Let Native Hindi Speakers Learn Kannada
Pluralism is India’s pride. India has identified itself as one nation with one flag retaining its diversity. It was not formed on the basis of one culture and one language. India announced itself as a Republic by recognizing its diverse languages, culture, religions, and traditions. It is true that while we are all Indians, at the same time, we are Kannadigas, Tamilians, or Keralites as well. We can become true Indians only by retaining our Kannada identity and not by giving up the Kannada identity. India is a melting pot of many languages and cultures. If we discard our languages and cultures, there will not be anything left to be considered Indian.
With this being the case, attempts are being made extensively over the past decade to dent the plurality of India. The Sangh Parivar has been working systematically in the back end to impose one culture and one language and destroy the diversity of India. States are expressing outrage that the Union Government is spearheading this project. But it is not the first time that states are being pressurized to accept one language. Now, attempts are also being made to equate the culture of India into Vedic culture. North India is trying to ride over South India by replacing Indian symbols with Vedic symbols. A new narrative that acceptance of India means accepting all the impositions of North Indians is being pushed relentlessly.
Many Southern states are expressing their opposition to these developments. Ironically, this form of dominance is not limited to culture alone. It also extends to the fiscal relationship between the Centre and State with attempts being made to snatch the economic freedom of states. Southern states are facing harassment over their share of financial resources with the Centre backstabbing the states over GST. With states slowly losing their power to raise their voices against such attempts, they find themselves in a sorry state where they cannot even demand a fair share of their revenue from the Centre.
This is also the backdrop in which back door attempts are again being made to impose Hindi or Sanskrit through a trilingual education policy. Having already made everyone believe that Hindi is the national language, the Centre is making preparations to formally announce it and brand those who don’t know the language as ‘non-Indians’.
A sample of this attempt at language hegemony was witnessed in Delhi when a CISF officer asked Tamil Nadu MP Kanimozhi whether she is an Indian after she expressed her inability to understand Hindi and asked if the officer could speak to her either in English or Tamil. Her inability to speak in Hindi prompted the officer to question the MP’s nationality. The belief that all Indians should know Hindi seems to have made the officer ask the question. Whether this was a casual incident or the officer was innocent cannot be established. But it is true that as part of attempts being made to impose Hindi across the country, South Indians are being made to feel uncomfortable having to face such questions. If an officer has the courage to question an MP in this manner, imagine the plight of ordinary people.
Today, North Indians are being deliberately posted in railways and banks and customers are being deliberately made to learn Hindi instead of teaching the staff the regional language. In banks, Kannada Rajyothsava is not being celebrated in the same manner as ‘Hindi Day’. If a farmer from Karnataka goes to the main branch of a bank and tries to communicate in Kannada, he will not get an answer. On the contrary, he will have to face the wrath of the staff for having spoken in Kannada. Kannada medium schools are endangered due to the onslaught of English medium schools and Kannada is increasingly getting reduced as a spoken language. If the imposition of Hindi continues in this manner, Kannada may not even survive as a spoken language.
As it is, North Indians consider South Indians as pariahs on the basis of their colour, language, and culture. In the past, a BJP leader attracted controversy arguing that North Indians are not racists and defending North Indians, asking ‘Don’t we live with South Indians’? Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s attempts to celebrate Kerala’s Onam festival as ‘Vamana Jayanthi’ can be recalled here. Southern states are in the forefront of health, education, IT, BT, cinema, literature, and other fields. Kerala ranks topmost in health and education. Poverty and illiteracy are reigning in the Hindi belt of North India. Without learning Hindi, South India has not lost out on anything. At the same time, states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have not developed because of the Hindi language. In such a situation, why is the Centre imposing Hindi on Southern States? On the contrary, it should be made compulsory for people of all Hindi speaking states to learn at least one Southern Indian language. With this, North Indians can try to build links with Southern India.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
