An MP from Kerala has alleged in the Rajya Sabha a “pernicious and sinister design” to impose Hindi. The CPM’s John Brittas was referring to the Committee of Parliament on Official Language’s recommendation to President Droupadi Murmu in October that Hindi be used as a medium of instruction in IITs, IIMs and central universities in Hindi-speaking states.

In its report submitted to Murmu, the panel also recommended that the proceedings of high courts be recorded in Hindi along with the respective regional language and English in non-Hindi-speaking states.

“There is a pernicious and sinister design, and there are overt and covert attempts, perhaps stronger than ever, for elevating Hindi as the sole national language of this country,” Brittas said in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

He reasoned that if Sundar Pichai had been forced to write his exams in Hindi, he might not have reached the top at Google.

Similarly, thousands of students from north India who are studying in institutions in the south may face difficulty if they are forced to study in southern languages, Brittas pointed out.

“Do you expect these students from north India to learn their syllabus in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada? If they are forced, most of your students would have to come back,” he said.

Several engineering colleges have started offering BTech courses in Hindi from last year.

The All India Council of Technical Education has allowed colleges to offer BTech in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu and Bengali along with English.

A medical college in Madhya Pradesh has started MBBS courses in Hindi from this year.

“There should not be any attempt to make Hindi the sole language. In fact, the official language committee has gone beyond its brief, thereby recommending that the higher educational institutes have to adopt Hindi as a medium of language,” Brittas said.