The "language of common man", Hindi cannot be replaced by any language and efforts need to be taken to make it as the medium of instruction in higher education, said Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra.
Excerpts from Subhas Chandra's speech:
- "English cannot replace Hindi as the language of communication in this country. The language of the common man is Hindi and will continue to remain so," he said, while underlining the need to make Hindi as the medium of instruction in higher education
- "For people who live in villages, Hindi serves as a major language of communication. For example, in a small town like Ludhiana, there are uneducated but skilled workers, who if provided with education, would do even better. It would be easy for young talent to come forward like that," said Chandra
- He was attending a discussion titled 'Present Status of Hindi: Challenges and Solutions' organised by Sahitya Akademi on the occasion of 'Hindi Divas'.
- The minister also released the Hindi version of his autobiography The Z Factor and said the language was gradually becoming visible on an international platform.
- Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and eminent Hindi poet Ashok Chakradhar were also present on the occasion.
Views of Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi
While Satyarthi was appreciative of people's growing interest in learning multiple languages, he said it was unfair to compare English and Hindi and that the ability to converse in one's mother tongue must be viewed as a matter of pride and not looked down upon
"The mother tongue of a person is the most respected and no other language can take it away. Hindi and English are separate languages which are not competing with each other," he said.