Promote Hindi, don’t impose it: HRD panel

States should be encouraged to “voluntarily” include Hindi in the curriculum instead of “compulsorily” teaching the language, the Hindi Advisory Committee of the HRD ministry has recommended.

The recommendation comes following deliberations on a presidential order last month asking the ministry to consult states on making Hindi compulsory till class 10 in schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Kendriya Vidyalyas, a move that was criticised by non-Hindi speaking states.

President Pranab Mukherjee had given his nod to the recommendations of the Committee of Parliament on Official Language. “In a meeting of the Hindi Advisory Committee, members were of the view that instead of giving instructions or directions about teaching Hindi compulsorily in Class 9 and 10, states should encourage teachers to teach Hindi voluntarily,” an official of the human resource development (HRD) ministry said.

The meeting, chaired by minister of state for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey, deliberated upon various ways to ensure progressive use of the language.

“The committee was of the opinion that the ministry should increase original Hindi correspondence. The panel also emphasised that to increase the use of Hindi, simple and popular words should be used instead of difficult Hindi words,” the official added.