In his lectures at the Cambridge University in 1884, British Civil Servant John Strachey had said: “This is first thing to learn about India that there is not, and never was an India, or even any country of India possessing, according to any European ideas; any sort of unity, physical, political, social or religious”. India was merely a label convenience, ‘a name which [British] gave to a region including a multitude of different countries’. ‘In India the diversities of race, language, and region were far greater’.
Even after over a century, the Indian region is still a very diverse region, having multiplicity of languages, cultures, ethnicities, races, faiths and religions.
Indian government’s own census 2011 data on linguistic diversity reveals there there were 19,560 raw linguistic affiliations, 1369 rationalised mother tongues, 1474 other mother tongues and 121 languages.
Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that only Hindi could keep India united. So, Amit Shah is admitting that the Indian sub-continent was not united and to keep it united the state want to impose Hindi?
Notably, colonisers used to enforce single language on colonies. By putting forward ideas like imposing single language, whether Indian State is admitting to be a colonial empire?
How Hindi could unite the Indian region when mere mention idea of Hindi imposition sparks protests.
Indian continent is a diverse. Accept it. Accommodate Diversity.
Let every language, every culture and every religion flourish.
* Above content was first published on Sikh Siyasat News on September 25, 2019.