Importance of regional languages in India

History

In British India, English was the sole language used for Administrative purposes as well as for Higher education purposes. When India became independent in 1947, there was a challenge to the Indian legislators of picking up a language for official communication as well as for communication between different linguistic regions across India. The choices available were

* Making Hindi, which is spoken by majority of the people(more than 50%) in India, as an official and National language although some Hindi-understanding peoples' first language (Mother tongue as it is known in India) only has slight resemblance to Hindi.

* All the other people i.e. South Indians, Bengalis, People from Northeast, preferred English for official medium of communication.

Practical Problems

Choosing Hindi as an official language presents a slight burden to every person who does not understand Hindi. This may be a huge burden for children who have to learn Hindi completely just to advance to the next level in education. This is because all the boards of education across India, recognized the 'need' of training people to one common language. There are some complaints that in North India, non-Hindi speakers are treated as second-class citizens. [ [http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnist1.asp?main_variable=Columnist&file_name=surya%2Fsurya25.txt&writer=surya The Pioneer > Columnists ] ]

The issue of having multiple languages, does not exist anywhere else in the world except in European Union [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html CIA - The World Factbook - Field Listing - Languages ] ] . Also because of the large population involved (India is the second most populous country in the world), it is challenging to find a solution.

Local Offical language commissions have been established and various steps are taken in a direction to reduce tensions and frictions.

Changes in 2007

* Worlds most prestigious Indian Institute of Technology entrance, most popularly known as IIT-JEE, has changed its format. In 2007, the questions are posed in either Hindi or English, and students can answer in one of these 12 regional languages Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. [ [http://www.indiaresults.com/Career_Guidance/IIT/default.htm Indian Institute of Technology, IIT, IIT-JEE, Joint Entrance Examination, IITJEE, IIT JEE, IIT Delhi, Chennai, Guwahati, Mumbai, Kanapur, Kharagpur, Roorkee, Screening Test, Main Examination ] ]

References

External links

* [http://rajbhasha.nic.in/ Official webpage explains the chronological events related to "Official Languages Act" and amendments]
* [http://www.ciil.org/ A comprehensive federal government site that offers complete info on Indian Languages]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=IN Ethnologue Ethnologue report on the languages of India]
* [http://tdil.mit.gov.in/news.htm Technology Development for Indian Languages, Government of India]
* [http://india.gov.in/knowindia/india_at_a_glance.php The Official Portal of the Indian Government]