As it happens, none of these are Hindi-speaking states, although Hindi is, arguably, less problematic in the former two states, whose languages are cognate. The promotion of the Hindi language might play well in areas where the BJP polled well in 2014, but it is unlikely to be of much help where they fared poorly. The twisting intersections of culture (in particular, language) and politics are not unique to India. In Canada, for instance, the electoral map is such that a winning party generally must do well in the French-speaking province of Québec, which is a minority language and culture in the country as a whole. Other policies include an active promotion of French cinema, theatre and the arts, which have yielded much fruit in the form of an efflorescence of French language culture in North America.

Source: Mint July 02, 2017 19:52 UTC