Did you know 90 per cent of Arunachal Pradesh speaks Hindi, the language one would like to typically associate with the northern region of India? Other north eastern states have their own languages- In Assam , people speak Assamese, In Mizoram, people speak Mizo , Manipuri is spoken in Manipur, and in Meghalaya, people speak variety of local languages like Khasi and Garo. In other states like Nagaland and Mizoram, English is widely spoken and understood. But in Arunachal Pradesh, the land of 26 tribes, some 100 sub tribes and around 50 languages and dialects, it is Hindi that is used widely for communication. Experts believe it was the diversity that made people choose Hindi as their common language. Since there were so many languages, in fact every tribe has their own language, people of Arunachal Pradesh started speaking Hindi as their lingua franca. It became the common thread that tied people speaking different languages together. So, it can be said that Arunachal Pradesh is a true example of Unity in Diversity.
It’s because of this very reason, we see plethora of Marwari and Bihari coming to the state for their business. Which means, a great boost to the economy. People coming here feel more welcome in comparison to the north eastern states. Right from the taxi drivers to the shopkeepers at local markets, everyone can be heard speaking Hindi.
Of course, the Hindi spoken here is nothing like what it is being spoken in the Gangetic plains where it originally belongs. It is the mix of local dialect and Hindi, and purists might even find ‘ Arunachali Hindi ‘ funny. But people in Arunachal Pradesh would not want it any other way. Hindi shows and songs are quite popular here, and our politicians also like to give their speeches in Hindi. Everything is in Hindi, right from the press conference to the news briefing on the local channel. The experts proudly state Hindi was never imposed on them, it’s something they voluntarily picked up.
They also believe that the credit goes to the Indian Army who were deployed here during the 1962 war between India and China . Most soldiers belonged to the North Indian Hindi speaking states and they hired locals as their porters. The daily communication with the soldiers made them learn Hindi.
Not only that, Arm Services also helped the state establish services like healthcare, education and infrastructure. The omnipresence of Arms Services made the locals grasp the language all the more.
Since then schools have been instrumental in promoting the language. In 1977, the Indira Gandhi government came up with Vivekanand Kendra Vidyalaya ( VKV) in Arunachal Pradesh. A lot of people from Hindi speaking states were recruited as Hindi teachers here.
Although, English is the official language, Hindi is studied in the school as a compulsory subject from primary school till class tenth. In fact, there’s even a PhD programme for Hindi at Rajiv Gandhi University.