CHENNAI:
Tamil Nadu, which has long opposed the "imposition" of
Hindi in the state, saw a rise of 50% Hindi speaker among Tamilians between 2001 and 2011, according to the latest census data. Overall, the percentage of Hindi-speaking south Indians, however, rose by only 13% during the same period, and even declined among Kannadigas.
The anti-Hindi agitation of the 1960s led to several generations of Tamilians not learning the language. Things have changed with large scale migration of people from India's north, north-east and north-west as blue collar and white collar workers.
"The absolute number of Tamilians speaking Hindi might be small. But given the current preference for CBSE and ICSE schools, more students could be opting for Hindi as second and third language. Also those looking for jobs outside Tamil Nadu may be learning Hindi," said international population expert P Arokiasamy.
"There are several reasons for Tamilians learning Hindi. Migration is one, but TV programmes also influence Tamil people to utter a few words in Hindi. The shift started when the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were telecast on
Doordarshan," said sociologist G S Karanth.
All Tamilians speaking Hindi are not conversant with the language; many mix a bit of Tamil, English and Hindi and are able to convey what they want to say. "An autorickshaw driver may not be a Hindi pundit but if he can convey to his passenger in broken Hindi the charge for the ride, the route etc., the work is done. Thus learning Hindi also means increasing a person's income in changed circumstances," said Karanth.
Hindi is not only spoken among migrant workers but also in factories, state and central government offices. "Many company bosses are from the north and they only speak Hindi. Unless you learn Hindi, it will be difficult to work under them," said Karanth. Similarly migrant workers have to learn at least a few words in Tamil.
Picture used for representational purpose
