Opinion | The organic spread of Hindi

Home Minister Amit Shah’s pitch for Hindi as a unifying language for India has expectedly evoked howls of protest. In as much as a language unifies people, it can also be a source of strife. Maharashtra, Assam, and Tamil Nadu have been among the sites of violent linguistic agitations. The minister’s concerns probably stem from such protests setting off fissiparous tendencies, as has happened in the past. Some of the reactions to Shah’s comments smack of overreaction. Kerala’s chief minister, for example, has described the home minister’s call as a “war-cry" against the mother tongues of non-Hindi speakers, though Shah has made it clear that the push for Hindi will “never" be at the cost of other languages.

It is true that northerners have it difficult in south India, where Hindi is poorly understood. However, the imposition of a particular language on speakers of other tongues is bound to provoke a backlash. The answer lies in creating conditions for new forms of social intercourse that span the country. Hindi’s spread so far has had much to do with the appeal of Hindi cinema. Other media, if attractive enough, could play a similar role.

For the organic growth of a common language, it would help if public representatives in states shed their nativist populism and welcome migrants from across the country. One city that has emerged as a melting pot where Hindi is widely understood and spoken is Bengaluru. Credit the cosmopolitan nature of the city. Locals see economic value in knowing the language. They have an incentive to pick it up. So should it be for other places.