Make Hindi mandatory in all institutions, Amit Shah-led panel recommends
A parliamentary panel 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.
The Committee of Parliament on Official Language, headed by Shah, 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.
Report with President
This is part of the 11th volume of the committee report, which Shah presented to President Droupadi Murmu last month.
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“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.
This committee report covers institutions ranging from Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas to IITs, IIMS, AIIMS and central universities.
Change in medium of instruction sought
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.
The report also says that proceedings of high courts in Hindi-speaking states should be in Hindi. 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.
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.
‘Make Hindi UN’s official language’
Due to the “popularity of Hindi due to globalisation and liberalisation,” it should become an official language of the United Nations, the report says.
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.
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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.
Question papers 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.
