When he came to power in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Modi made a big thing about rejecting English for his native Hindi:
India PM Modi Demands Hindi, Not English For Social Media
But Indians are native speakers of English, after all:
Jay Doubleyou: what is a native speaker teacher of english?
English is an Indian language - The New European
English is an Indian language - The Hindu
Hindi is the native language of only one section of India's population
Just 26% of Indians speak Hindi as mother tongue - The Hindu
Hindi Isn't India's National Language. Why Does the Myth Continue? | The Swaddle
But Hindu nationalists would like it to be the national language:
Modi Government’s Plan to Make Hindi India’s National Language Stirs Conflict – The Diplomat
But others disagree:
It really doesn't make sense to get rid of English and impose Hindi:
Justifications such as Hindi as an “important part of the unity of the country”, “people should communicate in the language of India” and “Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English” don't hold much water as there are countries with several official languages.Bolivia has the greatest number of official languages tallying up to 37. And although 78 per cent of the US' population speaks English, it has still not been granted the status of a national language - all these exhibit a tranquil coexistence.
I neither entertain Hindi-phobia, nor am I a Hindi-hater. But if someone can assure me that when Hindi becomes a national language, millions of jobless youths can find jobs, all Indians can avail basic necessities like food, clothing and shelter, and India can emerge as a 'city upon a hill', I would have no hesitation to learn it.
Why I learnt English and wouldn’t learn Hindi- The New Indian Express
Ultimately, though, it's a political question:
70 years on, India is still fighting over a national language | India News - Times of India
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