. In Mumbai, ask him to speak in either English or Marathi. In Hyderabad, ask him to speak in either English or Telugu.

If your native language is Hindi

1. Speak Hindi only to other native Hindi-speakers. Speak English to someone whose mother tongue is a regional language.

2. When migrating to non Hindi-speaking states, learn the local language. Speak to the locals either in their language, or in English.

If you’re native language is a regional language, and you are living outside India

1. Tell your non-Indian friends that there are 18 official languages in India. Tell them about the regional movie industries of India. Show them some of these regional movies (with English subtitles).

2. Speak only two languages to other Indians: Your mother tongue (with those who share your mother tongue) and English (with Indians who do not share your mother tongue).

3. If an Indian speaks to you in Hindi and you understand, reply in English.

4. If an Indian speaks to you in Hindi and you don’t understand, tell him, “I’m sorry but I don’t speak Hindi, can you say that in English?” Don’t be embarrassed to say you don’t speak Hindi.

5. If an Indian speaks to you in Hindi and you understand partially, tell him, “My Hindi is not that good, can you say that in English?” Don’t be embarrassed to say your Hindi knowledge is only partial.

If you are a true Indian, and believe in Unity In Diversity

Forward this blog to as many Indians as possible. Talk to other Indians about the points here.

Violence in Maharashtra – The root cause

The media has been unanimous in its condemnation of Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), and rightfully so. Because violence is never the right means to any end.

But what is the root cause that makes one group of people attack another group of people? What has caused this violent outburst from some of the Marathi people? And why are North Indians being targeted? Note that in this context, we use the term “North Indians” to refer only to those from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the groups who are targeted by the MNS.

Is it because North Indians are the most prosperous community in Maharashtra? Not quite. The Gujaratis, Parsis and Marwaris have always controlled the economy of Mumbai, but they are not targeted.

On the contrary, is it because North Indians are the least prosperous, and therefore the most vulnerable targets? Once again, not quite. The poor in Mumbai include not only Biharis, but also Tamils, Telugus, Bengalis and Assamese, yet they are not targeted.

The root cause lies in an element of North Indian behaviour which none of the other communities in India have. An imperialistic attitude which dictates that all Indians should speak their language and follow their culture, while they in turn need not reciprocate. It’s quite common to find North Indians living for many years in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata or the North East without learning the local language. To compound the problem, some North Indian individuals belittle the local culture. Some North Indian businessmen in Assam are rumoured to follow ruthless tactics that make their Assamese labourers suffer. The prominent place of Uttar Pradesh in Indian politics could be another reason for the others to perceive an imperialistic attitude. Not to mention the Indian government’s institutionalisation of Hindi imposition, which gives a perverse justification to the imperialistic attitude of the Hindi-speakers.

In the case of Mumbai, the North Indians have transformed it into a predominantly Hindi-speaking city, an honorary part of North India. They rarely learn Marathi, and sometimes mock the Marathi people as lazy and unsuccessful. Marathis have so far been subservient to the North Indians, speaking their language and letting their culture take root in Maharashtra. But resentment has slowly built up, and Raj Thackeray is simply exploiting the sentiments of the average Marathi.

On the contrary, the Gujaratis, Marwaris, Parsis and South Indians have mostly learnt Marathi. They practise their culture in the confines of Matunga or the Parsi Colony, but don’t impose it on the Marathis. Since the Marathi manoos (Marathi common man) does not have any resentment against these communities, there is nothing for Raj Thackeray to exploit.

Arresting Raj Thackeray and his goons is not a long-term solution. Accusing the Marathi people of parochialism is also not the answer. First of all, Marathis are not parochial. They have never gone to Uttar Pradesh and asked the locals to speak in Marathi. Crying wolf about the MNS is not going to help. All these address the symptoms, not the disease. The disease is North Indian imperialism. That has to be addressed.

A misguided sense of patriotism has allowed the Hindi-speaking culture to be promoted as the supposed “national” culture. “National integration” is the most misused term in Indian politics. It has been wrongly equated with accepting North Indian domination meekly. This meekness is viewed as a virtue, and anyone who refuses to be meek is labeled as parochial, chauvinistic, and anti-national. The Tamils have always been called anti-national, just because they opposed (and continue to oppose) the “national language”. Now the same anti-national label has been bestowed upon the Marathis because they want to preserve their own culture in their own state!

Are Marathis the only people who resent North Indian imperialism? Not at all. North Indian imperialism is the root cause of the North Indian – South Indian divide, as I have discussed here. That was the root cause of the now-defunct Sikh separatism. That is the root cause of continued separatism in Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. That is the root cause of the violence in Assam, where Marwari businessmen are attacked. The Marathis are simply the latest in a long line.

To avoid such violence and tensions from erupting in every part of the country, Indians need to weed out North Indian imperialism. The North Indians need to change their attitude. The other Indians need to stand their ground.

India needs to follow the Singapore model. The communal harmony of Singapore has been ensured by the sensible way the Singapore Government has managed diversity. Malay was made the national language only ceremonially. The majority of Singaporeans do not know Malay, and are not expected to know it. The constitution gives equal importance to English and three other languages, each corresponding to the three communities of Singapore. Instead of following the melting pot model where diversity is minimized, Singapore follows the mosaic model, where each component retains its unique identity and also becomes part of a beautiful whole. There is no reason for any community to feel they have been given a raw deal. Naturally, you don’t find communal tensions in Singapore.

India showed it can be done, when it decided not to have a national religion. It is possible for India to decide it doesn’t need a national language. Indeed, a national language and its associated nationalised culture are causing tensions to this very day. Unless India does away with North Indian imperialism, it is destined to live a turbulent life of communal tensions. National integration can never be achieved by taking a regional culture, calling it national, expecting everyone to embrace it, and marginalizing the other regional cultures. The Maharashtra violence should serve as a warning to the Indian government and to ordinary Indians, that India’s model for national integration is flawed. But from what I see, India is not heeding the warning. India is conveniently blaming a few men, and ignoring the root cause. If India continues to miss the obvious, it is destined to suffer more communal tensions.