On 25 March, Nagaland higher education minister T.I.A. Longkumer created history when he spoke in Hindi in the budget session of the state assembly.
New Delhi: The BJP-backed Progressive Democratic Alliance government in Nagaland is giving a big push to Hindi to facilitate national integration even as the state awaits an early solution to the Naga issue, India’s oldest separatist movement.
On 25 March, minister for higher education Temjen Imna Along Longkumer created history when he delivered his speech in Hindi in the budget session of the state assembly.
Nagaland BJP minister speaks in Hindi at Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA): Opposition attacks.
Nagaland Chief Minister promises to organise a workshop for the newly elected members of the 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA).#Nagaland #BJP #NDPP #NPF #PDA #WeTheNagas pic.twitter.com/0A1lsIqnop
— WeTheNagas (@WeTheNagas) March 25, 2018
Longkumer, a proud patron of the RSS-affiliated Janjati Shiksha Samiti, chose to speak in Hindi, instead of English or Nagamese, to congratulate educationist Piyong Temjen Jamir, who was recently conferred the Padma Shri by President Ram Nath Kovind for his contribution to promotion of Hindi in the state.
The first-time legislator, who won the Alongtaki constituency in Mokokchung district on a BJP ticket, said the government is planning to promote Hindi as a subject in higher educational institutions to help improve job prospects of Naga youth.
“We are already saturated in Nagaland in terms of job, industry or all kinds of economic growth. There’s a great influx of our Naga educated people towards the mainland. It is a drawback if we can’t speak Hindi,” he said.
The Modi government had in June 2016 taken a decision to promote the use of Hindi in the northeast and south India to make the language more popular.
Chairing a meeting of Hindi Advisory Committee, DoNER minister Jitendra Singh had said that Hindi has the capacity to serve not only as a common medium of communication for the whole country, but it also carries higher stakes for youngsters who aspire for jobs in corporate sector and multi-national companies where knowledge of Hindi is given an additional weightage during selection.
Sebastian Zumvu, press secretary of the Naga People’s Front, told ThePrint that the push for Hindi first came in 2016.
“BJP chief Amit Shah discussed setting up of Hindi learning institutes in every district with former CM T.R. Zeliang,” said Zumvu. He agrees that the promotion of Hindi will be a first step towards integration since “the Naga solution will be within the Constitution of India”.
How the Hindi movement started in Nagaland
Jamir, principal of Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (RPS) in Dimapur, is the lone Naga who spearheaded the movement to promote Hindi since the 1970s. An alumnus of the RPS’ Wardha institute in Maharashtra, he started out as an instructor at its Dimapur branch that was registered in 1963. The work, however, had begun as early as 1954, said Ashok Dhandhaare, a pracharak in Wardha.
“Now, we have 20 centres across Nagaland from where 3,500-4,000 students appear for examinations every September,” Dhandhaare told ThePrint.
“Earlier, only 8-10 students studied in the institute in Wardha, but now we have about 60 boys and girls from Nagaland,” he added.
The institute came into being from Mahatma Gandhi’s resolution in the 1929 Lahore Congress to promote Hindi as a common language in the country, especially in non-Hindi speaking areas. RPS is one of the nine voluntary Hindi promotion organisations financed under ‘Hindi Shiksha Samiti’, a central government scheme administered by the HRD ministry.
In the northeast, the first branch of RPS was established in Guwahati in 1938.
Will it affect Naga solution?
Given the sensitive issue of the “Naga national movement”, the aggressive promotion of Hindi has raised suspicions in people’s mind about the central government’s intention.
Even Longkumer is of the view that a gradual approach will find easier acceptance among the local populace. “If we can introduce Hindi workshops in every semester in government and private colleges, even if just for a week, that would be a giant step towards progress,” he said.
However, he stressed that the political solution to the Naga issue “has nothing to do with Hindi language”, adding that the Indian government had already recognised the unique status of the Nagas.
Longkumer also claims that learning Hindi will facilitate national integration, which will translate to respecting and understanding different cultures.
“We need to improve our intonation only. We speak Hindi with a Naga accent. If that improves, we will sound like other Indians except for our looks,” he said.
Imposing hindi on non hindi ppl would certainly not be helpful in integrating India. What they will achieve? Nothing but killing the regional language and culture which would certainly wound the feelings of millions of natives.
Cultural colonization was the beginning point of political economy colonization. Language is the most effective tool of cultural colonization. Read Edward Said’s book on cultural imperialism. If Nagas wants to preserve our identity, we need to keep our cultural identity. Naga intellectuals should debate on this.
Hindi is a regional language of north indian cities, it is sad and unpleasant that it is being imposed on rest of india
I mean Nagaland’ s higher education minister instead of governor
Hindi is a regressive language,it will lead to india towards disintegration. Hindi is not a language of knowledge, we cant not see India united and progreevive while using this language. This speech of naga governor in hindi is bad news fir naga people, be united and oppose this unprudent move
Soon will see hordes from the Bimaru states landing up here. Say goodbye to your culture.
How will Hindi help in national integration?
How will Hindi fetch job?
The only job Hindi can fetch is selling “pani poori”..
Poor people loosing their own identities!
Well said. Samosa also perhaps? Sacriying one’s identify for a job is like a prostitution.
Surprisingly the Papu gang/ Italian Mafias has not branded it as safronisation, communalisaton, jumlization etc etc.
Shame for giving up regional language and calling hindi for national integration . Same on you B… For giving up mother language
“Hindi helps national integration”. What a joke!!!
”Learning Hindi gives better job opportunity” is better !!!!!!!!!!!
Hindi is Pakistani language, not Indian language. It gives Pakistani and Bomblasters from North Indian to pass of as a
‘Hindi’ migrants —- until a mob gathers when that person is suspected of child kidnapping – which is mostly commited by the Hindians.
Yet another place where Hindi Is bombarded at the expense of local culture.Hindi promotes national integration,the very premise of bjp argument itself is flawed .
My humble request to all the people in NE not to allow this from happening if you don’t want to loose everything that you is yours and become a slaves.
Hindi isn’t going to help anyone get a job in this global economy. English is.
There, China is aggressively promoting the acceptance of the English language do that it’s population gains parity with the developed world.
Here, we are stuck on forcing Hindi on non Hindi speaking regions, with no clarity on how that’s going to translate into a higher standard of living. Period.
This could be a great move towards integration!Languages makes only the bondage of friendship
Inegration is another name of friendship And if they are shared and thoughtfully expressed nation will become a blue print of progress.
Why this Hindi push in non Hindi land?? why not push the language of the land?? Which Indian language is given push in Hindi states for the sake of national integration??
Great,now the Southern states should follow this example.
Go Nagaland go let the universe know your potential of social adaptability.
Bihar is waking up to its languages and perhaps soon enough, the south of Rajastan may too. Tyrants may well lose the day. No matter how hard they push!!
Naga heading towards mainland, as if there are many jobs in India.