Imphal: Six student bodies in Manipur vowed to oppose any move to “impose” teaching of Hindi in schools and said that people may learn Hindi on their own volition but imposition of the language is unacceptable.
A joint statement issued by the All Manipur Students Union (AMSU), Democratic Students’ Alliance of Manipur (DESAM), Apunba Ireipakki Maheiroi Singpanglup (AIMS), Students’ Union of Kangleipak (SUK), Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA) and the Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF) on Sunday said that India is inhabited by different communities with different languages. Moreverover, Manipuri language is among the 22 languages recognised by the Constitution of India.
However, the release said, taking the move to impose Hindi as a compulsory subject demeans the democratic values of the country and is almost similar to adopting the policy of colonial domination.
The student bodies reminded that Manipur too has its own language and script for thousands of years. However, the language is in a critical situation now, which is why people in the state have been launching various movements to safeguard and preserve it from dying. Amid this situation, imposing Hindi language as a mandatory subject is a direct assault on the already endangered language and cannot be accepted at all, it added.
It may be recalled that Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that Hindi will now be made compulsory in all eight northeastern states up to Class 10.
At the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee in New Delhi, Shah said that “now the time has come to make the official language an important part of the unity of the country.”
He also said that 22,000 Hindi teachers have been recruited in the eight North East states so far.
While India does not have a national language, Hindi is the official language of the country.
