Travails of a ‘Native Hindi Speaker’
(This article originally appeared on MyIndMakers.)
Hindi-walas are probably one of the most, if not the most, hated linguistic groups in India. From the often violent anti-Hindi movement of the south to recent social media trolling about ‘Hindi imperialism’ ever since Narendra Modi-led BJP government riding a huge parliamentary mandate romped to power in Delhi, the Hindi speakers have seen it all. Hardly a day goes by when you don’t encounter someone ranting and outraging on the mainstream and/or the social media about the evil Hindi-walas, the votaries of Hindi, Hindu, and Hindustan, who are out to ‘impose’ Hindi and their culture on the rest of India. Such feeling is prevalent probably more in south India than in the other parts of the country. So, why does Hindi invoke such feeling, one may wonder?
Well, on the surface the root cause of this antagonism may seem to stem from the constitutional status of Hindi. After independence the new Constitution of India (Article 343) granted Hindi, written in Devanagari scrip, the status of the ‘Official Language of the Union’. There was a genuine fear among other linguistic groups that Hindi will usurp myriads of other languages that have come to characterize India’s linguistic landscape. From Balti, Dogri in the north to Tamil, Andamanese in the south; and from Marwari, Gujarati in the west to Meitei, Khasi in the east, India has hundreds, if not thousands, of recorded languages (according to 1961 census, there were 1,652 languages in India). Considering this fact, those fears were not totally irrational. But in the south, it was also the false narrative of the Aryan Migration/Invasion theory that is responsible for fomenting this ill feeling. This narrative has been built over centuries of colonial rule and then was maliciously perpetuated and amplified by the Marxist-Nehruvian-Nurul Hassan historians who dubiously controlled not only the history books also the entire spectrum of the intellectual space. A byproduct of such a narrative is the notion of Aryan-Dravidian conflict. This Aryan Migration/Invasion theory, as we know now, is devoid of any supporting evidence. Many have declared it nothing more than a ‘figment of imagination’. Genetic data suggests that there has not been any significant change in the South Asian genetic pool in at least 10,000-15,000 years. The data also confirms the peninsular origin of the Dravidian speakers. Furthermore, many scholars including famed archaeologists B.B. Lal, consider the Vedic and Harappan civilization as the literary and material facets of the same civilization ruling out any chance of a conflict, actual or perceived.
Coming back to Hindi, which along with Urdu, is one of the newest languages of India. It is very difficult to say as to when exactly Hindi as a language came into existence. Scholars are divided in their opinion on this issue. However, one can find some obvious traces of Hindi in the poetry of the Siddha and Nath sadhus of 8-9th century CE. We can also find a glimpse of the early Hindi in the language of the Jain poets (like Hemchandra and Dharma Suri), Vidyapati, Abdurrehman Khankhana and Swayambhu. The more established form of Hindi (the 'Khari Boli') is visible in the literatures of Sharfuddin, Amir Khusrau, Banda Niwaz Gailurdaz, Sultan Kuli Qutabshah, Shah Turab etc. The modern Hindi and its literary tradition evolved towards the end of the 18th century with the establishment of Fort William College (in 1781) in Kolkata by the British East India Company (BEIC). John Gilchrist, the principal of the College, wrote a grammar of Hindi and also compiled a dictionary of Hindi to teach and train the BEIC employees. Lallu Lal, who wrote Premsagar and Sadal Mishra, who wrote Nasike topakhyan were some of the early graduates of the College. Some Hindi newspapers and journals also stated publishing around that time. The first Hindi newspaper 'Udant Martanda' started publishing in 1826 from Kolkata. At the same time, authors like Raja Shivprasad Sitare Hind and Raja Lakshman Singh, had established new trends in Hindi literature. Later on, Hindi became the national symbol in the fight against the British colonial rule. Many Indian leaders (including Gandhiji), revolutionaries, poets and reformists resorted to Hindi to propagate their idea and ideology. Hindi had now become a tool in India’s fight against the mighty British Empire.
In this backdrop, when we talk of Hindi-speaking area in India today, we see most of north India. For example, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradhesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Dilli, Rajsthan, Haryana, etc., are considered part of Hindi-speaking area. But what gets pixelated on your computer/smartphone screen or gets printed on a piece of paper as a map of Hindi-speaking area, is nothing more than a mere illusion. While it is true that most speakers of this area have relative fluency in Hindi, chances are it may not be the only language they speak. For example, I was born and brought up in Bihar, in the heart of the Hindi area. While my mom and her side of the family are native speakers of Magahi, my dad’s side of the family spoke Maithili. While my dadaji spoke Maithili at home, he was formally educated in Farsi and Urdu. In addition, many of my neighbors were Bhojpuri speakers. On top of that, Sanskrit was compulsory for us through (public) High school where we also learnt English. Under the three-language formula, we were also taught Malayalam until one day our teacher unexpectedly and prematurely passed away. But despite different levels of proficiency in all those languages, my entire family considers itself native speakers of Hindi. This, more or less, is the story of every household of the Hindi-speaking area.
So, if for a Bihari Hindi speaker Magahi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Angika, Vajjika, etc. may be his/her primary language, it could be Awadhi, Braj, Ho, Munda, Oraon, Kharia, Haryanvi, Sindhi, Marwari, Rajasthani, Bhili, Gond, Himachali, Rajasthani, etc., for Hindi speakers from other states. And all those speakers of these languages, at some point, decided to identify themselves with Hindi and claimed it as their mother tongue. Neither Hindutava nor any kind of imperialism can be convincingly and conclusively attributed to their decision. If anything, it is the speakers of such regional languages as Magahi, Braj, etc., who should be worried. After all, it is the speakers of these languages who have largely contributed to the growth and sustenance of the Hindi linguistic pool. Consider for a moment the impact it will have on the number of Hindi speakers if even half of the speakers of these regional languages stop claiming Hindi as their mother tongue.
In light of the above discussion, it is now time we looked beyond the narrative of conflict and differences. It is time to focus on the similarities and thousands of years of shared history. In addition to the now debunked Aryan Invasion/Migration theory, we also know that despite differences Indian languages share unique similarities. Due to Linguistic Area convergence phenomena, Indian languages have seen diffusion of linguistic traits among its diverse language families. So next time you rant and outrage about Hindi and Hindi speakers, consider some of the factors discussed above. You may change your mind.
Hindi-walas are probably one of the most, if not the most, hated linguistic groups in India. From the often violent anti-Hindi movement of the south to recent social media trolling about ‘Hindi imperialism’ ever since Narendra Modi-led BJP government riding a huge parliamentary mandate romped to power in Delhi, the Hindi speakers have seen it all. Hardly a day goes by when you don’t encounter someone ranting and outraging on the mainstream and/or the social media about the evil Hindi-walas, the votaries of Hindi, Hindu, and Hindustan, who are out to ‘impose’ Hindi and their culture on the rest of India. Such feeling is prevalent probably more in south India than in the other parts of the country. So, why does Hindi invoke such feeling, one may wonder?
Well, on the surface the root cause of this antagonism may seem to stem from the constitutional status of Hindi. After independence the new Constitution of India (Article 343) granted Hindi, written in Devanagari scrip, the status of the ‘Official Language of the Union’. There was a genuine fear among other linguistic groups that Hindi will usurp myriads of other languages that have come to characterize India’s linguistic landscape. From Balti, Dogri in the north to Tamil, Andamanese in the south; and from Marwari, Gujarati in the west to Meitei, Khasi in the east, India has hundreds, if not thousands, of recorded languages (according to 1961 census, there were 1,652 languages in India). Considering this fact, those fears were not totally irrational. But in the south, it was also the false narrative of the Aryan Migration/Invasion theory that is responsible for fomenting this ill feeling. This narrative has been built over centuries of colonial rule and then was maliciously perpetuated and amplified by the Marxist-Nehruvian-Nurul Hassan historians who dubiously controlled not only the history books also the entire spectrum of the intellectual space. A byproduct of such a narrative is the notion of Aryan-Dravidian conflict. This Aryan Migration/Invasion theory, as we know now, is devoid of any supporting evidence. Many have declared it nothing more than a ‘figment of imagination’. Genetic data suggests that there has not been any significant change in the South Asian genetic pool in at least 10,000-15,000 years. The data also confirms the peninsular origin of the Dravidian speakers. Furthermore, many scholars including famed archaeologists B.B. Lal, consider the Vedic and Harappan civilization as the literary and material facets of the same civilization ruling out any chance of a conflict, actual or perceived.
Coming back to Hindi, which along with Urdu, is one of the newest languages of India. It is very difficult to say as to when exactly Hindi as a language came into existence. Scholars are divided in their opinion on this issue. However, one can find some obvious traces of Hindi in the poetry of the Siddha and Nath sadhus of 8-9th century CE. We can also find a glimpse of the early Hindi in the language of the Jain poets (like Hemchandra and Dharma Suri), Vidyapati, Abdurrehman Khankhana and Swayambhu. The more established form of Hindi (the 'Khari Boli') is visible in the literatures of Sharfuddin, Amir Khusrau, Banda Niwaz Gailurdaz, Sultan Kuli Qutabshah, Shah Turab etc. The modern Hindi and its literary tradition evolved towards the end of the 18th century with the establishment of Fort William College (in 1781) in Kolkata by the British East India Company (BEIC). John Gilchrist, the principal of the College, wrote a grammar of Hindi and also compiled a dictionary of Hindi to teach and train the BEIC employees. Lallu Lal, who wrote Premsagar and Sadal Mishra, who wrote Nasike topakhyan were some of the early graduates of the College. Some Hindi newspapers and journals also stated publishing around that time. The first Hindi newspaper 'Udant Martanda' started publishing in 1826 from Kolkata. At the same time, authors like Raja Shivprasad Sitare Hind and Raja Lakshman Singh, had established new trends in Hindi literature. Later on, Hindi became the national symbol in the fight against the British colonial rule. Many Indian leaders (including Gandhiji), revolutionaries, poets and reformists resorted to Hindi to propagate their idea and ideology. Hindi had now become a tool in India’s fight against the mighty British Empire.
In this backdrop, when we talk of Hindi-speaking area in India today, we see most of north India. For example, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradhesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Dilli, Rajsthan, Haryana, etc., are considered part of Hindi-speaking area. But what gets pixelated on your computer/smartphone screen or gets printed on a piece of paper as a map of Hindi-speaking area, is nothing more than a mere illusion. While it is true that most speakers of this area have relative fluency in Hindi, chances are it may not be the only language they speak. For example, I was born and brought up in Bihar, in the heart of the Hindi area. While my mom and her side of the family are native speakers of Magahi, my dad’s side of the family spoke Maithili. While my dadaji spoke Maithili at home, he was formally educated in Farsi and Urdu. In addition, many of my neighbors were Bhojpuri speakers. On top of that, Sanskrit was compulsory for us through (public) High school where we also learnt English. Under the three-language formula, we were also taught Malayalam until one day our teacher unexpectedly and prematurely passed away. But despite different levels of proficiency in all those languages, my entire family considers itself native speakers of Hindi. This, more or less, is the story of every household of the Hindi-speaking area.
So, if for a Bihari Hindi speaker Magahi, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Angika, Vajjika, etc. may be his/her primary language, it could be Awadhi, Braj, Ho, Munda, Oraon, Kharia, Haryanvi, Sindhi, Marwari, Rajasthani, Bhili, Gond, Himachali, Rajasthani, etc., for Hindi speakers from other states. And all those speakers of these languages, at some point, decided to identify themselves with Hindi and claimed it as their mother tongue. Neither Hindutava nor any kind of imperialism can be convincingly and conclusively attributed to their decision. If anything, it is the speakers of such regional languages as Magahi, Braj, etc., who should be worried. After all, it is the speakers of these languages who have largely contributed to the growth and sustenance of the Hindi linguistic pool. Consider for a moment the impact it will have on the number of Hindi speakers if even half of the speakers of these regional languages stop claiming Hindi as their mother tongue.
In light of the above discussion, it is now time we looked beyond the narrative of conflict and differences. It is time to focus on the similarities and thousands of years of shared history. In addition to the now debunked Aryan Invasion/Migration theory, we also know that despite differences Indian languages share unique similarities. Due to Linguistic Area convergence phenomena, Indian languages have seen diffusion of linguistic traits among its diverse language families. So next time you rant and outrage about Hindi and Hindi speakers, consider some of the factors discussed above. You may change your mind.
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