Hindi's official status and why it is contested
I can discuss Hindi's official position without misstating it
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Hindi is the official language of the Union.
India has no national language.
Hindi is less spoken in the south.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Hindi in Devanagari is the राजभाषा, the official language of the Union, alongside English. It is not the national language; the Constitution names no national language, and saying otherwise is a common and consequential error.
Schools are expected to teach three languages: the regional language, Hindi and English. Implementation varies by state, and several southern states have resisted compulsory Hindi since the 1960s.
हिंदी पट्टी refers to the northern states where Hindi and its related varieties dominate. The term is descriptive in linguistics and loaded in politics.
Asserting that Hindi is India's national language, or that everyone in India speaks it, will be corrected quickly and is a poor way to open a conversation.
Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesCalling Hindi the national language of India.
Hindi called the national language
It is the rajbhasha; India names no national language.
Assuming Hindi is spoken everywhere in India
The south in particular may not use it at all.
Hindi is the official language of the Union.
rajbhasha, not rashtrabhasha.
India has no national language.
The constitutional fact learners most often get wrong.
Hindi is less spoken in the south.
A plain fact worth knowing before travelling.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in C2 course exercises
The Government of India standard for Devanagari spelling, followed for all written forms here.
R. S. McGregor's outline, the standard concise academic description of Hindi morphology.