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Language allegations are not just an educational issue – it is deeply political. The so-called Hindi belt- for an important part of the parliamentary seats (225 Lok Sabha seats) of state-India like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In the 2019 elections, the BJP won 178 of these seats, and saw a dip in 2024, the Hindi belt is its stronghold. The promotion of Hindi as an integrated national language strengthens the voter base of the BJP in these areas, bypassing other linguistic identities and strengthens the dominance of Hindi.
In addition, Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, DMK has historically created its politics around linguistic pride and anti -Hindi sentiments. For DMK, opposing Hindi is not only about preserving Tamil – it is also an election strategy that resonates with its voters.
While the Hindi enjoys the protection of the state, many other languages - such as Urdu, Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Magadhi fight for charity. For example, despite being the second official language of Uttar Pradesh, Urdu was excluded from the new multilingual translation initiative of the state assembly. Similarly, Bhojpuri and Maithili spoken by millions of people are often clubs under Hindi in census data, which reduces their independent condition.
The irony is that Hindi is not a unbroken language in itself. According to the 2011 census, only 43% of India’s population speaks of Hindi as its first language. This includes speakers of dialects such as Awadh, Braj and Khari Boli, many of which have different linguistic identity. In states like Bihar and Rajasthan, more people speak Bhojpuri, Maithili, and Rajasthani from Hindi, yet Hindi remains the official language of these states.
