You are right - Matra Basha - Means Other Language. For Tamils and other Hindi is just another language. Only difference, the central government uses Tax payers money to impose it - from trains to CBSE schools.Problem is that it does not end with that. There is these propaganda stickers in trains saying only Hindians are Indian while others are foreigners, selection based on Hindi instead of technical knowledge and others, lineancy for Hindi speaking offenders in trains without even a fine (very common to see in South). That is true indication of Indian racism.

If Tamil was our national language (spoken by over 40% of Indians) I as a North Indian would have felt very proud it it were recognised internationally. People who refuse to reognise Hindi as our Matra Bhasha are the real frogs living in a well.

The Minister should have answered in Tamil, an Indian language. That would have put the Hindi fanatics in their place.

Not sure why the minister inspite of being fluent in hindi did not reply in hindi. Is it possible that he did not want to give a straight forward answer?Please give me a break on "English" as the reason for steering the country on the world stage stuff. Any country that has a combination of smart, hard working, educated people and with a little luck can put their country on the "world stage". The japanese, korean and chinese people are testament to that. What percentage of these people know english and can communicate effectively. Can you even imagine a french minister talking in english in the french parliament or an italian minister talking english in the Italian parliament.Unfortunately knowledge of english is how we Indians differentiate a "cultured" person from an "uncultured" one. We Indians perceive our languages, culture and religions to be inferior. The disease is within each one of us.

ENGLISH IS LINGUA FRANCA OF THE WORLD. ENGLISH IS VERY LARGLY SPOKEN AND UNDERSTOOD NEXT ONLY TO CHINESE. HINDI IS UNDER DEVELOPED AND DIVIDES THE NATION ON LINGUISTIC LINES. ENGLISH INTEGRATES INDIA.

LET ME ASK SOME QUESTIONS TO HINDI PATRIOTS.(HINDI ZEALOTS DO NOT ACCEPT AS PATRIOT PEOPLE WHO DO NOT KNOW HINDI). ARE YOU SENDING YOUR CHILDREN TO PURELY HINDI MEDIUM SCHOOLS WITH REAL PATRIOTISM?.AND ALSO I ASK HINDI PATRIOTS WHETHER SOME OF THEM CONDUCTING EXPORT BUSINESS WITHOUT USAGE OF ENGLISH?. DO THEY KNOW JUSTICE CHAGLA RULED THAT THE ENGLISH IS VERY VERY INDIAN IN NATURE?

Grow up all you regional despots. Your regional bigotry is drowning India into a quagmire of disintegration. Learn English that has transformed the lives of at least 300 million Indians that steer the country on the world stage. English is a gift that fell into our laps through the colonial civilisation of India. To reverse this legacy of our past would be disasterous

Hindi is the most widespread language spoken in India. According to 2001 census over 40% of Indians use Hindi as their mother language. It is a shame that people like Satyam will talk about splitting the country on the basis of language. No we are not going to split our country on the basis of different languages spoken. We are so privileged that so many cultures, beliefs, religions coexist in harmony in this great nation of ours. We need to respect all languages spoken in North, South, East and West but have to recognise the fact that Hindi is our national language. Jai ho!

DONT YOU GUYS REALISE THAT JAIRAM DIDNT MEAN THAT HINDI WAS A DISEASE.. RATHER THAT THE ACT OF INSISTING OF SPEAKING IN HINDI WHEN YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ENGLISH WAS AN IRRITANT FOR HIM.

Before we get into the Hindi vs. English debate, it just seems to me to be a matter of simple common sense to give the answer in Hindi if a question is asked in Hindi; and answer in english if the question is posed in English. Clearly, the honorable minister JayramJi played a mischief by unnecessarily dragging in MulayamJi and his bimari. I am no fan of any jokers but this was clearly uncalled for. Now, MulayamJi with his ego hurt will say something, then there will be demands for apologies, then Madam will get involved and these clowns will nontinue nonsensical talk at the expense of us, the tax-payers. Stay tuned. There is more to come.

What is it with our South Indian friends? They act as if English is their "mother tongue" and they were all born speaking English. English is a foreign language they learned with effort. Surely they can make the same effort to learn the national language, Hindi, as did our beloved Italian supremo, king-maker, the final decider and approver, Goddess incarnate SoniaJi.

"Pandering to the so-called-non-Hindi speakers.Sixty years is more than enough to learn your national language?" And who decides which is the 'national language'? The semi literates from Northern India ? Beware, India is inhabited by people whose first language may not be Hindi and we have absolutely no intention of handing over an unreasonable and unfair advantage to these illiterate buffoons, which would be the case if Hindi is given primacy.I am sure inhabitants of TN,AP,Kerala,Karnataka,Maharashtra,Guj,W B.,Assam,Meghalaya,Nagaland,Mizoram,Tripura,Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh fully agree with me.By the way, for the record, I myself am not a South Indian but from Maharashtra a state which took a leading part in the freedom struggle with Hindi as a compulsory language in school and look at what we have got in 60 years of independence,a couple of millions of unlettered migrants from UP and Bihar who are out to replicate their badlands in Mumbai and other parts of the state!

Years ago, when I joined Tatas in Bombay as a graduate apprentice engineer, I was talking to my cousin over phone, to meet for dinner at a popular restaurant. My colleague, another apprentice engineer from Kanpur, obviously listening to this phone talk, asked me why I spoke to my cousin in English and not in my mother tongue. I told him that I use language as a tool for communication and will always choose the one I am comfortable with and also the one the other person can understand! As simple as that. I studied sanskrit for 14 years in school and college and I can read Hindi easily. I will force myself to speak in Hindi ot some other language to a person ONLY IF THE OTHER PERSON DOES NOT SPEAK or UNDERSTAND ANY OTHER LANGUAGE. Period. This Hindi fanaticism among the BIMARU crowd is as bad as the Islamic fanaticism among the moslems. We may succeed in eliminating the Islamic fanaticism but can we eliminate the Hindi fanaticism??

Our Politicians don't spare anything to politicise and befool Indians. What is wrong in the language as in Parliament there are translaters and answer can be taken all the sheduled languages. Respect all the languages of the world.

A MP from a southern state was repeatedly disturbing Late Ram Manohar Lohia when he was making a point in Hindi. Lohia ji smiled and obliged by speaking a few words in English which went over his head - Lohia ji then said "You live in Delhi amd know few words in Hindi, but if you press me to spaek in English you will understand nothing - what do you want? Late Lohia had a very rich vocubulary. Question is not language - but its status. 20 Years back I could not get my address changed for a gas cylinder - as I always spoke in Hindi. My gas agent said send someone else to the officer in Indian Oil who speaks English and your work will be done in minutes. Look at the language our PM speaks - it is neither English nor Punjabi - we have no sense of phonetics. With due respect to my South Indian brothers - when one listens you speak english - it is a melody to ears and one is tempted to learn Tamil, Telegu, Kannad or Malyalam - even British did not know English could be so melodious.

English is a beautiful language and so is Hindi. The fact is that even today, a majority of Indians cannot speak English properly. Those who think they are speaking English typically speak Hinglish - an inarticulate form of broken English in incomplete sentences delivered in horrible accents that sound like Tamil or Punjabi or whatever. Despite more than half a century of independence and considerable national pride, our servile attitude is evident in the ubiquitous usage of the British relic "Sir" to address anybody in a position of power. The Chinese do not conduct the affairs of state in English and neither do the Japanese, Russians or Spaniards. We must study and master the English language, but let us conduct all official business uniformly in our own language - Hindi. Enough is enough about pandering the so-called non-Hindi speakers. Sixty years is more than enough to learn your national language.

1) A country is identified by its geography, language and culture. I believe that every one has the right to learn, and express in one's mother tongue, irrespective of the region.2)All Indian languages are derivatives of Sanskrit, including Hindi. There is no clash or competition between them. English is a foreign language and an international language and should get her due respect. Problem arises with words such as cow belt, BIMARU, North India etc. etc. How do you feel if some one calls you Madrasi,Illar etc. etc.We have a 3 language formula which is working well and there is no debate on that. Main question was - If 2 Indians know a common Indian language - then is it necessary for them to speak in a foreign language? This was the game plan of British - Indians will fight amongst each other and will try to pull each other down, for language, caste, religion - your kind words against your own countrymen prove it - does it give you any pride? or are you ashamed?

Nowhere in the constitution is Hindi said to be "the" national language. It is declared as the official language of the centre for official purposes. English is also to be used in a similar manner for as long as the non=Hindi people want it. The schedule lists the National languages of India that includes Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali and Oriya among others. It is no use for Hindi lovers to shout that their kanguage is "the" national language and others are "regional" languages. Do the Hindi lovers want a re-enactment of the Tamil Nadu agitation in the Sixties against the imposition of Hindi?

If Hindi is indeed the national language and belongs to the whole of India, then you should first force our politicians,including those from the cow belt to send their children to Hindi medium schools only and then advise others about the merits of the language. And if there has to be a single language for the entire nation, will you apologists for Hindi dare apply the same principle to the desirability for a Common Civil Code for all Indian citizens irrespective of religion? Fact is even though it might have been given the questionable status of a national language it will just give an unreasonable advantage to the semi literate masses from North India who don't value education of any sort or law and order for that matter.Their migration in tens of thousands to non-Hindi states for a living is proof that knowing just Hindi apparently doesn't fill stomachs!No way!Imposition of Hindi at the cost of English in India will make me sup with the Devil if need be, to oppose you!

I am a South Indian but I agree strongly that we must speak to the world in our own language rather than using a relic of the colonial world.A language must express the soul of a people and unfortunately English is not the solution.In an ideal world Hindi would have been the apt choice but than it leads to fears of domination by the Hindiwalas to many other Indians.In this respect I believe that Sanskrit would be the right choice.It is the only Indian language which is equally unknown to most Indians.It has a well developed literature,almost perfect grammer and has a well evolved medical and technological vocabulary.If the minorities do feel threatened than let us compromise on the script to re assure them. Sanskrit is the very essence of our collective psyche and it is now the right time to make it our national language. Jai Hind!

Well said Jairam Ramesh. Hindi is certainly not a bimaari as rightly said by agitated MPs..but sure will become a dreaded disease with country wide ramifications if the MPs from the cow belt dont stop behaving like lumpens and learn to respect other languages

What the hell is wrong with BJP guys? Manmohan Singh sold off India's strategic interests and these guys are worried English vs Hindi! No wonder they can't win elections.

Rightly said...an Indian citizen...Hindi is the national language but English is the business language most Indians use except, the majority of yokels from the so called northern cw belt.

I wish to make it quite clear that English is one of the official languages of India along with Hindi. No power in India certainly none from the BIMARU states nor anyone of the likes of semi literates like Mulayam or Laloo can force Hindi down the throats of other Indians whose first language is not Hindi. How dare can our Hindi belt politicians equate someone's lack of fluency in Hindi with not being Indian? I dare these politicians to even try to eliminate English and substitute that with Hindi and see the turmoil that ensues! The semi literates from Northern India had better not try to impose their mother tongue on those who speak other Indian languages, they are free not to talk to us if they so choose but English as a link and one of the official language of India will remain for all time to come! No one dare change that if they want India to remain in one piece and prosper !

What is new in it? British when left made sure that Nehru - Gandhi dynasty will continue the style of RAJ, therefore congressmen chant in “English” stability, continuance etc.? Our PM pronounces “Joint statement” as “Giant statement”, why Mulayam ji, even I do not understand the meaning of PM's speech when made in English. Jairam Ramesh is after all from ruling class and not aam aadmi - therefore he speaks the language of ruling (giant) class - Kalraj and Mulayam both failed to understand this. Hindi is a National language but enjoys the status that of Mahatma Gandhi on wall of a BAR.