Explained: How Amit-Shah led panel plans to increase Hindi usage

The Committee of Parliament on Official Language, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has recommended that Hindi should compulsorily be made the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical educational institutions, including central universities.

This is part of the 11th volume of the committee report, which Shah presented to President Droupadi Murmu last month.

The Committee was set up in 1976 under the Official Language Act, 1963. The panel comprises 30 members of Parliament; 20 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. It reviews the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes and submits a report to the President making recommendations.

Hindi as medium of instruction

Besides recommending that Hindi should be made the medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical educational institutions, including central universities, the committee has recommended that English should be the medium of instruction only where it is absolutely necessary and gradually English should be replaced with Hindi in those institutions.

“Use of Hindi as medium of instruction be made compulsory in all technical and non-technical institutions in the country and use of English should be made optional,” the committee has recommended.

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The committee noted that Hindi can’t be a common language unless the medium of instruction is not Hindi in universities, higher educational institutions including technical or medical institutes.

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of management (IIMs), and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are some technical educational institutions under the Central government while Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVs) and central universities fall under the category of non-technical institutes.

Recruitment process in Hindi

Discussing recruitment examinations for government jobs, the report says that compulsory English-language question papers give the impression that English is more important, and so, they ought to be replaced by Hindi-medium papers.

“Requisite knowledge of Hindi for the selection of employees should be ensured and in the recruitment examinations, the question paper of Hindi should mandatorily be included in place of English,” the report said.

“It is mandatory to work in Hindi in the institutions of the government of India. In such a situation, the necessity of knowledge of Hindi is important at the time of selection of employees. Therefore, the committee recommends that the knowledge of Hindi should be ensured for the selection of employees,” it says.

Court proceedings & govt correspondence

The report says that proceedings of high courts in Hindi-speaking states should be in Hindi. “Proceedings of high courts located in Region A should take place in Hindi, and English translations should be provided only if there’s a constitutional requirement,” says the report.

Region A refers to states in the Hindi heartland that have Hindi as their official language.

The committee report also suggests that correspondence by central government offices, ministries or departments, such as letters, faxes, and emails, should be done in Hindi. Advising that Hindi to be used in official work should be simple and easy, the report recommends that all invitation letters, speeches, and moderation for any events organised by the central government should be in Hindi. Not only that, addresses should be written in Hindi on envelopes of letters to be sent to regions A and B. Region B consists of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab, and the Union territories of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

On computer too, more work should be done in Hindi on computers used in central government offices and “the incentive amount given to officials/ employees of the central government working in Hindi should be increased.”

It also says that a provision must be made in government rules so that those joining should know Hindi beforehand. “The secretary, Department of Official Language, should establish necessary contacts with the various recruitment agencies through the Department of Personnel and Training to ensure this.:

Larger Hindi advertisements

The committee also recommended that more than 50 per cent of the budget of government advertisements should continue to be allocated to Hindi ads. “Advertisements should be published as much as possible in Hindi and regional languages. To keep the cost even, Hindi advertisements should be given in larger size and on the main page while English advertisements should be given in smaller size and on the last or middle pages,” the report says.

The committee has also suggested that if government posts requiring Hindi-language expertise lie vacant for over three years, then the head of the concerned organisation must be held responsible, and an entry to this effect must be made in their annual performance appraisal.

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Easy translations

On the issue of translations, the committee report says that engineering degree holders with adequate knowledge of Hindi, or who are capable of doing Hindi translation work of the required level, should be appointed to the Central Translation Bureau.

The difference between official and colloquial Hindi should be reduced and for this, popular words from other languages and other loanwords can be maintained without translations. “Translations should be made simple and understandable,” the report adds.

It also seeks to make state governments a part of the process. “The propagation of Hindi should not be a matter for the central government only. All state governments should also include it in their constitutional obligations. The committee should be empowered to review the implementation of official language policies in state government offices with the state’s consent. The first phase should start from states located in Region A,” it says.

It warns against government officials and employees who “deliberately don’t work in Hindi”, saying that explanations ought to be sought from them. “In case of no satisfactory reply an entry to this effect should be made in their annual performance report,” it adds.

Due to the “popularity of Hindi due to globalisation and liberalisation,” it should become an official language of the United Nations, the report says.