Why does Amit Shah believe India is not united enough? Why does he think a national language is required? 

Actor turned politician Kamal Hassan has released a video statement on his Twitter profile slamming Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Hindi Divas statement proposing the idea of Hindi as a national language and its promotion and expansion to larger parts of the country.

Going back to the history of India’s birth as a sovereign state, Hassan said, “The unity in diversity is a promise we made when we made India into a republic. Now no Shah, Sultan or Samrat should renege on that promise.” While several opposition leaders have spoken out against Shah’s attempt to finally realize the long standing BJP-RSS slogan of Hindi-Hindu-Hindustan, Kamal Hassan’s retort by far has been the sharpest.

In the short video he reminded the Centre of the Jallikattu protests of 2017 and made a veiled threat that the “battle for (our) language will be exponentially greater” and that “all would suffer in case of any short sighted folly.”

What stands out as the most interesting part of his statement is where he reminded that India’s National Anthem was written in Bengali but gave due respect to all other Indian languages and identities and that’s why it is respected by all.

This reminds us of another patriotic song by pre-independence lawyer, nationalist leader and singer-composer, Atul Prasad Sen (1871-1934) during the Swadeshi movement in Bengal titled ‘Hao Dharmete Dheer’ which invoked feelings of unity in diversity and the idea of plural inclusive India.

Urging the Bengali youth to forget religious differences and join the freedom struggle against the British colonialist, the poet wrote,

হও ধর্মেতে ধীর, হও কর্মেতে বীর,

হও উন্নত শীর নাহি ভয়।

Be patient with religion, Be brave in duty.

With your head held high, no fear.

ভূলি ভেদাভেদ জ্ঞান,

হও সবে আগুয়ান

সাথে আছে ভগবান হবে জয়।

Go forth, putting aside differences.

Victory shall be yours, as God is there.

Celebrating India’s cultural and linguistic diversity he wrote,

নানা ভাষা নানা মত নানা পরিধান

বিবিধের মাঝে দেখো মিলন মহান।

Many languages, many views, many attires to wear.

See what holy unison among the many differences here.

Yet another song by Atul Prasad, believed to be presented by him at the 1916 All India Congress Convention held in Lucknow, stressed upon the Hindu and Muslim harmony we have been proud of, “দেখ মা এবার দুয়ার খুলে গলে গলে এনু মা তোর হিন্দু মুসলমান দুই ছেলে (Look, O Mother, we have come hand in hand, two of your children, Hindu and Musalman).

Likewise, countless patriotic and revolutionary songs composed and sung during the freedom struggle through late 19th to early 20th century have emphasized and celebrated India’s diversity. Songs which inspired and united millions of Indians to fight for mother India until the day we gained independence.

India’s pluralism has always been viewed as one of our greatest soft power, something that astonishes the world and leaves an unforgettable mark on every body who gets to know India, from travellers to historians to political leaders and so on.

When India gained independence, a community of global leaders who had already built and destroyed their nations with two world wars looked at India with cynicisms and speculated that we would not survive a decade. A country with such plurality, poverty and illiteracy would disintegrate in hundred pieces in no time they thought.

But India survived. People of India led by successive governments stood united and prospered for over 70 years. We consistently rose and shined, reached the moon and took the nation to 10% growth and two trillion economy all before Mr. Modi came to power. No matter what the BJP-RSS propaganda machinery say, India was a success story even before Modi.

Suddenly, the new Home Minister seems to think we don’t have enough unity and that only Hindi language can unite us. That only Hindi can give us identity in the global platform insinuating currently we don’t have it. Coming from the Home Minister, this is in fact an insult to the people of India who has contributed to India’s growth and unity for 70 years. The government should not make radical statements, polices, laws unless they are backed by proper research and data. But instead of knowledge this government is driven by a warped ideology of the RSS and is acting in an autocratic manner to impose it upon all of India.

Meanwhile, nation’s economic growth is reduced to 5% (2.5% if we believe ex-Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian) thanks to, what Kamal Hassan called, ‘short sighted follies’ of demonetisation and GST; unemployment rate has hit 45 years high, several industry from the automobile to textile are facing shut downs and job cuts; crime rates have been on the rise and before we could conclude how much it has risen, govt stopped publishing the crime statistics, social fabric of the nation has been destroyed to the extent that Hon’ble Supreme Court had to tell States to form a new law preventing mob lynching; 8 million people are kept under communication shut down because if they are allowed to speak they will tell how angry they are, and another 19 lakhs have been rendered stateless ripping apart homes.

I can go on and on with a list of failures of the Modi government, none of which would be solved by Hindi language.