Starting an unprovoked war

Hindi would be the sole official language. The reaction was immediate and spontaneous. Tamil Nadu erupted, and a Dravidian party rose to power.

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January 26, 1965, Hindi would be the sole official language. The reaction was immediate and spontaneous. Tamil Nadu erupted, and a Dravidian party rose to power. Jawaharlal Nehru had made a promise that English will continue as Associate Official Language as long as the non-Hindi speaking people wanted it. At the height of the 1965 crisis, Indira Gandhi alone had the courage and the wisdom to defy the zealots and repeat the promise.

More than the promise, the exigencies of administration obliged the central government to be bilingual. Hindi, like other Indian languages, was not versatile enough to cope with the demands of science, law, economics, engineering, foreign trade, foreign relations, international bodies, etc. State governments are bilingual too and depend on English for passing legislation and many aspects of administration. Meanwhile, there have been three developments with far-reaching consequences. One, in 1975, 'Education' was transferred from the State List to the Concurrent List eroding the autonomy of the states as far as school education is concerned. Two, India embraced liberalization and globalization in 1991 and, inevitably, English. Three, there was a demand from parents for English medium schools, and it is growing.