A recent ad by a leading chocolate company has been doing the rounds on social media due to its relevance in the current three-language controversy that has been created by vested interests again. It features a group of ladies getting together for an afternoon cuppa and gossip, in what appears to be a north Indian mohalla setting. A new entry to the neighbourhood, “Mrs Iyer from Chennai”, introduces herself to the ladies with the tagline, “My hindi… thoda thoda”.
While Mrs Iyer embodies Bollywood’s Tamilian stereotype, the equally stereotyped gossiping Punjabi aunty mixes her “thoda–thoda” English with ‘punjabistani’, conveying that the language of gossip is universal. While the ad shows us that shared chocolate surmounts linguistic difficulties, it also rams home the idea that a unique national language can mitigate communication barriers.
The recent controversy over the imposition of Hindi has its history in the freedom struggle, when student-led protests would have been engineered in the erstwhile Madras State. This was done to stop the perceived dominance of Hindi, stoked by the erroneous perception that this would make it secondary to a north Indian language. However, the move indirectly worked against the unification of Indians during the colonial era.
Since then, feeding Tamil-Hindi antagonism has made for good politics in Tamil Nadu. During my extensive travels in the state, I never encountered any language barriers or communication issues, even during my speeches in Hindi. The issue, however, remains a political hot potato that the DMK uses as an engine to remain in power.
In 1965, the Communist Party of India (CPI) suggested a three-language formula for Tamil Nadu—one that made Hindi a compulsory language. It may be noted that CPI is an INDIA bloc partner and presently an ally of the DMK. The party won two Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu (its only Lok Sabha seats anywhere in India) with DMK’s support in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. And they accuse the BJP of ‘imposing Hindi’ in Tamil Nadu when the three-language policy in NEP does not make Hindi compulsory, but completely optional.
Three-language policy
When India gained Independence, illiteracy was rampant and the nascent government, with then-education minister Maulana Azad, envisaged widespread changes to the educational policy with a strong focus on government control. A National Education Commission, also called the Kothari Commission, was set up to drastically revamp the colonial educational system. It was tasked with introducing a standardised national system of education more suited for India, at the time a fledgling democracy on the brink of an aspirational future.
On the recommendations of this commission, the National Education Policy was proposed to be brought in. Among other provisions, the NEP proposed a “three-language formula” to be implemented in secondary education—instruction of English, the official language of the state where a school was based, and Hindi. The formula sought to bridge the wide chasm between India’s West-influenced elite—who chose to adopt English as their first language—and the masses. Embracing a ‘national language’, it was thought, would unify the entire country under a ‘universal’ language.
A nationalistic move, this was displayed as ‘neo-imperialistic’. The effort to declare Hindi as a national language was made to fail for ulterior motives. The idea, in its original form, was quite democratic. Students in Hindi-speaking states would learn Hindi, English, and a modern Indian language while students in non-Hindi-speaking states would learn their regional language, English, and Hindi.
Also read: Kerala Congress is now left of Left. And confused
Languages in modern India
There is a need to declare an Indian language as a tool for national integration. Under British rule, English was imposed on us as the official language in 1837, to acculturate Indian people and create a bank of English-speaking employees as servants. Clerks, bearers, and accountants were all encouraged to learn English—how else would the wheels of the mighty Empire turn efficiently? This gave rise to an entire generation of an ‘educated’ Indian middle class, called babus.
The English education system was further promulgated with the help of Christian missionaries and created an educated ‘elite class’ distinct from the illiterate commoners. Since Independence, India has not had a national language. However, the Official Language Rules, 1976 (As Amended, 1987, 2007, 2011) in the Constitution declare English as one of the “Official Languages” to be used “for Official Purpose of the Union”.
In 2019, a survey conducted by Lok Foundation in collaboration with Oxford University found that a mere 6 per cent of respondents spoke English. At the same time, India is home to the largest number of English speakers in the post-colonial world, with over 12.8 lakh Indian people or 10 per cent of the population speaking English, as per the 2011 Census.
English remains the language of the elite.
Why Hindi?
Why was Hindi chosen as the quasi-national language by our constitutional forefathers? As per the 2011 Census, 43 per cent of Indians speak Hindi. The rest, thanks to India’s biggest cultural export, Bollywood, speak Hindi “thoda-thoda”—as the chocolate ad shows us. It is imperative to break the colonial stranglehold English has on our ‘Khan Market’ gang. While many of us have been educated in the Queen’s language throughout school and university, it is time to take pride in our own languages by selecting a native language as the official one.
It is not political or linguistic hegemony that drives the need to make Hindi an official language and part of the three-language triangle. It is expediency. Hindi was also the language for the freedom struggle and hence enjoys a status other modern Indian languages do not. Unfortunately, many of us have been left behind due to a lack of education in our own languages.
Also read: Bengal’s bhadralok shut out Dalit literature for decades. The monopoly is now cracking
Anti–Hindi movement
The anti–Hindi protests in Tamil Nadu date back to 1938, when the Madras Presidency attempted to introduce Hindi in schools. This was when the Indian freedom struggle was at its peak and the Government of India Act was at work.
After Independence, student–led protests in the 1960s unseated the ruling Congress, replacing it with Dravidian parties such as the DMK and the AIADMK. Only Dravidian parties have formed the government in Tamil Nadu since. And it is these parties that are once again protesting the three-language policy, calling it north Indian imperialism. This is when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have promoted Hindi as the alternative to English.
Critics of the policy forget that the BJP is no longer led by Hindi–speaking north Indians. In fact, both the gentlemen in charge—“Ram and Shyam”, as they are affectionately called—are not native speakers of Hindi. For them, Hindi is as much a non-native language as it is to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Political interests of Dravidian parties continue to hold national interests to ransom and insist on creating a national divide. All this, over a language that, at best, will remain a third language for Tamil Nadu. It won’t be taught for longer than the three years of middle school during which a CBSE student is required to learn a third language.
An extract from DMK founder and former Tamil Nadu CM CN Annadurai’s 1976 speech on the Official Languages Bill reveals the depth of insecurity among DMK leadership.
“The consequence of the imposition of Hindi as the official language will create a definite, permanent and sickening advantage to the Hindi-speaking States…. In this problem, the DMK occupies only a very small place. It depends upon the future of this Bill whether the DMK is to occupy a greater sphere or occupy the same sphere,” said Annadurai.
A classic case of party over nation. Perhaps it is time for the DMK to take pride in Kathak as we north Indians do in Bharatanatyam.
English in the US
“It is long past time that English is declared as the official language of the United States,” said US President Donald Trump while making the declaration through an executive order.
In its almost 250 years of independence, the US has never designated a national language. Nearly 6.8 crore people out of the US’ total population of 34 crore speak a language other than English, as per the US Census Bureau. This includes more than 160 Native American languages, alongside Spanish, various Chinese languages, and Arabic.
English is widely spoken in the country and most immigrant families are bilingual at the very least. Yet, an official language that binds the nation has been imposed on the Americans—who are very protective of their First Amendment rights.
“Speaking English not only opens doors economically, but it helps newcomers engage in their communities, participate in national traditions, and give back to our society,” stated the executive order.
Also read: A pat on the back from Donald Trump won’t fix Pakistan’s fragile ties with the US
The Chinese example
China has pushed linguistic unification despite protests over ‘cultural suppression’. After the Communist Revolution in 1949, the government sought to unify the country linguistically to strengthen national identity and prevent separatism. Today, Mandarin is central to China’s national identity and international diplomacy. Its status as the official language has facilitated bureaucratic efficiency, trade, and economic growth, allowing different regions to interact seamlessly.
China officially recognises Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua) as its national language. The country follows a strict language policy that promotes Mandarin as the primary medium of communication, education, and governance, while also recognising regional languages and dialects to a limited extent.
Before 1950, China had a low literacy rate (around 20 per cent) due to the complexity of classical Chinese and dialect diversity. The government simplified characters and promoted Mandarin, raising literacy to over 95 per cent today. This has led to China’s meteoric rise as an economic and political superpower. The traditional Chinese characters, much harder to follow, are now found only in Taiwan and Canada. If India has to unite against imperialist English, it will have to surely adopt an alternative that is easier to understand.
To quote a famous Raj Kapoor song, “Mera joota hai japani, yeh patloon inglistani… phir bhi dil hai hindustani (My boot is Japanese, my pants are English, yet my heart is Indian).” The heart will remain Indian, whether a citizen speaks any of the 19,500 dialects of the 121-odd languages of this great and glorious land.
The introduction of a universal language that belongs to the subcontinent and not imperialistic England will hardly take away from the pride one takes in one’s mother tongue.
Meenakshi Lekhi is a BJP leader, lawyer and social activist. Her X handle is @M_Lekhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
Dear moderator,
What does it take to have a comment published? Please write back to my email with your moderation guidelines.
It’s ridiculous. Tamil Nadu has no cards to play and hold the centre to ransom. In fact all the financial cards are with the centre , especially after GST.
It needs a more scholarly and erudite education minister to find a way out of this NDA created imbroglio.
Some flexing on both sides is required. Students in North can be given a choice of Hindi, English plus any modern European or S Indian language upto std 8.
Students in South can be asked to take their State language plus English plus one out of Hindi , a modern European language or a S Indian language other than their own.
Teacher shortage cannot be an excuse anymore with online classes getting so popular.
Dear madam,
As a proud Tamilian who has learned to speak Hindi and married to a Rajasthani, I would like to get the statistics of number people outside the Southern or North Eastern states who can speak any language other than their own, Hindi or English. In fact, outside the metros, even English diction is so poor. So why don’t we first impose the 2 or 3-language policy in BJP-ruled UP, Haryana or Rajasthan before holding the non-BJP state education budget funds ransom? The number of people who learn Hindi voluntarily will go down sharply if people in TN, AP or the NE states are forced to learn Hindi.
Then why Chinese are trying hard to study English, and government is promoting young chinese to learn English as well……what you are saying is that English is imperialistic, Hindi is not….but for South of India Hindi is imperialistic because someone insist them to learn Hindi, people will learn the language when the need arise, there are lot of immigrant workers in TN who is learning to speak Tamil, so there is no need for a government to come and say that you must learn this language – Hindi to be a better Indian….None of the north indian states does not teach any of the south indian languages as part of the NEP 2020, Why?
No, cherry picking on ads, everyone learns English as second language in school. Government or private, if not the medium of instruction it is the second language.
If you feel many people are not able to pick it up as a common link language, why do you think a third language can do that ?
Spoken like a true Hindi speaker. Half of the story told, other half left for interpretation. Am sorry, we are proud Dravidians. Our languages were created long before an idea of even “bharath” was even there. If you want to be so proud of a singular connecting language, let’s all learn Tamil. I am not a tamilinian and yet I understand their concern. Stop pushing that language down our throats. We would rather learn a dead language like sanskrit than a dirty urdu influenced language like Hindi. It’s not even a classical language!!
Butt hurt Hindi speakers are killing their own native languages like Awadhi and they want to to dictate terms to better educated South Indians to kill our own languages. No thanks. Just because you are an ignoramus, you can’t expect the south to be brought down to your level of thinking.
Request North Indian BJP leaders to debate with Stalin in Hindi about the importance of learning Hindi for Tamils
Same old arguments to support a stupid cause which wastes time & diverts attention. Let people learn what they want to, based on their interests & what the market values. Why does the government need to dictate what people should learn.
PS : National integration is such a weird argument to take. As if we need a common language for that.