Word: hindie
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Troops in red turbans and elephants in gold caparisons march through New Delhi this week. The occasion is Republic Day, commemorating India's 15th independence anniversary. Also ushered in by the date is another event less loudly cheered: the formal designation of Hindi as India's official language...
...language of the elite, ever since the British raj, has been English. Both Parliament and the executive branch of the government conduct their affairs in English, which is the only etymological link among all sectors of the Indian populace. In 1963, however, Parliament decreed the official language to be Hindi, effective Republic Day, 1965. Though English will continue as an "associate language," all official documents must henceforth be in Hindi, even if they have to be accompanied by English translations for the benefit of recipients...
...Hindi Imperialism." Though spoken by more Indians than any other language, Hindi covers less than half the populace and is the mother tongue of only four states-Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (Nehru's as well as Prime Minister Shastri's home). The officialization of Hindi has long been fought by non-Hindi regions, chiefly four southern states to which Hindi is as foreign as Tex-Mex; they are Madras (which speaks Tamil), Andhra Pradesh (Telu-gu), Kerala (Malayalam) and Mysore (Kannada). Anti-Hindis accuse the Hindis of being out for political gain. In any case...
...source is To Katanga And Back by Conor Cruise O'Brien. According to Mr. O'Brien, the code name for the operation was Morthor, a Hindi word which does not mean "put out the fire in the garage," or "defend yourself". It means "smash." Mr. O'Brien can hardly be accused either of ignorance or of pro-katagese bias; he was the U.N official in charge in Elizabethville during the operation. His only major objection to the way Morthor was handled was that the lie, invented after Tshombe had eluded the U.N. and the operation had apparently failed, made...
...establish a center to treat every area of study. Since Chicago already has a fine South Asian program, it would be better, perhaps, for Harvard to concentrate on Latin America. If a student wants to specialize in South Asian studies, let him go to Chicago--and learn his Hindi there if necessary. Nevertheless, Harvard should offer some introduction to one of the most important areas of the modern world...