Bhārat, that is India, is a country now in a critical period in its history where it is seeking an identity which will become ineluctable in its advancement into nationhood. A national identity includes people with that identity and excludes those who do not. Both these inclusionary and exclusionary attributes qualify any nation, howsoever defined, and whether it is or not congruent with a country. Markers of identity in Bhārat could be one of many: religion, bloodline, domicile, culture, geography, diet, history, economics, and finally, and contentiously, language.

Language is a social necessity because its use is the easiest way for an individual to communicate with his or her neighbour. It is defined by necessity — a necessity to communicate. If it is required for an individual to communicate with another individual, they will construct a common language to do so. Language, therefore, is formed as a link between individuals as a matter of practicality, and usually it is a matter of convenience and common sense.

The origin of a language is therefore rarely emotional. Language is not an emotive issue, and yet it has seemingly become one in contemporary India, with some states feeling that their identity is being threatened. This is not a purely Indian issue — the Catalans, Basques, Ukrainians, Romansch and Maoris have all been through this emotional wringer and yet have not succumbed to centrifugal pressures.

India is a polyglot country. There are many languages spoken all over the subcontinent, from Brahui to Bihari to Beary, and if one counts all the myriad dialects and variations that constitute our micro diversity tapestry, one will run into several thousands of them. Out of this linguistic panorama, let us address the question as to whether one of them, namely a language we call Hindi, is the natural marker of our national identity as Bhāratiyas.

Hindi, as we understand it, is the language that is used in the newspapers, media and various types of documentation. It is easier to define it in its written form rather than through its spoken variations. As spoken, it is hardly defined in a sharp manner. It is a hybrid – to use scientific jargon, it is a linear combination of several linguistic components with variable coefficients. The Hindi that is spoken in Kashi, Ayodhya and Mathura, to take these cities as mere examples, is different. Moving into an outer arc, these varieties of Hindi are different from those that are commonly used in, say, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Patna.

Let us also not forget that the Hindi which is spoken today in our country and what one might........

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