SHILLONG, April 11: Slamming the move to make Hindi compulsory up to Class X in the Northeast, the Voice of the People Party (VPP) on Monday accused the BJP-led NDA government of attempting to make India a country of one culture, one language and one religion.
VPP president, Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit said the aim and objective of the RSS is also to turn India into a “Hindu Rashtra”.
He said this is not acceptable since Hindi is a very difficult subject for the non-Hindi speakers and it will put unnecessary pressure on the students of the region. He was also of the view that this would endanger the identity of the indigenous people.
“English is the official language and the medium of instruction in schools and colleges in Meghalaya. Making Hindi mandatory will be a burden for the schoolchildren. Hindi should be a third language and not compulsory,” Basaiawmoit said.
He further stated that the Constitution of India has made it very clear that Hindi and English are the official languages of the country.
The VPP president said the statement of Union Home Minister, Amit Shah on Hindi and the decision of the Chief Ministers of the states in the Northeast amount to the imposition of Hindi on the non-Hindi-speaking population of the region.
He suggested that the Centre should instead expedite the inclusion of Khasi language in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
Deputy Chief Minister, Prestone Tynsong was defensive of the Centre and said he was not surprised that the Centre was planning to make Hindi a compulsory subject till Class X.
“The state government in the past had announced Hindi as one on the important subjects. But it does not mean that an attempt is being made to dilute English and local languages since they will remain as compulsory subjects,” Tynsong told reporters.
He pointed out that use of Hindi cannot be avoided, especially during official visits to Delhi.
According to him, it is important for the present generation of students to learn Hindi till Class X as it is definitely going to benefit them if they have to go outside the state.
“We feel that it is important for students to learn Hindi since they will need to communicate with the people of mainland India. We cannot deny the fact that we have to learn to communicate in Hindi if we have to travel outside the state,” he said.
On the recognition of the Khasi and Garo language in the Eight Schedule of the Constitution, Tynsong said that the Centre is still examining the matter.
“We are aggressively pursuing this matter with the Government of India,” he added.
