HINDIA or INDIA?
Thou Shalt Know Hindi!
TAMIL TRIBUNE, November 1997 (ID.
1997-11-01)
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DEFINITION
Hindians: People whose mother tongue is Hindi (similar to Tamil speakers are sometimes referred as Tamilans or Tamilians).
A few months ago I read a posting in one of the Internet Newsgroups about Hindian arrogance. A couple from one of the Hindi states was staying at a hotel in Kodaikanal city, Tamil Nadu. The husband had some disagreement about the hotel bill at checkout time. He complained to the hotel manager in Hindi. The manager did not know Hindi. He responded in English. The guest responded in Hindi. The manager replied in English, and it went on. Finally the manager got hold of a hotel employee who knew some Hindi, and he acted as translator. The bill was settled. The husband told his wife in Hindi as they were leaving the hotel, "all these Madrasis know Hindi but they act as if they don't know. Fools!" (NOTE: Some people from north refer to South Indians as Madrasis.)
This incidence shows the utter arrogance of some Hindians. They think that India is Hindia and every Indian citizen should know Hindi. "This is India. How dare you do not speak Hindi?" is their attitude.
Suppose there were no Hindi-knowing employees at that hotel, what would happen? There is no responsibility for the hotel to have Hindi translators on hand. This is a state that does not accept Hindi as the sole official language of India and is the only state where Hindi is not taught at public schools. Most hotel managers and front-desk employees have a "working-knowledge" of English in Tamil Nadu. So is the case with taxi drivers.
It is the responsibility of the visitor to know a few basic words in the local language or have a small traveler's dictionary to get by. If I go to Japan, shall I insist that they know Malayalam or even English? I will have to take a traveler's English-Japanese dictionary with me. If I go to Hindi speaking Uttar Pradesh and insist that they do business with me in Malayalam, what will happen? I cannot get by even with English in some areas of the Indian capital New Delhi (New Delhi is located in the Hindi region). I understand that everyone does not know English, no need to. I happen to know some Hindi but if I do not, it is my responsibility to go prepared.
Also, did this man know any English at all? I have serious problem believing that he did not know even a few English words, enough to say, "I do not know English or Tamil. I know only Hindi". He did not say anything like that. He spoke only in Hindi. This is a case of sheer arrogance insisting that every Indian citizen should know Hindi. How many of them know Malayalam or, for that matter, any other Indian language?
This incidence reminds me of a news item I read back in the late 1960's or early 1970's. A politician form a Hindi speaking state was traveling by the Indian government owned Indian Airlines. He needed something, so he pressed the button for the airline stewardess and asked for it in Hindi. She did not know Hindi. (This was 25 years ago. Now Indian Airlines insists that every employee know Hindi even if they fly between non-Hindi states only. So much for repeated assurances by Prime Ministers that Hindi will not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking peoples.) Since the stewardess did not understand Hindi, the passenger in the next seat told her in English what the politician wanted. The politician shot back to the passenger, "if she does not know Hindi, I do not want it." Look at the utter arrogance of this Hindian politician! He was angry and annoyed that this stewardess employed by HIS government did not know Hindi.
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