Northeast: NESO writes to home minister Amit Shah on Hindi issue, calls it ‘unfavourable policy’

The Northeast Students’ Organisation (NESO) has shot off a letter to union home minister Amit Shah over the issue of ‘imposition’ of Hindi language in the schools of the region.

NESO has urged union home minister Amit Shah to withdraw the “unfavourable policy” of making Hindi a compulsory subject in schools of the Northeast.

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Instead, the NESO has demanded the union home minister to take measures to ensure further uplift of indigenous languages of the Northeast.

“The imposition of Hindi as a compulsory subject in the Northeast region will be detrimental not only for 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 chairman Samuel Jyrwa and secretary general Sinam Prakash Singh stated in their letter to union home minister Amit Shah.

Also read: Assamese will always get first priority: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on ‘imposition’ of Hindi

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NESO, the apex student’s body of eight student bodies from seven Northeast states, voiced objection to the proposal of making Hindi language, a component of the Modern Indian Language (MIL), compulsory till class 10 in the Northeast.

“In the North Eastern region each state bears its own unique and diversified languages spoken by different ethnic groups ranging from Indo-Aryan to Tibeto-Burman, to Austro-Asiatic families. In the region, a native or indigenous language or a mother tongue is an important marker for a community. Native or indigenous languages are being further enriched in terms of all aspects such as in literature, academics and arts,” the NESO said.

It added: “The NESO is vehemently against this policy and will continue to oppose as it had done in the past. As per the understanding of the organization, such a move will not usher in unity but will be a tool to create apprehensions and disharmony.”