Dimapur: The Naga Students Federation (NSF) has vehemently opposed the Centre’s move to make Hindi a compulsory subject till Class X in the northeastern states.
The federation urged the government of India to revoke its decision to maintain peaceful co-existence and avoid any further misunderstandings.
In a release, NSF president Kegwayhun Tep and education secretary Medovi Rhi said, the “compulsory imposition” of a particular language would only propagate disunity and misunderstanding among the peace-loving citizens and indigenous people of Northeast states. The federation pointed out that there are many indigenous groups in the Northeast region with diverse cultures, races, languages and religions.
According to the NSF, the Centre’s move will also undermine the languages of ethnic groups of the Northeast region and compromise its richness and uniqueness.
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It said the indigenous languages having their rich values are the identity of the multiple communities that makes the Northeast a “diverse region in all dimensions”.
Maintaining that making Hindi a compulsory subject would only invite confusion, hurdles and discomfort for the student community and the Naga people, the NSF affirmed to safeguard the interests and sentiments of the Naga people in particular and the Northeast region in general as the entire region is against the proposed imposition of Hindi.
The North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) has also expressed its strong opposition to the proposal to make Hindi a compulsory subject till class X in all the eight northeastern states.
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In a letter to Union home minister Ami Shah, NESO chairman Samuel B Jyrwa and secretary-general Sinam Prakash Singh said the imposition of Hindi as a compulsory subject in the northeast region will be detrimental not only to the propagation and dissemination of the indigenous languages but also to students who will be compelled to add another compulsory subject to their already vast syllabus.
“NESO is vehemently against this policy and will continue to oppose it as it had done in the past,” the organisation said.