NESO Urges HM To Withdraw “Unfavourable Policy” Making Hindi A Compulsory Subject

Shillong, April 12: The powerful North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) has written to Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to withdraw such an “unfavourable policy” making Hindi a compulsory subject but instead demanded to further uplift the indigenous languages of the North East region. “The imposition of Hindi as a compulsory subject in the North East region will be detrimental not only for the propagation and dissemination of the indigenous languages but also to students who will be compelled to add another compulsory subject to their already vast syllabus,” NESO Chairman Samuel Jyrwa and Secretary-General Sinam Prakash Singh noted in their letter on Monday.

The apex student’s body of the indigenous student groups across the Northeastern states also voiced its strong opposition to the proposal in the recently concluded Parliamentary Official Language Committee that the subject of Hindi language, a component of the Modern Indian Language (MIL) will be made compulsory till class X in the region. “In the North Eastern region each state bears its own unique and diversified languages spoken by different ethnic groups ranging from Indo-Aryan to Tibeto-Burman, to Austro-Asiatic families. In the region, a native or indigenous language or a mother tongue is an important marker for a community. Native or indigenous languages are being further enriched in terms of all aspects such as in literature, academics and arts,” they pointed out. “The NESO is vehemently against this policy and will continue to oppose as it had done in the past. As per the understanding of the organization, such a move will not usher in unity but will be a tool to create apprehensions and disharmony,” the apex student’s body warned. Noting that the move to make one of the MIL subjects compulsory is more or less like “belittling the indigenous language spoken and written by a particular community”, the NESO urged the Home Minister to withdraw such an unfavourable policy but instead should focus on how to further uplift the indigenous languages of the North East region such as incorporation in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution and facilitating more schemes for their development and progress. UNI