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Nepali is Nepal’s main language but the country is not linguistically homogenous – far from it. Newari, Maithali, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Tibetan, Tamang, Lama and many more languages as well as their distinctive dialects are spoken in Nepal and are recognized by the Constitution as the “nation’s languages.” Hindi, however, is not.
Jha could have taken the oath in his mother tongue, Maithali, or in any of the recognized languages. But he chose Hindi, legally a foreign language in Nepal. Before speculating why he decided to ignore the Constitution, let us look at Hindi’s position in Nepal.
As a result of Nepal’s cultural, religious and geographic proximity to India’s Hindi-speaking area, over the years the country has been greatly influenced by the Hindi-language media, music and entertainment industry. Bollywood – India’s movie industry – is a big crowd puller in Nepal; in fact in urban areas more people prefer Hindi movies than Nepali. Hindi soap operas are hugely popular in the country and so is Hindi music.
In Nepal’s Terai region, where Jha hails from, Hindi is used as a bridge between those who speak Maithali, Bhojpuri or Awadhi. Knowledge of the language helps Terai residents do business with their Indian neighbors in the nearby states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. It is a common language of the region, like English is being used nowadays around the world.
It is understandable that Jha using Hindi to take an oath of office in Nepal hurt feelings in the country. After all he holds the second-highest office in the land and the people expect him to respect Nepali, the country’s main language. But is the scale of negative reaction justifiable?
Hindi has its own unique position in Nepal, especially in Terai. Nepalese enjoy Hindi-language movies, music and soap operas, and for those living in Terai it is a common language acting as a bridge – maybe it is time to recognize Hindi’s position in Nepal and not take the language as a threat to national sovereignty and integrity. I am not advocating forgetting Nepali or our “nation’s languages” in favor of Hindi, but it is time that we at least acknowledge that Hindi is used in Nepal, whether the puritans like it or not.
The other side of this “Hindi gate” is the fact that for decades Nepal was “ruled” by whim, without proper regulations. The country still has laws that seem incompatible with the 21st-century world we live in. For example, a mother who is a Nepali citizen cannot sponsor her child’s citizenship petition, only a Nepali citizen father can; laws to curb human trafficking are so lax the perpetrators regularly get away with their crimes; victims of sexual violence, especially children, are treated as the culprits rather than victims. In fact there are about 117 discriminatory provisions in Nepal’s legal system, including in the Constitution.
The result of this “anything goes” style is that the country and its social fabric are badly damaged and lack structure. Nepal needs to formulate laws and regulations, and in light of “Hindi gate” maybe it should start with a language regulation that states that the oath of office can be taken only in Nepali or any other “nation’s language,” and make the use of foreign language punishable. That way the pundits who are scaring people about their fellow citizens from Terai would finally be out of a job – thankfully – and people could get back to debating real issues.
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(Bhumika Ghimire is a freelance reporter. Her articles have been published at OhMyNews, NepalNews, Toward Freedom, Telegraph Nepal, Himal South Asian and ACM Ubiquity. She is also a regular contributor for News Front Weekly (Nepal) and Nepal Abroad (Washington D.C.) and writes about Nepal for Suite101.com. She can be reached at bhumika_g@yahoo.com. ©Copyright Bhumika Ghimire.)
