18 March 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1. Lokbhasha, not rajbhasha

(Source – Indian Express, Section – The Ideas Page – Page No. – 11)

 Rethinking Hindi’s Role as Rajbhasha

• The article challenges the idea of Hindi as rajbhasha (ceremonial official language) of India, arguing that this status has neither strengthened Hindi nor benefited the country.
• The suggestion is to strip Hindi of its privileged yet hollow status, which might help Hindi reconnect with other Indian languages and remove the distraction of “Hindi imposition.”
• This could pave the way for addressing the deeper issue of English’s dominance and even lead to greater intellectual independence (swaraj) in ideas.

The Counterproductive Hindi Policy

• The Hindi policy followed over the last 75 years has had negative consequences.
• Hindi’s sheer size in terms of speakers — over 60 crore, or 42% of the population — gives it a natural advantage as a potential bridge in India’s multilingual landscape.
• However, this potential has been squandered. Hindi’s attempt to remain “pure” and superior to other languages has bred resentment and communalism, weakening national unity.
• The rajbhasha status has left Hindi stuck in a contradictory position: seen as both a stepmother to its own dialects and an overbearing mother-in-law to other Indian languages.
• The BJP’s recent push to promote Hindi has only intensified these tensions.

English Hegemony and Hindi’s Cultural Decline

• Despite Hindi’s numerical strength, English has emerged as the true language of power in India.
• English-medium education is now aspirational, even among Hindi speakers.
• The dominance of English is evident in everyday life — from English-speaking classes to social interactions where English is valued over Hindi.
• The educational system reflects this imbalance, with poor Hindi literacy even in Hindi-speaking regions.
• Rural students struggle to read basic Hindi, and higher education in Hindi remains underdeveloped.
• Hindi lacks intellectual infrastructure — quality textbooks, respected newspapers, and influential magazines are scarce.
• In contrast, English enjoys cultural prestige, financial backing, and the support of the education industry — making it the language of India’s ruling class.

The Misconception of Hindi Dominance

• While Hindi is accused of linguistic imperialism, its dominance is limited.
• Unlike Russian in the USSR or Mandarin in Tibet, Hindi has not been forcibly imposed on non-Hindi speakers.
• The real harm has been inflicted on languages within the Hindi belt itself. Hindi has subsumed about three dozen regional languages that might have evolved into distinct languages.
• This process is not unique to Hindi — many Eighth Schedule languages have absorbed smaller regional languages.
• The charge of Hindi imposition holds some truth in the form of government mandates, Hindi billboards, and Sanskritised names for government schemes — creating resentment among non-Hindi speakers.

Proposal for Language Equality

The article proposes a radical shift:

• All 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule should receive equal official status.
• September 14 (Hindi Diwas) should be renamed Bhasha Diwas to celebrate linguistic diversity.
• Government efforts to promote Hindi should be stopped; the promotion of Hindi should be left to Hindi-speaking states and voluntary initiatives.
• A national mission should be launched to promote all Indian languages, including the so-called “dialects” that have been carefully documented by the People’s Linguistic Survey of India.
• Education should be provided in a child’s mother tongue, whether it is a Scheduled or non-Scheduled language.

This would empower regional languages and foster a multilingual intellectual culture.

Conclusion:

• The solution lies in recognizing Hindi’s true strength as a lokbhasha (people’s language) rather than a rajbhasha (official language).
• Freeing Hindi from the burden of official status would allow it to flourish organically alongside other Indian languages.
• Only after resolving this imbalance can India have a meaningful conversation about the deeper issue of linguistic imperialism by English.
• Promoting linguistic equality would strengthen national unity and intellectual independence.

Check this out 17 March 2025 : Indian Express Editorial Analysis