World Hindi Day celebrated in Fiji
World Hindi Day was celebrated throughout Fiji and a formal function was held in Suva with several cultural organisations coming together. Professor Biman Prasad Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific addressed the gathering consisting of scholars, teachers and speakers of the language.
“I am not an expert in Hindi language as I studied Hindi only up to class six but I am very pleased that we had the opportunity to do so even up to that level. We should pay tribute to our forefathers who under difficult conditions kept the language and not only that made sure that their children also had the benefit of learning it,” Prof Prasad said.
“Today the preservation of Hindi as a language is a result of their foresight and hard work in building schools throughout Fiji for their children where they could study Hindi as a language. Countries with similar history of Indian Indentured labours such as Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname have not been able to preserve Hindi or other Indian languages in way that we have in Fiji.
“One of the unfortunate things in this country for a long time has been the lack of appreciation and support to promote both Hindi and Fijian as national languages. It is pleasing to note that the Bainimarama government has taken a policy decision to make the teaching of Hindi and Fijian compulsory in primary schools. This effort is commendable but needs to be promoted seriously and adequate resources in terms of teaching materials and qualified teachers should be provided.”
Underscoring the importance of learning Hindi formally among the new generation, Prof Prasad said, “Hindi as a language could provide Fiji the competitive edge for us when dealing with India and Indian companies now spreading all over world. India’s position in the world can only increase as it is well on the way to becoming the world’s third largest economy.
“It is predicted that by 2050, India would be the most populous country in the world and Hindi is likely to be the dominant language spoken by the majority of Indians. Fiji’s attempt to strengthen is economic and political link with India also means that Hindi spoken by the people here could be a big attraction for investment and for tourists from India.
There were several challenges facing the learning and teaching of Hindi, Prof Prasad said.
“First, the changing demographics in Fiji will raise new questions about the teaching of Hindi in schools. Indian population has already declined to 37 percent and Indian student’s primary school enrolments are likely to decline as a result. This decline is especially going to be significant in the rural schools. There is already evidence that majority of the primary school students in the rural areas would be indigenous Fijians. When this happens throughout all the primary schools in the rural areas then questions are likely to be raised about the wisdom of teaching Hindi in those schools.
“The second feature arising out of the changing demographics and changing rural-urban composition of population will be the large numbers of Indian students in urban primary schools. This again will be a challenge for the learning and teaching of Hindi and vernacular languages in general as English language gets the further reinforcement through the dominant westernised cultural influence.”
On the ageold but ongoing issue of Fiji Hindi versus Shudh Hindi, Prof Prasad said, “In the past we have had the debate on the type of Hindi we should promote in Fiji. Some have advocated that Fiji Hindi should become the basis of learning and teaching Hindi in Fiji. Fiji Hindi is important lingua franca for all Indians and indeed for many Indigenous Fijians.
“However, the Hindi being spoken in the 20 million odd diaspora may reflect the Fiji Hindi version in a significant way. In addition, the economics of learning formal Hindi could be significant if we take into account what would be the dominant version of Hindi that will be spoken in the world in the future.
He commended Dr. Indu Chandra and the Faculty of Arts and Law, School of Language and Literature, Hindi Division for organising the World Hindi Day.
World Hindi Day was celebrated throughout Fiji and a formal function was held in Suva with several cultural organisations coming together. Professor Biman Prasad Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific addressed the gathering consisting of scholars,...
World Hindi Day was celebrated throughout Fiji and a formal function was held in Suva with several cultural organisations coming together. Professor Biman Prasad Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at the University of the South Pacific addressed the gathering consisting of scholars, teachers and speakers of the language.
“I am not an expert in Hindi language as I studied Hindi only up to class six but I am very pleased that we had the opportunity to do so even up to that level. We should pay tribute to our forefathers who under difficult conditions kept the language and not only that made sure that their children also had the benefit of learning it,” Prof Prasad said.
“Today the preservation of Hindi as a language is a result of their foresight and hard work in building schools throughout Fiji for their children where they could study Hindi as a language. Countries with similar history of Indian Indentured labours such as Mauritius, Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname have not been able to preserve Hindi or other Indian languages in way that we have in Fiji.
“One of the unfortunate things in this country for a long time has been the lack of appreciation and support to promote both Hindi and Fijian as national languages. It is pleasing to note that the Bainimarama government has taken a policy decision to make the teaching of Hindi and Fijian compulsory in primary schools. This effort is commendable but needs to be promoted seriously and adequate resources in terms of teaching materials and qualified teachers should be provided.”
Underscoring the importance of learning Hindi formally among the new generation, Prof Prasad said, “Hindi as a language could provide Fiji the competitive edge for us when dealing with India and Indian companies now spreading all over world. India’s position in the world can only increase as it is well on the way to becoming the world’s third largest economy.
“It is predicted that by 2050, India would be the most populous country in the world and Hindi is likely to be the dominant language spoken by the majority of Indians. Fiji’s attempt to strengthen is economic and political link with India also means that Hindi spoken by the people here could be a big attraction for investment and for tourists from India.
There were several challenges facing the learning and teaching of Hindi, Prof Prasad said.
“First, the changing demographics in Fiji will raise new questions about the teaching of Hindi in schools. Indian population has already declined to 37 percent and Indian student’s primary school enrolments are likely to decline as a result. This decline is especially going to be significant in the rural schools. There is already evidence that majority of the primary school students in the rural areas would be indigenous Fijians. When this happens throughout all the primary schools in the rural areas then questions are likely to be raised about the wisdom of teaching Hindi in those schools.
“The second feature arising out of the changing demographics and changing rural-urban composition of population will be the large numbers of Indian students in urban primary schools. This again will be a challenge for the learning and teaching of Hindi and vernacular languages in general as English language gets the further reinforcement through the dominant westernised cultural influence.”
On the ageold but ongoing issue of Fiji Hindi versus Shudh Hindi, Prof Prasad said, “In the past we have had the debate on the type of Hindi we should promote in Fiji. Some have advocated that Fiji Hindi should become the basis of learning and teaching Hindi in Fiji. Fiji Hindi is important lingua franca for all Indians and indeed for many Indigenous Fijians.
“However, the Hindi being spoken in the 20 million odd diaspora may reflect the Fiji Hindi version in a significant way. In addition, the economics of learning formal Hindi could be significant if we take into account what would be the dominant version of Hindi that will be spoken in the world in the future.
He commended Dr. Indu Chandra and the Faculty of Arts and Law, School of Language and Literature, Hindi Division for organising the World Hindi Day.
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