Exempt Hindi for NE students: Irom Sharmila

Civil rights activist Irom Sharmila on Friday lashed out at Delhi University's recent proposal to make Hindi language a compulsory paper at the undergraduate level and extended support to the agitating north-east students against the 'diktat'.

"Delhi University's decision to introduce a compulsory Hindi paper clearly represents linguistic discrimination against north-east youth and also represents a violation of the democratic rights of all non-Hindi speaking students," Sharmila said in a letter to North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS).

Sharmila recently ended her 16-year hunger strike protesting against the Armed Forces Special Power's Act (AFSPA) imposed in her state Manipur.

On August 23, 2016 the Delhi University issued a notification stating that those who have not studied the language till class 8th will need to clear a Compulsory Test in Hindi (CTH) in order to get the undergraduate degree following which the north-east students studying at the Varsity are constantly protesting against the decision.

"The council considered and accepted the recommendations made by the Faculty of Arts at its meeting held on 18th July this year for the syllabus of Compulsory Test in Hindi (CTH) and recommended to the Executive Council for approval," the notice issued by the Varsity read.

Earlier in 2013, DU had issued the similar notice of making Hindi language a compulsory paper for every student following which students from North-East protested and prompted the then Vice Chancellor Dinesh Singh to exempt them from taking the exam. However, prior to it Hindi language was a compulsory exam for every student studying at the Varsity.

Hindi was not compulsory in the Choice-based Credit System (CBCS) introduced last year. This year the council made changes and made it compulsory for every student to know basic Hindi to attain their degrees.

She urged the north-east students and all other non-Hindi speaking students to take their struggle forward against the alleged linguistic discrimination that is being promoted by the Varsity.

"The silence of the MHRD, UGC and other concerned government authorities is shocking. So, I encourage the students to express their discontent and fearlessly fight for justice," she said.