Dimapur, April 10 (MExN): Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent reported statement that all the eight states of the North-East have agreed to make “Hindi compulsory in schools up to Class X” continued to evoke sharp reactions in Nagaland with many questioning the State Government over the issue.
“For Congress, Hindi as compulsory subject is unacceptable. Hindi has been optional but it cannot be forced,” stated K Therie, President, Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee (NPCC), in a press release.
It must be noted here that Shanavas C, Principal Director, School Education, Nagaland already clarified on April 8 that department or the state government “has not received any direction or communication from the Government of India (GoI) as yet” with regard to the comment, while the department issued more clarification on April 10.
State Govt has compromised spirit of Art 371 (A): Therie
Meanwhile, implying that the State Government has already agreed to implement the same, Therie maintained that the former’s action has compromised the “spirit of Article371 (A),” the special provision in the Indian Constitution with regard to Nagaland.
The inherent language is identity with social connections and relations and the State has 32 languages and maybe upto 100s dialects, he pointed out. “We are unable to develop and protect our own languages although GoI has provided to protect and develop them even if the language is used only in one village. Bringing Hindi as a compulsory subject is the last nail to the coffin of identity,” he asserted.
To this end, Therie alleged that 20 years of Neiphiu Rio’s rule in alliance with BJP has changed the value of Nagaland before the world. ‘He shared 20 seats with BJP, gave them 50% of the Cabinet and the lone Rajya Sabha seat to represent Nagaland and now conceded Hindi language as a compulsory subject in the curriculum,’ he added.
“The 48 regional MLAs are voiceless,” Therie alleged, attributing the same to “corrupt money.”
Chief Minister and Advisor, School Education should clarify: NSUI
The Nagaland unit of the National Students’ Union of India, the student wing of the Indian National Congress, also registered ‘strong objection’ to the reported statement and argued that Hindi language should be optional, and not compulsory.
While the NSUI Nagaland is not averse to anybody willing to learn Hindi language it should be optional and not ‘Compulsory’. A diverse country like India with different culture, traditions and languages should not be diluted with such cheap tactics, it said.
The unit further pointed out that National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 clearly stated that “No language will be imposed on any state.” Education is a State subject and the Centre should not try to ‘test the waters’ to disrupt the harmony of the country by going overboard, it added.
To this end, NSUI Nagaland demanded that the Chief Minister and Advisor, School Education clarify on the statement.
Whereas the School Education department through its Principal Director has clarified that all reports carried by the media are false, the NSUI Nagaland questions whether the Home Minister of India is lying or the School Education department is at fault, it added.
Noting that only 43.63% of the total population considered Hindi as their mother tongue as per 2011 census, the NSUI Nagaland further asserted that while promotion of any language is encouraged, the “imposition of a particular language will not be tolerated at all and will be objected tooth and nail.”
It also cautioned the state government not to take any such decisions which would ‘hamper and affect the career of thousands of students.’
Should be opposed by all indigenous people: NIPF
The Nagaland Indigenous People's Forum (NIPF), while condemning the reported statement, said that ‘compulsory Hindi’ should be opposed by all the indigenous people for whom it is a “foreign language.”
It is clearly visible in the eye of all Indians that Hindi was never the official language of the Indian Union which comprises of different people groups, different regions, different cultures, different races, etc. The coming together of these people as one nation has made India unique, it said.
Accordingly, in a press release from its Media Cell, the NIPF stated that any move to impose "Hindi" as compulsory subject in schools up to class 10 is “an invasion into the educational system of the country.”
Any such move by any political party even in the future would be viewed as “more dangerous than political invasion,” it added.
The NIPF also questioned the of the leaders of NEDA (North-East Democratic Alliance) and leaders of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) in Nagaland regarding Shah’s statement
Have the leaders of the 8 NE states really given their consent to the move of imposing Hindi upto class 10 and if the statement of the Chairperson Official Language Committee is true, when did the people's representative from those states consulted the people whom they represent? NIPF further posed.
