DNA Exclusive: When will Hindi become national language of India?

September 14 is celebrated as Hindi Day nationwide. The Constituent Assembly designated Hindi as India’s national language in 1949. However, it was not recognized as the national language by the Indian Constitution. Mahatma Gandhi emphasized the need of making Hindi the national language, just as English is the national language of the United Kingdom. His ideal, however, has yet to be realized. Article 343 of the Constitution states that the official language of the country will be Hindi and the script Devanagari. There was a push to declare Hindi the national language of India.

In today’s DNA, Zee News’ Rohit Ranjan makes an analysis of Hindi being the official language but not the national language of India.

The British departed our nation, but our love of the English language remained. With 750 million speakers globally, Hindi is the world’s third most spoken language. However, Hindi is still not given the respect it deserves.

Language is more than just a means of communication; it is also the guide to civilization, culture, and tradition. Hindi is one such language that evolved over thousands of years. And it evolved with each passing period.

In the 18th century, Bharatendu Harishchandra provided the foundation for the Hindi language that we now write and speak. He was also known as the “Father of Modern Hindi Literature”. From the year 1900, the tendency of using today’s Hindi language expanded, and this language provided a voice to all of the great independence movements that occurred.

However, in today’s time, speaking in English has become a status symbol and Hindi is seen as somewhat inferior.

According to one survey, 90 percent of our country’s population who do not know how to speak English also sign in English. Behind this lies Hindi’s inferiority mindset, as well as a systemic flaw. Even now, a sign refers to writing one’s name in English, whereas a thumb refers to Hindi speakers.

Hindi is the mother tongue of crores of people in India, but its current status is that of only one language. Watch tonight’s edition of DNA for more in-depth information and other details.