The Big Language Debate
Yasir Sulaiman Ahamed Shah
Differently-abled person who poked his nose in different careers.
Since Independence (and partition as remembered by some), two factors have always dominated Indian politics. The "religion-divide" (you know what I am talking about) and the language wars. As far as I know and to whomever I asked (includes Judges, lawyers, freedom fighters, some politicians, and academicians), it isn’t mentioned anywhere in the constitution that “Hindi” is the official language of India. Some may argue that it is the wide spoken across the country; but then so is English across the world. Does that make English an old language?
Hindi is relatively new in the Indian sub-subcontinent.
Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Hindi is a direct descendant of an early form of?Vedic Sanskrit, through?Shauraseni Prakrit?and??auraseni Apabhra??a?(from Sanskrit?apabhra??a?"corrupt"), which emerged in the 7th century CE. (WikiPedia)
The point of this author is not to undermine the beauty of the Hindi language nor belittle it in any way. I love Hindi movies and am a huge fan of Sharukh/Hrithik. But that doesn’t mean I must stay away from movies of Suriya, Mohanlal, Ravi Teja, Chiranjeevi; etc. ?That is, I do watch movies of multiple Indian languages as well as those from Hollywood. But you can’t tell me which movie language I must give priority to? That’s my right!
Similarly, forcing one language on a versatile country such as India/Bharat seems childish. India shines above the rest of the world for its unity in versatility. And to take that quality from the country, would actually divide it.
Let us take a look at the core incidents that have ignited this debate in several parts of the country.
I don’t wish to get into politics with this newsletter. My views, I believe are of any common man in India who neither belongs to the bracket of “too rich nor too poor”- the “middle class”. Moreover, I have friends in every state of India including some very close ones from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
Regarding the first bullet point- this is an imposition. It is like your manager at office telling you that you will be paid salaries,
The above points are nowhere mentioned in the Employee Wages Act and the employers can be taken to court if they persist. Also, these are not points of my imagination; but had been imposed in some of the places I worked for the past 20 years.
Anyway, the focus of this newsletter is imposition or forcing some thought/value/language on others.? If you aren’t dismayed by the policies of your company and believe it is slavery, will you change your job?
Will you change or exit your country? Take Tamil Nadu for example.
(2047 Southern Odyssey - Mystic South Global Linkages Summit 2025).
These points are not my opinions. They are actual facts. You may Google them. Now, in the latest attack on the language war; Tamil Nadu has introduced its own currency symbol.
India will be partitioned again! Amusingly (as some politicians claim), if it occurs, partition will be caused by decisions of the Central government and not outsiders like British colonialism.
Even an Arab/Muslim nation such as the United Arab Emirates has built temples and has introduced Hindi as an official language. But as a common Indian, I don't have the right to choose in my country....
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Yasir Sulaiman