GUWAHATI: The Northeast is venting its ire over the Centre’s move to “impose” Hindi on the region.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had on Friday said that Hindi would be made compulsory up to Class 10 in the eight Northeastern states. He described Hindi as “the language of India”. However, the move has ruffled the feathers of various organisations in the region.
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) said it always stood for a three-language policy – English, Hindi and the local language. “We oppose this move as it is a kind of imposition. Hindi can be an optional subject,” NESO chairperson Samuel B Jyrwa told this newspaper. He said the organisation would approach all the state governments in the region to not make Hindi compulsory.
Meghalaya Congress legislator Ampareen Lyngdoh said the state is protected by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the Centre would not be able to impose Hindi on the students.
“Khasi and Garo are the two major languages of our state. So, we cannot allow this (Hindi),” she said. The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samitee (KMSS) in Assam condemned the Centre’s move, terming it as “anti-democratic, anti-constitutional and anti-federal”.
“After the BJP formed the government in Assam, it has kept taking anti-Assam and anti-Assamese decisions. It removed Assamese paper from the Assam Public Service Commission exams. Also, Hindi-speakers have been employed as teachers across schools in the state,” the peasants’ body said.