When Ajay Devgn went on to publicly claim that “Hindi will always be our national language,” he opened a can of worms. There were innumerable people in agreement who added that Hindi must be made compulsory in schools across the country. But in a nation that boasts of its diversity, that has 22 scheduled languages alongside several other indigenous languages, why should there be only one language that’s considered supreme, not knowing which one isn’t ‘Indian’ enough?
People from states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, etc. are often harassed by the Hindi-speaking public for not knowing the language. For example, a Tamil guy working in Canada was shamed by an Indian for not knowing how to speak Hindi. The man called him a “Sri Lankan” for speaking in Tamil.
The guy took to Reddit to share:
“I live in Canada, I work at a convenience store. Today an Indian approached me and spoke to me in Hindi to which I replied I don’t understand what you’re telling me and he asked me are you Indian? and I said yes. He says to me you’re Indian but you don’t know Hindi and he asked me what language I spoke. I replied Tamil. He immediately says, no you can’t be Indian, you should be Sri Lankan.”
He further added:
“Not knowing Hindi in a foreign land where the language of the land is English and French equals me being Sri Lankan. This is not the first time this has happened to me, but this incident today tops it.”
Have a look at the post here:
Several people online showered him with support and urged him to speak in Tamil irrespective of anything. Even if a person knows how to speak Hindi, they are not obligated to do so, some said.
There is unity in diversity. When will our fellow citizens learn that?
Cover image: source.