Assam: No order received by State Govt on Hindi making compulsory, says CM Sarma

Union Home Minister Amit Shah's recent comments regarding the Central Government's imposition of Hindi language in the northeastern states clearly did not sit well with some people, sparking a controversy. Making Hindi compulsory in the northeastern states sparked opposition and agitation in Assam, with opposition parties openly opposing the move. Assam Chief Minister

 

?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Himanta Biswa Sarma, on the other hand, has clarified that the state government has not received any direction in this regard.

"Forget about making it compulsory; the Assam government has yet to receive a letter requesting that Hindi be made an optional subject in schools. The statement made by Amit Shah has been misconstrued ", the CM stated. He went on to say that the state government intended to institute a language.

"Forget about making it compulsory; the Assam government has yet to receive a letter requesting that Hindi be made an optional subject in schools. The statement made by Amit Shah has been misconstrued "The CM stated.

He went on to say that the state government intended to implement a language policy that would require students in the state to learn at least four languages.

The CM went on to say that they want a student to learn Assamese, an ethnic language in Assam in addition to Hindi and English, and that learning a language will only expand a student's opportunities.

Assam's education minister, Ranoj Pegu, stated that learning Hindi will enable Assamese youths to work in other Hindu-speaking states across the country. Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, is clearly not on the same page, claiming that making Hindi compulsory in schools would confuse students.

"People of Assam already know how to speak Hindi. In schools also, students can learn Hindi if they want. Already as per the latest National Education Policy, students from ethnic tribes will have to learn their mother language besides the state's official language Assamese," Saikia said. "Moreover, English is already there. Therefore, learning four languages at one time will only become a problem for the students," the Congress leader added.