Are Anti- Hindi Protests Justified?
From past one month, we are seeing protests within Karnataka against Hindi signboards present on the metro stations by the pro Kannada organizations; this has more to do with the debate of imposition of Hindi in states where Hindi is not a native language. Here the question that arises has English taken precedence over other Indian languages?
On the metro platforms, entrances and exits we see the sign boards displayed in three languages with Kannada being at the top, followed by English and then Hindi. We are seeing objections towards Hindi being present on the board and at most of the places the Hindi sign boards are now obfuscated, where as English boards remain as they are. Primary argument by these organisations is that Hindi is being imposed and hence we are defacing it. On the contrary, I am surprised that no one is taking any objection on English being present on these boards if their objective is to promote and protect Kannada. We all know that English is a foreign language and the only reason today we all have learnt it is because it is global communication language. Since it is mostly widely used, we see it taking precedence over other Indian language.
I would encourage people to promote and give precedence to other Indian languages after the regional language of the state. This should then be followed by English. In cities like Bengaluru, where we have a cosmopolitan crowd, it would be really good if we have other Indian language i.e Hindi as it is the most widely spoken and understood after the regional language and then followed by English on the sign boards, bus routes and other communications in public places.
Note: I am writing this post in English, just to make my point to a larger audience.
