While Mandarin has emerged as a powerful component of global trade and a valuable tool in today’s competitive age, Hindi is also presenting itself as a cultural icon, reflecting the history of ancient civilisations. This competition is not based solely on linguistic grounds, it is also linked to the various components that work to strengthen these languages.
In the case of soft culture, it can sometimes reflect a country’s global strength, while at other times, it can also play a powerful role in identifying hidden values. Overall, languages have become a matter of national prestige in today’s contemporary world.
In this context, China’s Mandarin language has emerged as a soft tool that has become synonymous with Chinese diplomacy. The voices of Chinese diplomats do not merely verbalise the language but attempt to strengthen its influence, which is the result of decades of effort. It is noteworthy that in a confluence of more than 300 languages and dialects, Mandarin has not only achieved a dominant position, but has also established itself globally.
Although there are 22 official languages that are listed in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, all languages are respected in India. However, conflicts on linguistic grounds are not inevitable, and there is no discrimination against any language.
From a statistical perspective, Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India, with approximately 528 million people speaking it as their first language. This represents around 43% of India’s total population.
However, if the people who speak Hindi as their second or third language are included in this, then the percentage increases to approximately 57 percent of the total population.
These figures are not merely for demonstration purposes but are sufficient to show that if more than half of the population of the most populous country in the world is fluent in Hindi then there has to be a greater need for global recognition for Hindi.
When the voice of a population which represents 17.7 percent of the world’s population is not recognized globally, it is a worrying situation. The absence of Hindi among the six official languages in the United Nations shows that our linguistic existence as a country is in dire straits.
In this context, when we look at the Chinese foreign policy, which made the Beijing dialect its primary base which then helped Mandarin in achieving a new status and direction globally.
This is also reflected in global institutions, where it represents 17 percent of the world’s total population. In this sense, India needs to learn from China’s Mandarin diplomacy.
Mandarin is not only limited to being listed as an official language in global institutions, but it has also spread as well as maintained its influence globally. In 2004, China began promoting the spread of Mandarin by establishing Confucius Institutes. By 2026, these institutes have significantly promoted Chinese soft tools. They are now spread across approximately 164 countries.
China is far ahead of us on the linguistic aspect of soft culture. At the academic level, efforts are still needed in the Indian context, although Hindi chairs are being established in foreign universities.
Now, another perspective which revolves around this is the fact that senior Chinese officials communicate in Mandarin over English on all global platforms. While this might appear to be a small observation, there is a layer of soft diplomacy behind this move. This is an attempt to show that they speak Mandarin while also establishing their global strength by leveraging their soft culture dominance on the linguistic scale.
Meanwhile Indian officials prioritise English, which in a way reflects the colonial mindset. Even today, we are stuck in the languages of the Britishers, while we have the world’s oldest civilisations alive. This needs to be taken into consideration.
Although the Indian government has made significant efforts in recent years with the support of ICCR, Ministry of Culture, IITs, & Ministry of IT to promote Hindi in many areas. Efforts are underway such as the UN in Hindi, World Hindi Conference, the establishment of the World Hindi Secretariat and fellowships for foreign students to learn Hindi in India, but there is still a needx for a model that can establish Hindi as a soft tool in diplomatic dimensions at global stages.
Shreyansh Kumar Gupta is a student of Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi. Views are personal.
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