NEFIS held protest against imposition on Hindi at Delhi University  

The North East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) staged a protest against the imposition of Hindi on non-Hindi speaking regions and communities at Delhi University's Arts Faculty on Sunday.

According to the reports, from NEGIS, students from many communities and areas in Northeast India, as well as other parts of India, participated in the protest, which was organised in collaboration with other progressive organisations.

NEFIS also condemned Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks at the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee on making Hindi compulsory until class 10 in Northeast Indian states.

It stated that the proposal seeks to impose Hindi as a national language, thereby exerting Hindi chauvinism over other communities, particularly marginalised communities, by giving it undue importance in comparison to other languages recognised by the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India and other languages of non-Hindi speaking regions.

"Rather than building additional infrastructure to promote languages of non-Hindi speaking regions, particularly linguistically marginal and minority populations, the ministry aims to impose its diktat on persons from non-Hindi speaking backgrounds, particularly marginal and minority groups," it read.

The North East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) demanded that the union home minister's statement, as well as the efforts taken to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking people be repealed immediately.

NEFIS added that the minister must apologise to the country for the statement, and that if the decision to impose Hindi is not reversed, NEFIS will accelerate its movement in the coming days.