The controversy over Hindi’s dominance in India has raged since Independence, followed by the adoption of the language as the country’s official tongue. India is a country with diverse linguistic and cultural traditions, and adopting a single language would be contrary to democratic and federalist principles.
Mahatma Gandhi’s initial plan was to create Hindustani (a mix of Hindi and Urdu), but it failed. Post-independence, several efforts were made to recognise Hindi as the national language. But the Constituent Assembly refused, arguing that India was a union of states with diverse cultures and languages, and that imposing Hindi was not appropriate.
As per the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, there are 22 official languages that have received official recognition. However, controversy emerged from time to time regarding the imposition of Hindi. Article 351 of the Constitution speaks about the Union’s duty to promote and develop Hindi as a means of expression for all aspects of India’s composite culture. This clause highlights the need for encouraging language use rather than imposing it on people. Hence, the foundations of democracy and federalism are violated whenever there is an attempt to impose a single language across the entire nation.
The language debate raged in the 1960s when the government implemented the Official Languages Act of 1963, which designated Hindi as the primary official language. In response to protests in southern states, the government added English to the list of official languages, along with Hindi.
Under the National Education Policy of 1968, a three-language formula was written, making it compulsory to have Hindi, English, and one modern Indian language in schools for Hindi-speaking states. In 2019, under the Modi government, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development released a draft of implementing a National Education Policy, but this was withdrawn due to protests in southern states.
This friction between Hindi and other languages has often spilled over into advertising too. On January 11, 2023, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) instructed the Karnataka Milk Federation to prominently label curd as “Dahi” and use “Mosaru” in brackets. This was perceived as yet another attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking southern regions.
Following Tamil Nadu’s stiff opposition, FSSAI rolled back the said direction on March 29, 2023, after the people there repudiated it. The press release provides fresh guidelines providing that Food Business Operations may use the term “Curd” along with any prevalent regional common name in brackets on the label.
FSSAI is autonomous statutory body administered by Ministry of Food, Health & Family Welfare that maintains food safety and standards in India as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It was set up in 2008 for monitoring food hygiene and quality in India.
In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (e) of sub-section 2 of Section 92 (Power of Food Authority to make regulations), read with Section 16 (Duties and functions of Food Authority) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, FSSAI made its first Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) First Amendment Regulations, 2023. The amendment substituted “Dahi, skimmed milk Dahi” as item (vi) under the column of General Standards for Milk and Milk Products in sub-regulation 2.1.1 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Activities) Regulations, 2011.
It further omitted the word “curd” from the column of Standards for Fermented Milk Products under the regulation. The amendment states: “Provided that the name ‘fermented milk’ may be replaced with the designations dahi and yoghurt if the product complies with the relevant provisions of this Standard. Provided further that in case of fermented products complying with the relevant provisions of Dahi, any other designation (prevalent regional common name) may be used together with the term ‘Dahi’ in brackets on the label.”
Narasimhamurthy, president of Bengaluru Milk Union Ltd., which is the largest milk union in the state, said that the board would oppose the attempt to impose Hindi and would write to FSSAI to review its guidelines of imposing the word “Dahi”.
Many political leaders from the southern states also flayed the said notification and attempts at imposing Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin criticised the direction that instructed the milk federations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to prominently display the word “Dahi” in the curd packets and to place their Kannada and Tamil equivalents in brackets. He tweeted: “The unabashed insistences of Hindi Imposition have come to the extent of directing us to label even a curd packet in Hindi, relegating Tamil and Kannada to our own states. Such brazen disregard for our mother tongues will make sure those responsible are banished from the South forever.”
Stalin urged the FSSAI to respect people’s feelings and not ask the south to keep their mother tongue hidden. “Don’t ever indulge in the act of pinching the child and then rocking the cradle. You will go missing even before you rock the cradle,” the CM tweeted in Tamil.
Stalin has criticised the BJP government for trying to destroy other languages by imposing Hindi on India based on its “One Nation, One Everything”. The Ministry of Home Affairs has completed the Mother Tongue Survey and videography of 576 languages, but results will be declared as part of the upcoming population census.
Political parties have always expressed their objections to Hindi being imposed on non-Hindi-speaking states. Every time the language controversy surfaces, social media trends with the hashtags #StopHindiImposition and #StopHindiDivas. Karnataka has seen anti-Hindi protests where the Bengaluru metro was painted black, and protests emerged under the tagline “Namma Metro Hindi Beda”.
On the other hand, the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Federation, Aavin, has informed FSSAI that it will not print the Hindi word “Dahi” on the curd sachets. FSSAI’s Joint Director (Science and Standard), released a letter which stated: “Dahi can be labelled as per the following examples: Dahi (Curd), Dahi (Mosaru), Dahi (Zaamut daud), Dahi (Tayir), Dahi (Perugu), or Dahi (Tair), etc., based on the regional nomenclature used in different states for Dahi.”
The Minister for Milk and Dairy Development, SM Nasar, referred to an incident last year when FSSAI wanted the southern state to write doodh (milk) on the milk packets. But this too was rejected by the people. He said that this is an indirect attempt to impose Hindi language in the state. The Tamil Nadu state president of the BJP, K Annamalai, also voiced dismay with the FSSAI’s decision to use the term “Dahi,” saying that it contradicted the central government’s policy of supporting regional languages.
This is not the first time that southern states have objected to the imposition of Hindi. Last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah insisted that people from various states converse in Hindi rather than English, reigniting the debate about the imposition of Hindi. Previously, at a BJP rally, Shah had stated that if there was one language capable of binding the country together, it was Hindi.
Linguistic imposition is a complex issue and has historical, societal and political overtones. It is vital to respect and recognise the diversity of languages spoken by different groups, as well as stand for inclusive language policies that promote equality and understanding.
—By Ritika Gaur and India Legal Bureau