Hindi must get official language status at UN, says Rajnath Singh

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
17-September, 2015 10:40 IST
Growth of India linked to growth of Hindi: Dr. Jitendra Singh

The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh made an emphatic assertion that the growth of India is linked to the growth of Hindi and just as in the next few years, India grows economically as a world power, its equivalent growth on cultural and civilizational scale would be closely proportionate to the extent of growth of Hindi not only as a language but as an important symbol of India’s identity. He was delivering keynote address as chief guest in a function held to commemorate Hindi Fortnight and 12th Hindi Day Felicitation Awards, here yesterday.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said, it would be a gross error fraught with long term implications if an impression is allowed to perpetuate that Hindi is confined only to a particular section of society or religion or region as a medium of communication. The truth, on the other hand, is that Hindi is a part of legacy of every such individual who has inherited the legacy of Hindustan irrespective of religion, caste, sect or region. Citing illustrious examples, he said, some of the best literature and poetry in Hindi, for instance, was written by Muslim poets and writers even though their mother tongue may not have been Hindi.

It is a strange paradox, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, that living in India and being Indians, we need to observe a “Hindi fortnight” or a “Hindi Divas” to remind ourselves about Hindi and its richness. He said, it sounds strange when one thinks that people living in Britain do not have to observe an English language day to remind themselves of the importance of English language or people living in France do not observe a French language day. Therefore, the real question that we should ask ourselves is whether we have failed to cultivate in ourselves the esteem of the heritage of Hindi language and the pride of speaking Hindi, he said.

Sounding a cryptic note, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, he has come across a number of parents who are themselves scholars in Hindi language but prefer to send their children to English schools and take pride in their children communicating in English rather than in Hindi. Is this a matter of some subconscious complex within or a confusion of contradictions within… this is an issue that requires to be seriously introspected and analyzed, he added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh suggested that promotion of Hindi cannot happen merely through symbolic programmes but may, in essence, require re-look into our education pattern. In this regard, some of the measures that can be contemplated may include inculcating advantages of knowing Hindi right at the middle or high school level as well as encouraging the use of common man’s spoken Hindi instead of doctrined language with heavy phrases, he added.

Concluding on an optimistic note, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the day is not far when India will become an international power and then, Hindi will not only be a national language but will be an international language.

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[Hindustani78]

Hindi largest speaking Indian language in US | Zee News
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - 13:57


Washington: Hindi has emerged as the largest Indian language spoken in the US, with nearly 6.5 lakh people speaking it, according to the latest Census data.

The US Census Bureau based on American Community Survey data collected from 2009 to 2013, said that more than 60 million people in the US speak a language other than English at home, 25 million of whom speak English.

Top languages other than English spoken in US homes include Spanish (with more than 37.4 million speakers), Chinese (about 2.9 million), French (1.3 million), Korean (1.1 million), German (1.1 million), Vietnamese (1.4 million), Arabic (924,573), Tagalog (1.6 million) and Russian (879,434).

India's national language Hindi tops the list from India with nearly 6.5 lakh speakers.

Nearly 4 lakh US residents speak Urdu and Gujarati is spoken by more than 3.7 lakh people. Other than Hindi, all the major Indian languages are also spoken in the US.

While Bengali and Punjabi are spoken by more than 2.5 lakh people each, the Census bureau says Marathi is spoken by more than 73,000 people, Oriya (more than 5,000), Assamese (about 1300) and Kashmiri by about 1700 people in the US.

It has even listed Bihari as a language spoken by nearly 600 people and Rajasthani by about 700.
Nepali is spoken by more than 94,000 people and Sindhi by nearly 9,000.

Nearly 250,000 people speak Telugu while Tamil is spoken by about 190,000 people, Malayalam (about 146,000 people) and Kannada (about 48,000).

Tribal language Munda is spoken by more than 2,000 people and Tibetan by over 16,000.

The data released by Census Bureau yesterday represents the most comprehensive data on languages spoken in the US.

These are the most comprehensive data ever released from the Census Bureau on languages spoken less widely in the US, such as Pennsylvania Dutch, Ukrainian, Turkish, Romanian, Amharic and many others.

Also included are 150 different Native North American languages, collectively spoken by more than 350,000 people, including Yupik, Dakota, Apache, Keres and Cherokee.

"While most of the US population speaks only English at home or a handful of other languages like Spanish or Vietnamese, the American Community Survey released the wide-ranging language diversity of the US," said Erik Vickstrom, a Census Bureau statistician.

"For example, in the New York metro area alone, more than a third of the population speaks a language other than English at home, and close to 200 different languages are spoken.

Knowing the number of languages and how many speak these languages in a particular area provides valuable information to policymakers, planners and researchers," he said.

PTI