The hashtag #हिंदीदिवस was one of the top trends on Twitter through September 14 to mark the day when the decision to make Hindi Indian Union’s official language was taken.
But not everyone was happy about it. A hashtag, #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial, started trending almost simultaneously urging the government to make all of the 22 scheduled languages of the country under Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India as India’s official language.
Everyone had their reasons to highlight how the choice of Hindi as India’s official language is disadvantageous for the speakers of other languages, which are official languages in their own home states.
To surrender/claim policy one has to get hindi-knowing witness signature. Stop this nonsense @LICIndiaForever #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
Advertisement— Jayateerth Nadagouda (@jayateerthbn) September 14, 2016
I cnt bank in my lang,no instructions in my lang in Rail,plane. Why are u guys depriving me my linguistic rights? #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— Ramachandra M (@nanuramu) September 14, 2016
Kannadigas & Tamilians have joined together to ask #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial. No #Kaveri can break our united call for linguistic equality!
— Rakshith Ponnathpur (@rsponnathpur) September 14, 2016
English is the best option for a link language in India, not Hindi #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial & stop imposing Hindi
— Pʊłΐ Arαşαη (@PuliArason) September 14, 2016
UPSC NEET exams are conducted in Hindi for Hindi people. Learn hindi/english to crack them otherwise go to hell!#GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— Ratheesha B R (@ratheeshaBR) September 14, 2016
Technology has advanced & made it feasible for governments to work in multiple languages. It only needs will, so #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— Rakshith Ponnathpur (@rsponnathpur) September 14, 2016
Hindian get services anywhere in KA in Hindi.Can a Kannadiga get d same in BIMARU states?#GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial pic.twitter.com/JInvRbDNMK
— Mallesh Belavadi (@MalleshBelavadi) September 14, 2016
My ancestors wr responsible imparting kannada language It is a blessing to be raised in kannada educated family#GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— purvi raj arasu (@purviraju1) September 14, 2016
Respect my language – do we have a Central Govt for only Hindi speaking public? #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial https://t.co/f3Dw4mnhH5
— Prathvish Shetty (@Prathvish21) September 14, 2016
#GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial print tickets in our language ;Our senior citizens are struggling @IR_EDPM @RailMinIndia https://t.co/IENUPW1SXa
— Jays (@JaysBees) September 14, 2016
Then there were others who tweeted using the hashtag #HindiDiwas to highlight that the GOI should promote all languages.
Hindi speaking states celebrating Hindi Divas is right. But GOI is representative of all linguistic communities. #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— Priyank (@priyank_ks) September 14, 2016
#HindiDiwas
Celebrate Hindi and all Indian languages. They are equally important and beautiful. It’s nationalism that matters more.— Gita S. Kapoor (@GitaSKapoor) September 14, 2016
#HindiDiwas in multilingual India is a shame on our democracy. #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial Kannada, Tamil & others too need equal treatment
— Hariprasad Holla (@hariprasadholla) September 14, 2016
For a change, can we expect Hindi speaking people celebrate local language Diwas on sept 14th and try to use it? #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— Srikrishna (@skbutp) September 13, 2016
Someone shared an interesting article on how not knowing Hindi might become a hindrance for even those who wish to serve the nation by joining the Indian Armed Forces.
How Hindi is becoming a hurdle for those who want to join the Armyhttps://t.co/edtPZ7wnNM #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial
— Suhruta Yajaman (@syajaman) September 14, 2016
The campaign originates from Karnataka, one of the five South Indian states where even the language family, Dravidian, is different from the Indo-European language family of the North.
Twitter campaign tomorrow Sept 14th by #KGK demanding #GOIMakeMyLanguageOfficial.
RSVP here: https://t.co/mhME75wsbQ pic.twitter.com/Ova1xsk7gt— KGK (@KannadaGrahaka) September 13, 2016
In fact, most of the tweets were from people in the South, where language has been a contentious issue for decades now.
Hindi is aggressively promoted by the Government of India at all levels. There is a Department of Official Language under the Home Ministry which promotes the use of Hindi.
The Constitution of India Article 343 states that “The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.” The Constitution states that Hindi is the “official” language in India, which means that the Union Government will use the language in everything concerning it.
But since Hindi is spoken by the largest number of India’s population, it is assumed to be the national language.
In January 2010, the Gujarat High Court ruled that there is no record to suggest that Hindi is the national language of the country.
