Hindi : National or Official Language?

Question : What is the National Language of India?
If your answer is "Hindi", then like me you are also wrong. India does not have any National Language and Hindi is just 1 of the 22 Official Language of India.

Some Facts and History
Post Independence English was widely used as the language for all Official purposes. The Constitution envisaged a gradual phasing out of English in favor of a local language. Thus, English along with Hindi was declared as the Official Language of India when the Constitution came into force in 1950. And it was decided that unless the Parliament decides otherwise, English will cease to exist as the Official Language by 26th January, 1965. A time frame for 15 years was kept to make Hindi more popular.
However even before 1965, there was a lot of hue and cry in non-hindi speaking states of India, especially the Southern States. The protests even turned violent in Tamil Nadu. It was seen as a sinister plan to keep people from South India away from the plum Government Job. Before privatisation began in India, Govt. Jobs were seen as a safe heaven by most people and was the most sought after. It was perceived that people from Northern India will have an edge in these jobs if English is no longer an Official Language. Thus, it was decided, Hindi would be made the National Language when it is adopted as the Official Language in all the States. Today, Hindi is the Official Language in only 10 states.


In the era of Globalisation, a lot of India's success can be credited to its large English speaking population. It is only because of these people that India has managed to become the Back-Office of the world. Thus, in todays world ignoring English altogether would be living in a Fool's Paradise. As a friend once pointed out, "Leave English and lose the only advantage you have over China".
However, around 800 million people in India still lives on a meager income of Rs. 20 per day and they still do not have access to English. Even after 60 years of Independence its still so hard to imagine a nation were a peasant from a remote village in Kerela will be able to speak to his counterpart from Assam or Punjab or Maharashtra.

A nation-wide effort should be made to make Hindi more acceptable and accommodating. By accommodating, I mean people speaking Hindi should be more receptive to words from other language, dialect or region. At times, I feel like crucifying people who in the name of Hindi asks you to say "Loh Path Gamini" or "Agni Utpadak Dibbi". In case you are wondering these are the Hindi translation for "Train" and "Match-Box". To me these are biggest enemies of Hindi. A language is a medium of communication a way to express your mind thus it should be as simple and speakable as possible and not complicated. To the same people I always wonder asking them what would they call a "Rasgoola" in English!!!!!!

Thus, I would like to see India where both English and Hindi co-exists with all the other regional languages with Hindi being the unifying string for India's Diversity. There are other cultures in the world like French, Russian and Spanish where the native language has flourished without proving to be any hindrance in their technological advancement and the growth of nation.
We should take a leaf from them and work towards making Hindi a national language of India and still be part of a Globalised World.
Vision India where farmers and laborers from all part of India can congregate and still be able to speak fluently, and it is only possible if Hindi is more widely spoken.

A Routine Ordeal at Howrah Station

18.55 My train reaches Howrah from Jamshedpur
19.05 Stand in the Queue for Taxi with around 15-20 people ahead of me.
19.40 Manage to get a Taxi in Queue
20.10 Reaches Howrah Bridge (Barely 5oo mts to a km from the station)
20.50 Reaches Home at Salt Lake (13 Km from Howrah Station, good 2 hours after I reached Howrah)

A normal schedule at Howrah Station, with slight variation in time. Not to forget if the train reaches after 10 PM, the queue for metered Taxi is gone and you are left at the mercy of Taxiwallahs. They charge the same metered amount and take 4-5 passengers charging the same from everyone, making 5 times more money.

Howrah Station always gives a feeling of Vintage and Grandiose of British Raj. Always so majestic to watch the Red Brick and Paint or the Gleaming lights at the night. Standing so towering next to Hooghly River and Howrah Bridge. It stands testimonial to the best gift British left India with, the Indian Railways. I always feel what meticulous planning they must have done on deciding the location of Station. So, close to Hooghly River and next to Howrah Bridge. Perfectly approachable!!!! It must have been a real pleasure in the early 1900s to catch a train here.

Cut to 2000s. More than a million passenger tread daily on its platform. And the moment you enter, the vision is sordid, clumsy, congested. The moment you get down from the train you are greeted with a eerie cacophony. The next ordeal is dealing with coolies (potters). Dressed in Red a mark of Unionism and Marxism, they demand an exorbitant sum and gives you exorbitant headache. Then, You have to keep pace with them, keen not to let them away from your sight, and wary not to stamp the platform dwellers strewn all over while you tread. A normal sequence of events mentioned above to get on Taxi and get out of sight of the Station. The experience leaves you of memories, which always leaves a mark on you. Good or Bad!!! No Comments.

I wonder what the architect of the Station would feel, 1oo years after it was built. Yes, the station celebrated its 100 years of existence recently. How much have we contributed on to the legacy left by British. Although, a new building with around 6 platform has been added, the illustrious old building still accommodates around 15 platform. All the approach roads to the station are so full of traffic, there is no easy get-away. You should always keep a buffer of 3o minutes to 1 hour, if you are keen not to miss your train. The picture here is of one of the once-built-never-maintained-full-of-potholes bumpy road that is taken by the Taxi's to reach Vidya Sagar Setu. Whenever I see this road, I always feel its so foolish to talk about Development here, when even the approach road, seems, is never re-built in 100 years.

It feels so ironical at times. 4 hours to cover 250 kms by Trains and 2 hours to reach home for a stretch of 13 kms.
Perhaps a good candidate for a case of "Law of Exponential Growth".