Modi wrongly accused of Hindi chauvinism
With the Union Government clarifying that its directive on the use of Hindi in social media will apply only to Hindi-speaking States, the unnecessary controversy on the BJP-led NDA Government's supposed ‘language imperialism' must come to an end. Premised on half-baked factoids, it was fuelled in part by political trickery and in part by a sensationalist media to make a mountain of what was not even a molehill. At the crux of it was a circular sent out by the Union Ministry for Home Affairs' Raj Bhasha Cell, which is responsible for the promotion of Hindi in Government communication, urging all departments and ministries that have a presence on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to issue their official statements preferably in Hindi or in both Hindi and English. The circular was sent out on May 27, days before BJP president Rajnath Singh took charge as the Union Minister for Home Affairs. Also, the notification was based on a decision that was taken on March 10, more than two months before the current Government came to power. On June 19, sections of the media used the circular to cook up a fictitious storm around the new Government which of course prompted the de rigueur protests against the imposition of Hindi. DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who came of age as a politician with the anti-Hindi movement in Tamil Nadu in the late 1960s, was expectedly the first to make a fuss.
Nonetheless, as if the absurdity of using a UPA-era directive to malign the NDA regime was not enough, the ‘Tweet in Hindi' directive was also promptly clubbed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's decision to speak in Hindi with foreign leaders and international audiences. Viewed together, commentators argued, it was a clear signal of how the Modi sarkaar was preparing to impose Hindi on this linguistically diverse nation. Such an argument is not only silly but also illogical. Mr Modi's has been speaking in Hindi with world leaders for two reasons: One is political and the other tactical. In the first case, he wants to make a definite statement by using one of the country's official languages. In the second, he is ensuring that he puts his best foot forward by using a language that he is most comfortable with. Though the Prime Minister is fluent in English, he does better with Hindi (and Gujarati). Moreover, none of this is out of the ordinary. Chinese and Japanese leaders, for example, often speak in their respective first languages during meetings with foreign dignitaries and on global platforms, even though they are usually fluent in English, for precisely the same reasons. Unfortunately, in the case of Prime Minister Modi, his otherwise politically astute decision to speak in Hindi has been presented as an example of language chauvinism.
Finally, it is also important to acknowledge that irrespective of which Government was responsible for May 27 circular, there was absolutely nothing new about the supposedly ‘controversial' notification. Hindi, alongside English, is India's official language or Raj Bhasha (not to be confused with national language or Rashtra Bhasha) and it is a well-established Government policy to use both in official communication, sometimes with Hindi getting preference. For instance, almost all Government websites are bilingual, most Press releases are issued in both languages and in fact, the Press Information Bureau places the Hindi version on top.