
Photo credit: From the Facebook account of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Yadav’s View
According to Mulayam Singh Yadav, the development and importance of mother tongues are typical of developed countries. He justifies his opposition towards English by stating that Hindi should be promoted instead to consolidate India as a more developed country. He added that if the leaders of the country wanted to support the development of Hindi they should abandon the double standards and stop using English in parliamentary sessions. Yadav also commented that Hindi should be promoted in all different regions so that it is spoken in addition to any regional language or dialect.
Media Opposition
Even though Yadav clarified that his crusade was not against the English language itself, the media has reacted strongly against his assertions. The Times of India published a strongly negative view on Yadav’s ban, regarding it as absurd. The Times highlighted, instead, the English language’s ability to work as a common language among parliamentarians of different linguistic backgrounds, as well as its position as the language of opportunity.
The Pioneer also took a strong stance against Yadav’s request to ban English from Parliament, this time on the basis of deeming the opposition established between English and Hindi invalid. The Pioneer stated that there was no reason why English should stop the development or affect the importance of Hindi in India. According to them, Yadav’s fight is just another way to win votes from people who believe in the false concept that English knowledge affects Hindi’s growth.
More about Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav is an Indian politician who was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1967. Since then, Yadav has been Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Minister of Defense. The Samajwadi Party has vowed to fight against the use of English in other areas besides politics. In 2009, the party stated its opposition towards English in schools, which they regarded as elitist. The party’s manifesto is, in itself, anti-English.