NEW DELHI: Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the convenor of the second sub-committee of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language (CPOL), has said that English is not our mother tongue and Hindi and regional languages should be used as medium of instructions. “English is not our country’s langauge. Our language is Hindi or regional languages. The National Education Policy is also designed in a way that promotes Hindi and supports regional languages. Medium of instruction should be Hindi or mother tongue, it is clearly documented in the policy,” she said.
Joshi, the Prayagraj MP, further said that we should do away with English. “I personally feel that it is a colonial mindset that we speak in English. We don’t want to impose Hindi. Our view is that we can express in mother tongue better. We want other languages to grow; don’t want other languages to suffer,” said the MP. The report of CPOL states English should be the medium of instruction only where it is absolutely necessary and gradually English should be replaced with Hindi in those institutions.
Professor Kapil Kumar, historian and director, Centre for Freedom Struggle and Diaspora Studies, IGNOU, said the recommendations are a ‘welcome’ move as English is a colonial language. “It is the view of the noted educationists and physiologists, a child learns better in his mother tongue. I also feel that one should start with mother tongue but also learn Hindi as link language,” he said.
The CPOL, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has submitted its 11th report to President Droupadi Murmu last month. The committee has also recommended that more than 50 per cent of the budget of government advertisements should continue to be allocated to Hindi ads. English as a medium of instruction should be retained only where it’s absolutely necessary, and should gradually be replaced by Hindi, the report adds.