Ajay Devgn's zuban may be kesari, but Hindi is not the national language of India
Hockey is not India’s national sport. Jana Gana Mana national anthem is composed in Bengali. And just like so many misconceptions about India, Hindi is also NOT the national language. Read this to ensure that you are able to school your ignorant friend whenever the debate comes up!
The Hindi national language debate was once again stirred by Bollywood star Ajay Devgn when he objected to a statement made by Sandalwood star Kiccha Sudeep. Devgn went on to tweet in Hindi tagging Sudeep asking him why Southern films were dubbed in Hindi if it’s not the national language of India.
Points to note: Ajay Devgn has his film Runway 34 hitting theatres on April 29, 2022. He also campaigned for BJP during the 2015 Bihar elections, so it is kind of expected of Devgn to make such remarks being a BJP poster boy. So, by uncharacteristically tweeting the love for his language out of the blue, Devgn is only serving his own purpose; evident by how quickly he stepped back from the debate, saying "something was lost in translation".
A DETAILED LOOK INTO THE CONTROVERSY
So, the controversy started with Union Home Minister Amit Shah (Yup!). A few days ago, Amit Shah batted for Hindi as an alternative to English when people from different states converse with each other. He called Hindi the ‘language of India’.
Kiccha Sudeep during a promotion of his film was asked a question about the Hindi language where he said, “Hindi is no longer the national language of India.” He also went on to say that while the Hindi film industry is trying to make Pan India films by dubbing in Telugu and Tamil, it’s not working. But South Indian films are working in the Hindi market.
To this, Ajay Devgn tweeted the ignorant tweet.
Kiccha Sudeep replied with a series of tweets to Devgn, starting with the clarification that his words were misinterpreted.
However, he also took a sly dig at Devgn asking what the situation would be if his response was “typed in kannada (sic)”.
The two actors ended their brief feud with Ajay Devgn even tweeting back normally in English like the rest of his tweets.
FACT-CHECKING
Union Home Minister Amit Shah may dream of Hindi becoming the language of India, but it is a different question as to how many people will accept it. And despite what Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu or actor Ajay Devgn think, Hindi is still not the national language of India.
Ajay Devgn was factually and morally wrong in saying that Hindi is the national language. India does not have any national language. He was morally wrong to assume that all Indians whose mother tongue is not Hindi should speak Hindi, which is nothing but an imposition.
Like Shah, Ajay Devgn and the rest who take pride in Hindi being their language, I, as a Kannadiga, or other Indians who are Malayalis, Tamilians, Bengalis, etc also take pride in their languages. If we all start demanding each of our languages become the national language, then India would go back to the time when there was no India.
And going by Devgn’s logic that if Kannada movies are breaking into the Hindi market, then Hindi is the national language; then his film Drishyam which was released with a Chinese poster in the China market would make Mandarin our national language. Since Pokemon was also dubbed in Hindi, does that make Hindi the national language of Japan?
As for Kiccha Sudeep’s statement during the promotion of his film, it is wrong to say that “Hindi is no longer our national language,” as Hindi was never India’s national language to begin with. Besides, everyone still remembers Sudeep's 2019 gaffe when he said, "Hindi was the national language of India." Back then he was asked about his opinion on Amit Shah’s statement (yes, then too).
Of course, in 2019, fans roasted Sudeep on social media, and it seems like he learned his lesson. But maybe the actor needs to practice his answers to have more clarity for the next time someone asks the question again.
TWITTERATI REPLIES
Kiccha Sudeep may have been diplomatic in his response to Ajay Devgn, but the rest of Twitterati were not kind:
Even former Karnataka Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy chipped in with their responses.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also took actor Kiccha Sudeep's side in the argument saying that everyone should respect what Sudeep said.
SO WHAT IS HINDI?
Here are some facts so that you don’t come across as an ignorant fool:
1. Hindi in the Devanagari script and English are the two official languages of India. Official languages are used for the government’s ‘official purposes’ and during parliament interactions.
2. The Constitution also allows States to adopt their own official language and doesn’t mandate Hindi to be the official state language. In other words, India does not have a national language, and Hindi is just one of the languages.
3. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India lists the official languages of India, which consists of 22 languages including Kannada, Bengali, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Sindhi, Telugu, among others.
4. According to Census 2011, less than 44%, that is less than half of the Indian population, speak Hindi as their first language, and Hindi is only the mother tongue of some 25% of the population.
The national language debate has been going on since India became independent. Amit Shah may say that Hindi would be a unifying force, but in reality, it is likely going to be a divisive force.