If Hindi is forced on elite institutions, India will no longer produce geniuses

HYDERABAD: India will no longer produce geniuses like Satya Nadella, Shantanu Narayan, Prem Vatsa, Sundar Pachai, and many others if Hindi medium instruction is mandated in Indian elite institutions like IITs and NITs, as recently recommended by Parliament's official language committee chaired by Union Home Minister Shah.

The Amit Shah committee recently recommended that Hindi be given priority over English in central schools, IITs, IIMs, Central Universities, and central government job examinations.

The committee also suggested that Hindi or local language should be used as medium and the use of English should be made optional in all technical and non-technical institutions. However, many states, particularly those in the South, have objected to this recommendation by Union Home Minister Amit Shah since they do not want Hindi to be made mandatory for education and employment in India.

Telangana MA&UD Minister K T Rama Rao, who has been outspoken about the imposition of Hindi, tweeted that there was no national language in India and that Hindi was just one of many official languages. The NDA government is flouting the federal spirit by enforcing Hindi in IITs and central government hiring processes. Indians ought to be able to choose their language, hence we reject the #HindiImposition."

As of today, there are 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) according to official data. The total number of seats available at IIT after passing JEE Advanced is 16,598, which includes all UG courses. The total number of seats in all 23 IITs has increased slightly, from 16,232 last year to 16,598 this year.

M Umasankar, Sri Chaitanya Institute's All-India IIT Coordinator, stated, "More than 45 percent of South Indian students get admissions into IITs and NITs. South Indian students contribute more than 40% of the top 100 rankings in both JEE mains and Advanced."

Four out of every five students at IIT-Madras are reportedly from Telugu states. There are approximately 255 Telugu students studying mechanical engineering, 244 studying electrical engineering, and 167 studying computer science. Out of the total intake of 4,500 students at IIT-Madras, 1,210 students from Telugu states were pursuing various programmes.

Other reports indicate that among the top 1,000 students from the Telugu states, many choose IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, and IIT Kharagpur. IITs are actually the schools of choice for Telugu students and their parents.

Given that a majority of IIT students are from the South, particularly Telugu states, the decision to Impose Hindi medium could impede their academic advancement at a vital juncture in their careers.

Experts questioned how could the Central government intend to impose Hindi language in the country's top colleges.

"The proposal of the Union Government's imposition of Hindi will be a huge hindrance to our cherished ideal, unity in diversity," said Akash Boda, 24, an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus.

"Our top institutes attract students from all over the world, not just from one region or state. In fact, when I was studying at IIT-Kharagpur, around 35-40 percent of students were from Telugu states, which was the highest among regions. This idea may strengthen our roots or the government's ideology to widespread Hindi, but it will be to the utter disadvantage of the vast majority of Indians in terms of education and employment. It restricts the number of students coming from rural areas to improve their English," he said.

"Imposing mother tongue is really a wonderful idea, but the point is that India is a bit different from other countries because there is a divide of North and South owing to which South Indians are not much familiar with Hindi language," believes Kumar Veeramallu, Dean of Chaitanya Junior College.

"Given that Tamil Nadu students have no chance of understanding Hindi, it can be adopted after three to four years. Similarly, many Telugu students struggle with Hindi owing to the influence of their mother tongue. Due to this, imposing Hindi in prestigious institutions may be disastrous for students from South India. If the central government wants to implement it, they ought to start with the lower classes. Otherwise, it might be very harmful to them. It is a little challenging to implement this initiative in India because of the wide spectrum of regional languages being spoken here, even if it is a fantastic idea because this is how it operates globally. That is why they should prioritise language from the start rather than imposing it directly at higher levels, which can be disastrous. It is a major decision that should only be made after extensive consultation with all relevant stakeholders." he remarked

"We are a democratic country, and the concept of imposition is alien to us," Prof. Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), told Newstap. The National Education Policy (2020) envisions the promotion of Indian languages beginning with early childhood education and progressing upward. In general, Indians are multilingual. Learning a new language is always an asset. Learning each other's languages, including Hindi, will lead to greater understanding and respect. Therefore, all Indian languages, including Hindi, should be promoted."

The Hindi imposition row, which has sparked nationwide debate, has also caused anxiety among National Eligibility cum Entrance Test(NEET) aspirants, particularly those from South Indian states. The Tamil Nadu government, which has long opposed the NEET entrance exam, has now criticised the recommendations made in the 11th volume of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language, claiming that they are a direct assault on India's soul.

MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, drew attention to the report's recommendation that Hindi be used as the primary language of instruction in all central institutions, including the Kendriya Vidyalayas, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Indian Institutes of Technology, and Indian Institutes of Management.

According to experts, imposing Hindi at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research(JIPMER) will unquestionably have an impact on South Indian students' medical education and the quality of doctors India produces.