English Vinglish, Hindi Vindi So, when Modi announced that all social media information being relayed by the government would be in Hindi, I thought to myself - thats odd. Then, I read that top-level government officials were stacking up their libraries with Hindi books and dictionaries. A pro-business Prime Minister, who understands the value of English is Indias global advantage - a government leader who is only too aware of his staffs capabilities and background - a newly elected PM, who is yet to set a clear agenda for operations – a political leader, who had used social-media to his advantage for years leading up to his epic victory on the national platform - why would he decide to pick his fight, so early on, on a controversial topic like reverting back to Hindi? Well, there are so many beautiful answers to why Modi did what he did. The first being is that he wanted to appease the masses, the men and women who voted for him, and let them know that he still represents them in Delhi. Just by this one genius stroke, Modi reached out directly to his core voters. Second, and I wasn’t aware of this at all, was the growing importance of Hindi across the country. Despite literacy rates climbing in the past decade, the spread of regional languages has not suffered as a consequence. In the rural parts of India, improved access to education has translated to increased demand of regional languages. This part is so counter-intuitive and yet it makes so much sense. A Bengali man or woman in Jhargram may be well versed in English, but would still choose to read and converse in the language that is most familiar – Bengali. In many ways, Modi’s move is highlighting a growing trend – acknowledging not just Hindi but other regional languages as well. It’s not to say that English will be replaced. It cannot be replaced. India’s business standing at the global stage stems from India’s strong hold of the language. China has been trying to replicate India’s success with English for over a decade, and has still been failing miserably. Access to English is India’s core strength, and while that cannot be messed with, it makes sense to allow individuals to ‘breathe’ in their language of choice. And, for most of India, the language of convenience – ease – has been Hindi. I work for the Mexicans. The Mexicans I work with are all able to speak in perfect English. Yet, by themselves, they revert to Spanish. They read Spanish papers, follow soccer on the Spanish channels, and write ‘jaja’ instead of ‘haha’ on social media sites. English and Spanish co-exist and occupy a unique role – both have a purpose and both are in business. nybooks/blogs/nyrblog/2014/jun/09/india-newspapers-after-english/
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 00:26:01 +0000
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