Hindi may be the new lingua franca of Indian diplomacy

[prasad1]

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Like many other cultural practices that are a legacy of British colonial rule, English remained the lingua franca of the Indian diplomacy since the country's independence in 1947. All conversations and correspondence by members of the elite Indian Foreign Service were conducted largely in English, even though Hindi is the country's national language. But that is about the change.


With a new nationalist government in power, Hindi is now becoming the new language of Indian diplomacy and Indian diplomats, particularly not so conversant with the language in this multilingual nation that is home to 22 official language and hundreds of others not so 'official', are scrambling to master it to be able to keep pace with their new political masters.


The language switch was witnessed on the very first day of the new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who conversed in Hindi with visiting leaders of SAARC countries. Modi's mother tongue is Gujarati, but like most Indians he speaks both Hindi and English equally well.


Not just Modi, even external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj spoke extensively in Hindi on assuming office last week and has let it be known that she plans to speak more in Hindi with visiting leaders with the help of interpreters.


"Modi carried on a conversation in English with the leaders, but the finer points were conveyed in Hindi," said former diplomat Chinmaya R Gharekhan.
Hindi may be the new lingua franca of Indian diplomacy - The Times of India

 

[vgane]

How about officers who cannot speak in Hindi....Will it not look like belittling them as they are unable to converse in Hindi...The article is silent on that..

 

[Naina_Marbus]

How about officers who cannot speak in Hindi....Will it not look like belittling them as they are unable to converse in Hindi...The article is silent on that..

There is a subtle undertone here:

The title of the article says: " Hindi may be the new lingua franca of Indian diplomacy". Yes, it is just that - to be used in dealing with foreign diplomats and other foreign visitors on official tour as representatives of their country.

This is how the French do, and perhaps many other countries do. Visiting foreign dignitaries to these countries use interpreters to translate the speeches. India was probably the only country in which politicians talked to foreign diplomats in English.

I think Modi is trying to tell the world that we are Indians, so we will speak to you in our language only.

 

[sarang]

Samskrit fans are elated that some MPs took oath in samskrit. They want modi to speak in samskrit with foreign dignitaries, to create jobs for translators.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

Like many other cultural practices that are a legacy of British colonial rule, English remained the lingua franca of the Indian diplomacy since the country's independence in 1947. All conversations and correspondence by members of the elite Indian Foreign Service were conducted largely in English, even though Hindi is the country's national language. But that is about the change.........

Dear Prasad Sir,

You have mentioned that hindi is the national language of India. But nowhere in any official government documents the word 'national' is used to describe hindi sir. The word 'official' is used but not 'national'.

When it comes to India, which is multi-linguistic, the term 'national language' cannot be defined. Although Hindi is understook by a majority of the Indian population, it is not the mother-tongue of a majority. Moreover even in hindi there are many variants. For instance the hindi spoken in UP is different from the hindi spoken in MP, Bihar, etc. We are under a false-impression that hindi is our national language. Hindi has not been officially declared as a national language although Gandhi and Nehru attempted but gave up on facing resistance from South Indians. Many North Indians often complain that when they visit Tamil Nadu, especially Madras, they find difficulty communicating coz no one speaks hindi. It is not a fault of Tamil Nadu folks but the fault is on those visitors from north to assume that all-over india people speak hindi. They fail to understand that the language in Tamilnadu is Tamil and hence a Tamilnadu person is obliged to speak only in Tamil. In any region, the regional language takes precedence. Moreover hindi has a scope only within India whereas English has a larger scope although not global. A common man cannot spend his life-time learning numerous languages. Most Tamilians are able to survive and succeed with just Tamil and English. They learn hindi only when needed. For any common person, any language which is not his mother-tongue, is a foreign language although not from a foreign nation. We cannot live isolated from the world. We need a language to communicate with most foreigners if not all. Thankfully it is a blessing in disguise that we were ruled by the British, hence we are able to learn and speak English which is the most widely spoken and understood language in the world and which is the best language for indians to communicate with foreigners.

If the frenchmen speak french in France and the germans speak german in Germany that is because they were not colonised by any imperial powers. They were imperial powers themselves. Thankfully we indians are better off than those colonized by the French or German coz they can't speak English, which has a wider global scope than french or german, better than Indians.

India being a multi-linguistic state, with every language having a significant population speaking it, no language can claim nor qualify for 'National Language' status, howsoever you define the term 'National Language'.

Moreover English is indispensable when it comes to learning Engineering, Medicine, Science, Law or whatever in University/College. Barring a few extra-ordinary, those who have studied in vernacular languages till their PUC or Higher Secondary, struggle a lot to progress in their careers. Most of them do not succeed in their careers for want of English communication skills. In the days to come, communication skills in English will become a MUST for survival and progress in career, with IT companies reigning the job market.

All these talk about learning in mother-tongue would help, is all futile. It only helps politicians to garner votes banking on mother-tongue sentiments of their electorate, in fooling the gullible electorate to win elections so that they can admit their wards in English Medium schools and send their wards abroad.

 

[rishikesan]

We, all know that when language problem arose and Hindi agitation was at it's peak, Jawaharlal, declared that English would continue as long as the southern states desire. 50 years Half Century passed. Hindi, being the most commonly spoken language, even Panjabis, Gujaraties and all northern states freely talk in Hindi In parliament and also on touring the country. They try English alsO. Only the politicians carry the Dead horse..It is also a matter of fact the current generation defy their Dravidian parents and learn Hindi In schools because for JOB, English is a must
Rishikesan

 

[vgane]

Obama learning the National Language!

 

[rishikesan]

As I wrote a few days back, all ministers except T.N. Speak in Hindi only, because they feel that explaining points in Hindi alone reaches at all political levels , including T. .Nadou M.Ps you all must know that the P.M. Has spoken in an impressive manner in Hindi , not in English yesterday when he proclaimed his scheme of Tricolour and the bureaucracy, files moving in reverse and stagnate, not to allow a decision.
So, let us not revel on opposingHindi and accept the reality, If we also learn Hindi, we an even surpass the moderate north Indians .
Rishikesan

 

[prasad1]

.
Rishikesan

I hate to be person pointing out the unintentional putdown in your post. Sir read your post with the rules of the site. This site is open to all. There are member who are not born brahmin, North Indian, non-hindu, not Indians. So before making derogatory comments about anyone put it through sensitivity test.

I agree that learning Hindi would be good. I grew up in the north and had my schooling in Hindi, so it always was useful to me.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

We, all know that when language problem arose and Hindi agitation was at it's peak, Jawaharlal, declared that English would continue as long as the southern states desire. 50 years Half Century passed. Hindi, being the most commonly spoken language, even Panjabis, Gujaraties and all northern states freely talk in Hindi In parliament and also on touring the country. They try English alsO. Only the politicians carry the Dead horse..It is also a matter of fact the current generation defy their Dravidian parents and learn Hindi In schools because for JOB, English is a must
Rishikesan

Dear Rishkeshan Sir,

I think Nehru did not do the right thing when he declared hindi as official language and that english will continue as long as southern states desire.

Not only southern states sir, but the entire indian nation desires to continue english forever, besides hindi. english is indispensable sir.

Annadurai quoted a humorous parable when the then leaders proposed hindi for india and english for global communication. A man had a kennel with 2 doors. 1 door was large and the other door small. When queried why he has a kennel with 2 doors of different sizes, he replied that the large door is for the bigger dog and the small door is for the smaller dog.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

Dear Prasad Sir and Rishikeshan sir,

Learning Hindi is good indeed. For that matter learning any new language and learning as many languages as possible is very good indeed. It helps us understand and communicate to a broader group and facilitates our travel and sojourn in lands and among people groups who do not understand our mother-tongue.

But the problem arises when a foreign language is imposed upon us and when we are compelled to learn languages. By foreign, i refer to anything not ours. Any language which is not our mother-tongue or which is not the language of the region of our domicility is foreign indeed.

To be precise learning hindi is good and it helps us communicate when we visit northern states. But hindi imposition is not welcome sir.

For the non-hindi speaking northerners, viz punjabis, gujaratis, marathis, bengalis, marwadis, kashmiris etc learning hindi is not difficult since their languages are similar to hindi and the variations are little. But for southerners especially for tamilians, hindi is entirely different.

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

As I wrote a few days back, all ministers except T.N. Speak in Hindi only, because they feel that explaining points in Hindi alone reaches at all political levels , including T. .Nadou M.Ps you all must know that the P.M. Has spoken in an impressive manner in Hindi , not in English yesterday when he proclaimed his scheme of Tricolour and the bureaucracy, files moving in reverse and stagnate, not to allow a decision.
So, let us not revel on opposingHindi and accept the reality, If we also learn Hindi, we an even surpass the moderate north Indians .
Rishikesan

Sir,

I have never heard or seen Narendra Modi communicating in English. I have watched him being interviewed on indian english tv channels, in NDTV, CNN-IBN etc. Whenever any question is raised in english, Modi always replies in hindi. sometimes his responses are inappropriate exposing his inability to comprehend english and hence the anchors paraphrase their questions to him.

Now that he is a PM, he must consider the interests of the entire nation, indiscriminately. He has to make attempts to learn to communicate in English well since he will be interacting with foreign dignitaries, with his counterparts of other countries. He will also be travelling extensively. He cannot take with him an interpretor always.

 

[rishikesan]

Dconsidering the situation prevailed during D.K./ DMK rule, Hindi agitation was at peak & students like me were jeered for learing San









Dear Mr. Brahmachari, You are right to a great extent. However, I would like to explain the horrible situation prevailed when D.K was vociferous in condemning Brahmins , on one side & the DMK, started the Hindi agitation involving Students. In 1964, T.N. Ministers resigned & it made Nehru to declare categorically that English would continue , as long as Tamil nadu wants ? BUT, he never said that English would run parallel to Hindi in all states, because THEN & TO_DAY as well Hindi is the National language. Thus every M.P. is privileged to talk only in HINDI even, if he knows English. We know fully well that even Non hindi state MPS try to talk in Hindu to get Favour from Central ?
Except T.N. no one will think of condemning MODI, For example, if we live in Bangalore or just visit also Hyderabad, all Auto/ Taxi wallahs talk Tamil & you do not talk their Language , because Madras was capital for all 4 states & Tamilians were not to talk other languages, let alone Hindi. That PST glory has vanished & I would say that you are left alone , to fend for yourselves.
As we all know that Tamil Brahmins some how tide over any problem. No brahmin youngsters talk about Hindi domination, partly because they were never seen Hindi agitation & the tension faced by Brahmin Parents & grand parents.So ,they progress in the manner they do now ?
If anyone wants to travel/ interact with all , beyond Andhra, if knows Hindi he/ she can enjoy.
Older people cannot learn new Language, even men/ women beyond 15/20 would find it difficult to learn a new Language of Utility. Therefore the parents do ensure in most cases, esp; in CBSE curriculam Hindi is learnt & our children gain Self CONFIDENCE to go anywhere within the country, let alone in U.S where in Indian Celebrations Hindi is spoken by all ?
I welcome any one to seek clarifications.
Sincerely
Rishikesan ( A. Srinivasan) Ph 044/ 24806871



in the worst

 

[tks]

Sir,

I have never heard or seen Narendra Modi communicating in English. I have watched him being interviewed on indian english tv channels, in NDTV, CNN-IBN etc. Whenever any question is raised in english, Modi always replies in hindi. sometimes his responses are inappropriate exposing his inability to comprehend english and hence the anchors paraphrase their questions to him.

Now that he is a PM, he must consider the interests of the entire nation, indiscriminately. He has to make attempts to learn to communicate in English well since he will be interacting with foreign dignitaries, with his counterparts of other countries. He will also be travelling extensively. He cannot take with him an interpretor always.

Sri Brahmachari

I think the criticism of PM Modi is not justified by facts.

Within India in most places there is a sense among the middle class and above that one is considered more educated or smarter if they can speak in English.

I have seen some people assert their superiority at a low level wage earners by yelling at the person in English.

This subservient mentality about superiority of English was created by the British when they ruled India for over 200 years in my view.

Most Indians even in public life rarely speak in good English and hence with this superimposed value of 'you must be sophisticated if you speak well in English' may make them appear sillier.

As a country we have to get out of this thinking though I would not want Hindi imposed across the board. It is appropriate for leaders to talk in their native language with translators to foreign visitors even if the person in leadership role has full command of English.

I am neither a fan nor a critique of PM Modi though I wish India would become a world leader soon (I have been living in USA for many decades)

I have seen clips of Modi speaking in English and he is extremely effective.

Here is one example

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zK9vMM9bHWE


It is long but well worth the watch

Regards

 

[vgane]

Let Modi speak in the language that he is comfortable with it...Let us not make an issue out of it or ascribe motives..As per 2001 census 12% can speak in English, while 54% can speak in Hindi..He is not speaking in Gujarati..Let us appreciate that..

 

[svtesan]

I find myself siding with Mr Brahmachari. I for one firmly oppose imposing Hindi on non-speakers. Let people learn a language if they like it/need it, no forcing please. To someone who speaks Hindi, Tamil is as foreign as say, Thai/German. The same goes for Tamil speakers and Hindi. The govt should make sure everybody feels included and English is very well suited as a language of inter-lingual communication if need be. Comparing German/French/English/Japanese/Chinese with Hindi makes absolutely no sense. Those languages are commercially important and lot of research papers are published in those languages every day. You can probably count the number of such papers in Hindi or for that matter Tamil or any regional language probably with a single hand. I certainly feel that when people who speak Hindi cannot take the effort to learn even one other regional language, why should others? As a non-Hindi speaker I get irritated when people tout the "national language" argument. Those who spout it dont seem to understand that just declaring a language to be national language 50-60 years ago does not cut it. Hindi was and is a foreign language in my village and just Tamil and English goes a long way. I have nothing against Hindi and would learn it I need/want to. But, India is not just for guys who speak Hindi. Thanks to our democracy, we have and will ensure it stays that way.

 

[rishikesan]

Dear Mr TKS, I , just now, listened to the speech of Modi & I am really happy that he has touched all the areas in which Democracy can function effectively, as he had done in Gujarat. 1) with water harvesting he has helped farmers to increase the yield per Acre 2)Democracy is the best of Governance in the world , takink examples of U.S. &European countries. 3) Democracy system is Self-controlling 40 Govt is the Provider & people are the beneficiaries 5) local bodies get elected unanimously in Gujarat ( In T.N. Is it possible ? ) Representation & participation of the people is the Key to grass-root level success ( can we dream the same in T.N. ?) 6) There should not be anything called Secret Files in Govt. Those days have gone. 7) Inf. should be on real time basis. Lastly, he stresses on the policy that all problems can be resolved thru dialogue/ discussion, need Honesty & Integrity 8) Now-a-days people can easily distinguish Good & Bad easily.
Let us feel confident that he will prove to be a totally different from all others.,, I use to say to all my Friends & Family members that, it is always Easy & pleasurable to receive Known/ unknown guests & get their needs attended, & they would remember you life-time. If one shows Faces, Converse will come into play & you will be termed in Tamil as VIDIAMOONJI ?
Sincerely,
Rishike

 

[V.Balasubramani]

DMK cries foul over Centre’s directive on Hindi.

Karunanidhi tells Prime Minister Narendra Modi to focus on economic growth and social development.

Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M. Karunanidhi dubbed the Central government’s reported directive telling officials to give priority to Hindi in social media as the beginning of the “imposition of Hindi”, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should focus on economic growth and social development.

“Giving priority to Hindi will be construed as a first step towards attempt at creating differences among non-Hindi speaking people and making them second class citizens,” the 90-year old leader, whose party spearheaded the anti-Hindi agitation in the 1960s in Tamil Nadu, said in a statement.

Reacting to media reports that officials of all Union ministries, departments, corporations, or banks, who have official accounts on social media, should use Hindi, or both Hindi and English giving priority to Hindi, Karunanidhi questioned why Hindi should be given priority over other languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.

Karunanidhi said that at a time when the aspirations of diverse sections of people need to be addressed through constructive efforts, showing a preference for a specific language would become diversionary.


Read more: DMK cries foul over Centre?s directive on Hindi - Livemint

 

[auh]

I agree, that as one poster had already pointed out, that it is an act of assertiveness to the world. Every language has its own pride, but rather hindi than english.

 

[vgane]

Anti Hindi agitation down the days..This has fizzled out..But may take a new avatar if Union government persists.

Hindi zealotry coming back under new BJP regime? - The Hindu

 

[sarang]

This circular was prepared in march 2014, and released on 27 may before any ministry became active. Like the affidavit submitted in court reg v k singh. Because of pressure from the top not to keep work pending, many such bloomers may be released intentionally by old loyalists. It appears the officials can use any language for social media, notings in several languages, or a new manipravalam of indic languages will emerge.

 

[vignesh2014]

In this i feel it should be left to the choice of the individual to learn a language.Learning all languages is not easy.Since language is for communication, even a global language which is understood by all is enough in my point of view

 

[BRAHMACHARI]

In this i feel it should be left to the choice of the individual to learn a language.Learning all languages is not easy.Since language is for communication, even a global language which is understood by all is enough in my point of view

Dear Vignesh Sir,

Even I wish there exists a language which is common and understood globally, which would be sufficient to learn besides our mother-tongues. Unfortunately such a language does not exist. No language is being used all over the world for communication. We in India are under a false impression that with English we can travel all over the world comfortably. But that is not the case sir. There are countries where english is not the language of the citizens and not spoken or understood. For example the european countries use their own respective languages for communication. Only a few people in evey european nation know english. Also in African countries, whichever country was a French colony or German colony, they use French or German respectively for communication.

But thankfully English is spoken and understood in most countries of the world especially the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand etc where most indians seek jobs and careers. In a way the colonization of India by British was a blessing in disguise.

 

[rishikesan]

Dear Mr. Brahmachari, your analysis reflects the factual position in the world we, live in As you have rightly pointed out, the British has done a good job & it is helping esp; the Tamil brahmins to go these places for , not only higher studies but also secure Jobs & settle there for Good. It is the practice to give Max importance to Hindi & that is the Bread & butter of Northern states. One straight Q ,Can any one answer properly & in a convincing way ?
Karunanidhi has only one Blunt Weapon against the Central Govt, that is HINDI,After 1964,that is after exactly 50 years he cries OWL, Is there a taker , I mean even one of the Southern States ( Andhra/Karnataka/ Kerala) on his side ? In T.N. all youngsters including M.K.;S grand sons would have learnt HINDI & even understand. No need to know writing.
It is Empty threat. It has proven beyond doubt that in the last 50 years ,we have seen this happening from time to time ,but only M.K & his Chelas make a show== knowing fully well it cannot cut Ice ? Have all tamilians , not lived their life all these years quietly, & this will continue It is dasing agaist a WALL with no bullets in hand
Rishikesan
Ri

 

[senthilbala]

Dear Sir,
Well said.
I want to indicate one more things. 100 years ago India was around 600 Mahan's. Means that different small regions ruled by different dynasty.

Each and every small region people were communicating their own language. NOT in HINDI at all. Even south India was divided by language only.
Now how come you say that HINDI is a national language.