Despite the stiff opposition by the Dravidian political parties against Hindi, the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachara Sabha, launched by Mahatma Gandhi in June 1918 has done an impressive job in Tamil Nadu by attracting maximum number of students to learn Hindi. This feat comes at a time when the DBHPS is celebrating its centenary. What makes the feat unique is the fact that Tamil Nadu had seen anti-Hindi riots of 1966-67 by the DMK claiming nearly 100 lives.
“Dakshin Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, popularly known as Sabha, has emerged as the largest Hindi teaching organisation in the country, teaching Hindi to around one million non-Hindi speaking South Indians every year,” Panduranga Rao, secretary, DBHPS, told The Pioneer. He also disclosed that the Sabha is the most cost efficient organisation for propagation of Hindi.
More than seven lakh students appear in various examinations held by the Sabha each year. The courses held by the DBHPS award diplomas and degrees which are equivalent to degrees awarded by any of the Indian universities. Courses range from Prathamic (meant for beginners) to Rashtrabhasha Praveen, an advanced course which make the students eligible to be appointed as Hindi teachers in schools.
Rao said the decade 2006 to 2016 saw the number of students enrolled for courses held by the DBHPS increasing by two fold. “There were 4.4 lakh Hindi learners in 2006 while the number shot up to 9.87 lakh by 2016,” said Rao.
Tamil Nadu is the only State in India where Hindi is not taught in Government schools. The national language remains untouchable in the State because of the opposition by both the DMK and the AIADMK which have been ruling Tamil Nadu alternately since 1967.
“The DMK sees Hindi as an extension of Sanskrit and Hindutwa and hence they oppose these two languages tooth and nail,” said Prof M Seshan, the octogenarian professor in Hindi. He said the Dravidian parties’ opposition to Hindi has done more damage to the student community in the State.
Tamil Nadu is the only State in the country where there are no Navodaya Vidyalaya, the poor man’s public school system launched in 1985 by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s New Education Policy. The Navodaya Vidyalaya offer free and quality education to the rural poor in the country. All districts in the country except Tamil Nadu boast of these schools where 75 per cent seats are reserved for the rural poor.
“Hindi is not welcome in Tamil Nadu and hence these schools could not be allowed in the State,” Tamil Nadu Government had told the Madras High Court in an affidavit filed last year.
“This feat has been achieved despite the opposition by the Dravidian political parties and the State governments,” said Prof Seshan.
Manoharan Sridhar, who is into publishing Hindi books, said that though the DMK and the AIADMK were against Hindi, students and their parents were enthusiastic about learning Hindi . “Even in villages, the parents as well as pupils are showing interest in learning the national language. More than 75 per cent of the private schools following the CBSE syllabus teach Hindi,” said Sridhar.