The Allahabad High Court celebrates Hindi Diwas every year on 14th September. When I was a Judge there the office bearers of the High Court Bar Association would come to meet me and request me to attend.
I would tell them that it is better I do not attend because I will say things which some people may not like, and then there will be a controversy. But they would press me to come.
When I went to the function I heard some speakers say " Angrezi dasi hai " ( English is a slave girl ), or Angrezi hatao ( abolish English ). When my turn came to speak I said that English is a window to much of modern knowledge, so how can we do without it ? I would also say that in fact English should be spread further, and your children's future depends on learning English. Don't you care for your childrens' future ? I would add that Hindi is my mother tongue too, and I love it, but that does mean that I should behave like a fool.
At present we in India cannot do without English. That is because all scientific knowledge today is in English. If one goes to any engineering college in India he will find all the books are in English. So also in Medical Colleges or scientific institutes. For progress of our country knowledge of modern science is absolutely essential. So how can we do without English ?
Moreover it is not only for learning science that knowledge of English is necessary. If one goes to a lawyer's office he will find all the books in his library are in English. Most of the history and biography books are in English.
I further said :
अगर तुम्हारे बच्चे अंग्रेजी नहीं सीखेंगे तो सम्भावना यही है कि वह हल चलाने लायक रह जायेंगे
But I have also appealed to Tamilians and others from non Hindi speaking states to learn Hindi because it has become our defacto, even if not dejure, all India language ( see my blogs ' An appeal to learn Hindi ', ' Think rationally about learning Hindi ', and ' Why all Indians should learn Hindi ? ' on justicekatju.blogspot.in ).
I am against imposition of Hindi, but it is in the own interest of Tamilians and others to learn Hindi ( for the reasons given in my blogs ).
