Northeast groups oppose Centre's move to 'impose' Hindi as compulsory subject in schools
“We oppose this move as it is one kind of imposition. Hindi can be an optional subject,” NESO chairperson Samuel B Jyrwa told The New Indian Express.
Published: 09th April 2022 04:02 PM | Last Updated: 09th April 2022 04:02 PM | A+A A-
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said on Friday that Hindi would be made compulsory up to Class 10 in the eight northeastern states (Photo | PTI)
GUWAHATI: The Northeast vented its ire against the Centre’s move to “impose” Hindi on the region.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said on Friday 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.
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) said it has always maintained that it should be a three-language policy – English, Hindi and the local language.
“We oppose this move as it is one kind of imposition. Hindi can be an optional subject,” NESO chairperson Samuel B Jyrwa told The New Indian Express.
He said the students’ 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-democracy, anti-Constitution and anti-federal system”.
“Ever since the BJP formed the government in Assam, it has kept taking anti-Assam and anti-Assamese decisions. It has removed the 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.
It appealed to the BJP-led central government to not go ahead with the decision and demanded Assamese is, instead, made mandatory in the schools of the state.
The Chhatra Mukti Sangram Samitee, which is the students’ wing of the KMSS, threatened to launch an agitation. It accused the Centre of attempting to destroy the Assamese language.
The influential Young Mizo Association in Mizoram said it would soon hold a meeting and submit a memorandum against the Centre’s move to the state government.
