Official work in Hindi, says Haryana education min — ‘I myself do not know English'
"I myself do not know English, and 90% of the people in our state are far from (understanding) English.
Therefore, so that people can understand official work, I have ordered all work in the education department to be done in Hindi," the minister said at a press conference in Kurukshetra on Thursday.
The announcement was made days after the directorate of higher education issued an order on June 10, saying all official correspondence "must henceforth be presented in Hindi". It also specified that any communication to the education minister and the additional chief secretary (education) should be in Hindi as well.
Until now, the state education department had the option to use both Hindi and English.
Calling Hindi the "rastrabhasha (national language)", Dhanda said that this policy is not "anti-English".
"We are not enemies of English... We are not in favour of stopping English. Knowledge of other languages is also necessary. English-medium schools are still being opened in the state. For me, language is mainly to acquire knowledge, rather than becoming a barrier in practical work," the minister said.
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The Indian Constitution does not name any "national language", and both Hindi and English are recognised as "official languages".
Dhanda on Wednesday pointed out that the policy is only for official communication and it is not related to academics.
"What's the problem in this (policy)? It's a mode of communication, do it in any language... Hindi is better understood by people," a senior education department official in Panchkula said.
Dushyant Thakran, a school teacher in Gurgaon, questioned if the policy would make any difference. "Schools are already focused on teaching children English," he said.
Before this, controversy has erupted on the implementation of central govt's NEP, which pushes for a "three-language formula". Tamil Nadu govt has accused the Centre of trying to impose Hindi on the state, though the BJP govt has denied the charge as an unnecessary controversy.
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