Only 7% Indians trilingual, but attempts on to make Hindi 3rd language: Panel member

ASHOK Vardhan Shetty, member, High-Level Committee on Union-State Relations (HCUSR), on Saturday, said that there are attempts to impose Hindi or Sanskrit as a third language by stealth, while the fact is that only 7% of Indians are trilingual according to the 2011 Census.

- T MURUGANANDHAM @Chennai

Speaking at a national seminar on Union-State Relations here on the topics - language, education and health, Shetty said, "The so-called three-language formula has existed since 1968, except in Tamil Nadu. Yet the 2011 census reveals that only 7% of Indians are trilingual. What's the point of having a three-language formula for 43 years? If at the end of it, only 7% of Indians can speak three languages."

Shetty said just like potatoes, chillies, coffee and tea, which were not native to India but were introduced in the past 200-400 years, and became our staple foods, English, present for 250 years, is no longer foreign but has become an Indian language.