The Narendra Modi government 2.0 is becoming a perennial headache. It seems to have a multitude of anti-people policies and programmes in its kitty and releases them one after another, having scant regard for the sufferings of the people. After the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status and the release of the expensive National Register of Citizens, the Home Minister is hinting at a ‘One Nation, One Language’ policy (Front page, “Only Hindi can work to unite country, says Amit Shah”, Sept. 15). He could not have made this statement without the concurrence of the Prime Minister. The two are like Scylla and Charybdis, taking the country from one crisis to another. India is a multilingual country consisting of people speaking multiple languages and dialects and yet living in harmony. The mother tongue is a marker of identity of every individual and the Centre would do well not to tinker with the right of an Indian to communicate in his mother tongue.
Manoharan Muthuswamy,
Nabadwip, West Bengal
The BJP seems to have either ignored or forgotten the upheavals that rocked Madras in the 1960s consequent to the then-Central government’s decision to impose Hindi. Sensing the strong opposition to the move in South India, the Centre gave an assurance that English will continue to be the associate official language. One is at sea as to why the Home Minister has made a statement on this topic now. Doesn’t the government have more urgent problems to be addressed?
Mani Natarajan,
Chennai
