Binoy Viswam, a Rajya Sabha representative for Kerala’s Communist Party of India (CPI), wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to express his disapproval of the “11th Report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages,” claiming that it gives Hindi an excessive amount of weight to make it the dominant language in India.
Viswam wrote to Prime Minister Modi with the following statement: “I write to register my utmost concern to the ’11th Report of the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages’ that gives Hindi an excessive amount of importance to make it the dominant language in India. The imposition of Hindi over other languages in a country with many dialects is highly insulting. It endangers the significance of the 21 different official languages listed in the 8th schedule of the Constitution.
The MP for the Upper House alleged that the report’s proposals repeat controversial and risky viewpoints that will irreparably harm the “Idea of India.” The primary concept of the study, “Hindi for Hindustan,” which calls for the imposition of Hindi in all Central government institutions, from educational institutions to public offices, is an explicit rejection of India’s diversity, according to him.
Such a decision, according to Viswam, will have a disproportionately negative impact on non-Hindi speaking students, who make up a sizable part of students at esteemed institutions like the IIT or IIM.
“The report’s suggestion to discipline public employees who do not speak Hindi is another illustration of its hidden objective and paves the way for significant upheaval in the nation. To stoke, that fire is a risky and misguided action, as the imposition of a single language to represent the totality of the Indian people has been the source of considerable opposition and discontent since Independent India’s founding, “The CPI leader wrote.
Viswam said that several Supreme Court justices, constitutional law experts, historians, politicians, and other well-known individuals have repeatedly emphasized the need to avoid the temptation to impose uniformity and safeguard India’s plurality.
“Given the preceding, I fervently implore you to retract this report and seek a broader dialogue on this delicate topic before making such policy decisions. A person’s mother language should never be given a secondary rank since India is a country of many different cultures and each citizen’s mother tongue is a part of their identity. Doing so will only produce problems for India’s unity, “Added he.
