Stop Hindi Imposition Campaign
The Stop Hindi Imposition campaign is an internet activism campaign attempting to bring linguistic equality to India.[1] It started as hashtag activism campaign.[2] The movement started in August 2015 when users shared examples and stories of Hindi imposition with the hashtags #StopHindiImposition, #StopHindiImperialism and #NotHindiRepublic. #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial hashtag also started in September 2016.[3]
Again, Kannadigas started an awareness movement on 10 and 11 July 2017 indicating Hindi imposition in South Indian branches of Banks by a Twitter hashtag #NammaBankuKannadaBeku [4]
Origin
The Indian people speak 122 major languages and 1599 other languages. The official languages of the Union Government are Hindi in the Devanagari script and English. The 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists 22 languages that have been referred to as scheduled languages and given official recognition and encouragement. The Government of India awarded the distinction of "classical language" to Tamil, Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Odia.[5] In 2006, an "Anti Hindi-imposition conference" was held in Bangalore on 14 September, which is celebrated as Hindi Divas ("Hindi Day") in Indian central government institutions. The aim of the conference was to discuss plans for countering the imposition of Hindi on Kannadigas and the central government's Rajbhasha policy.[6][7]
Kannada activists, including KRVKarnataka Rakshana Vedike, protested in December 2011 against Hindi imposition strategies of the Central government on Bangalore Metro, by questioning the need for Hindi. "Hindi is not our national language. There is no need to speak Hindi at stations. For people who do not know Kannada, announcements are made in English, which is the accepted language of communication",[8] and for this, BMRCl spokesperson Chavan promised to look into the demands of the Vedike. The protesters gave the BMRCL a week to reply to their demands, and subsequently many boards were updated.
On the 69th Independence Day of India, Narendra Modi delivered his prime ministerial speech in Hindi. This launched the movement, which slowly started trending on Twitter in several cities in South India, including Bengaluru and Chennai. Government advertisements and websites that used Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states were pointed out by online activists.[9][10] The hashtag #StopHindiImposition trended nationally on 23 August 2015.[11] Internet users raised issues including the absence of local languages in the security and safety instructions on flight announcements, trains and even LPG cylinders.[12] In Bangalore, activists questioned the use of Hindi over other linguistic majorities in the trains of Namma Metro.[13]
Reach and Impact
The Twitter activity launched a debate on issues faced by non-Hindi speakers.[14] Previously, the announcements at Bengaluru Metro stations and inside the trains were made in English and Hindi. Post-campaign, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) started making more announcements in Kannada, and Hindi announcements have been reduced.[15]
The campaign was covered by news media and non-Hindi websites. It also got support from major cities in the south, east and west of India, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Mysuru, Kolkata and Mumbai.[16]
Photo Exhibition
A group of techies organised a photo exhibition at Ravindra Kalakshetra Art Gallery on 13 September 2015 on "India's language policy must promote equality".[12]
Karnataka State Government Stand
The Chief minister of Karnataka also raised concerns against the Central Government’s imposition of Hindi in South Indian states in June 2017. [17] He said, "The Karnataka government will not tolerate the imposition of Hindi. Hindi is being used in Metro rail citing the three-language formula. Metro is not a central government project. The major funding is by the state government."
Karnataka Political Parties Support
Karnataka BJP, Congress, and AAP members also supported the campaign.[18][19]
See also
- Anti-Hindi agitations of Tamil Nadu
- Bengali Language Movement in India
- Bengali Language Movement
- Linguistic rights
- Bengali Language Movement (Manbhum)
- List of languages by number of native speakers in India
- List of endangered languages in India
References
- ↑ "Indians tweet up for linguistic equality and against Hindi imposition". Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ↑ "Twitterati protest Hindi 'imposition'".
- ↑ "Why #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial Has Been Trending". www.thestorypedia.com. Retrieved 2016-10-22.
- ↑ "Hindi imposition by Banks".
- ↑ "Census Data 2001 : General Note".
- ↑ "AIR station attacked by Kannada activists".
- ↑ "Bangalore Metro, Hindi hegemony & flawed understanding of cosmopolitanism".
- ↑ "KRV protest against use of Hindi in Bangalore metro announcements".
- ↑ "StopHindiImposition: The Return of Language Wars".
- ↑ "Hindi Nation: Amend The Constitution For Linguistic Equality".
- ↑ "Opposing Hindi imposition is not anti-national". Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Bengalurueans take to Twitter to raise their voice against 'Hindi Imperialism'".
- ↑ "Bangalore Metro, Hindi hegemony & flawed understanding of cosmopolitanism". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ↑ "No, India, Hindi Will Not Take Over Without a Fight".
- ↑ "It is no longer a metro-politan affair". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
- ↑ "#StopHindiImposition: Why Bangalore will lead the next round of anti-Hindi protest". Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ↑ "Karnataka to protest against imposition of Hindi: Siddaramaiah".
- ↑ "Bengaluru says No to Hindi imposition with #NammaMetroHindiBeda".
- ↑ "Hindi is another Indian language and nothing more".
External links
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