The Politics of India's Love Affair with Hindi.

How does the world’s largest democracy function with 19,500 languages??

Language can both unite and divide. Across Europe, most secessionist debates happen within areas where the same language is spoken. India takes great pride in being a diverse, multi-religious and multi-ethnic country. In such a system, can one language rule the roost? It is time to glance through some data-driven arguments.??

Is Hindi the largest spoken language in India??

No.?Residents of only 12 of the 36 States and Union Territories (UTs) reported Hindi as their first choice of language for communication (Census 2011). But there is a caveat. “Hindi” is an umbrella term encompassing 56 languages (mother tongues) including Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Hindi and Chhattisgarhi. While 43% of Indians speak “Hindi”, only 26% speak Hindi specifically as their mother tongue.?Many of the 56 languages tied under the Hindi umbrella have their own folktales, literature and machinery of culture. So the state definition of Hindi is itself skewed.?

Why are politicians wanting to bat for Hindi as India’s national language?

Pure politics. There is a specific reason for bringing up this issue now. The next delimitation exercise, or determining the contours of parliamentary constituencies is due in 2026.?If India’s parliamentary seats were to be reallocated across states on the basis of population, the Gangetic belt would send 275 of 548 members of parliament (MPs)?to the Lok Sabha, according to estimates.?Anybody who bats for Hindi will find it easier to win elections in India. Three states – Bihar, UP and West Bengal alone would account for a third of India’s parliament by the end of this decade.

Are states where Hindi is spoken doing better than others?

The evidence says no. These states figure poorly across all parameters of the Human Development Index. They have very poor education and healthcare systems. There is significant internal migration of people from Hindi-speaking states to non-Hindi speaking states in search of employment according to an analysis of Indian Railway’s data. Things in the Hindi belt are unlikely to improve any time soon unless there is an integrated plan to shore up social security across these states.?

The language debate is unfortunately covering up a more significant debate -??the robustness of India’s governance and its incapability to deliver in the Hindi-speaking belt. People who question the design of government are being told that the problem lies with the fact that the files don’t speak Hindi. But the truth is that most of these files were handled by self-seeking politicians and bureaucrats who bathed in corruption. These are unlikely to change even if a new national language is installed at the helm.?

Will Hindi serve as a better link language than English?

Again, no. The percentage of English speakers in a state has a better correlation with economic growth and a better Human Development Index. English is also the language of world commerce and research. Even the Chinese and Japanese were forced to learn it. India will be home to 25% of the world’s working-age population by 2025. The challenge is that we do not have enough jobs for them. Therefore it is important to teach our young ones global languages so that they can earn a living around the world. India already. Has the world’s largest diaspora and this trend is only going to increase in the next two decades. In any scenario, English should remain India’s first choice as a link language because our institutions have been bred on this trend for over 200 years now.

Conclusion

India will become the world’s most populous country by 2024. It will also have a significantly young population. This is a great opportunity but needs to be handled with responsibility. The country needs to equip young Indians with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a fast-globalizing world.

India is the world’s largest democracy, and will soon be home to the largest population in the world. But its politics should also make room for reality and reflect its people’s aspirations; and the world’s.