Row over Hindi Imposition

• The 11th volume of the Report of the Official Language Committee, which was submitted to the President of India, sparked outrage in various southern regions (they view the report as an attempt to impose Hindi on them).

What are the Panel's Recommendations?

• In Hindi-speaking states, Hindi should be the medium of teaching in IITs, IIMs, and Central universities.
• The administration's communication language should be Hindi, and attempts should be made to teach the curriculum in Hindi.
• Because judgements of High Courts in other states are frequently mentioned in rulings, High Courts in other states whose proceedings are recorded in English or a regional language can make translations in Hindi available.
• Hindi is already used in lower courts in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
• The use of Hindi by officers and other central government employees in Hindi-speaking states would be reflected in their Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR).
• It is the obligation and role of the Committee to ensure that the Hindi language is promoted in official communication.
• There are particular ideas to simplify the language used in official letters and invites.
• "There should be a concerted effort to limit the use of English in official communication and boost the use of Hindi."
• "In a lot of government jobs, knowledge of Hindi would be required."

Are these recommendations intended for the entire state government, including its institutions and departments?

• According to the Official Languages Act of 1963 and the Rules and Regulations of the Act of 1976, states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala are exempt.
• The law is only in effect in 'A' category states where Hindi is the official language."
• Region 'A' covers the states of Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as the Union Territories of Delhi and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to the Rules.
• Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab are included in Region 'B,' as are the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
• Other states where Hindi is used less than 65% of the time are classified as area 'C.'
• The Committee has proposed that efforts be made in the 'A' states to use Hindi "100%."
• In the 'A' states, the medium of teaching in IITs, Central institutions, and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) should be Hindi, whereas the regional language should be used in the other states.
• According to the Committee, the use of Hindi in government departments is 100% in Ministries such as Defense and Home, but the Education Ministry has yet to reach that level.
• Many Central universities, like Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, BHU, and AMU, have usage rates of 25-35% when they should be 100%.

What is the Official Languages Committee of Parliament?

• Section 4 of the Official Languages Act of 1963 established the Committee of Parliament on Official Languages in 1976.
• The Official Language Committee was formed to study and encourage the use of Hindi in official communications, as specified by Article 351 of the Constitution.
• The Committee's initial report was submitted in 1987.
• The Committee is composed of 30 members and is chaired by the Union Home Minister, in accordance with the requirements of the 1963 Act (20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha).
• Unlike the other Parliamentary panels, this one sends its report to the President, who "must cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and forwarded to all the State Governments."

What efforts is the government making to promote Hindi and other regional languages?

• Formula for Three Languages (Kothari Commision 1968)

• The mother tongue or regional language will be the first language.
• Second language: Other modern Indian languages or English will be used in Hindi-speaking states. It will be Hindi or English in non-Hindi speaking states.
• Third Language: English or a modern Indian language will be used in Hindi-speaking states. It will be English or a modern Indian language in non-Hindi-speaking states.
• In 2020, the new National Education Policy (NEP) included efforts to "advance Hindi, Sanskrit, and regional languages." According to the NEP, until Class 5, and maybe Class 8, mother tongue or regional language would be the "preferred" medium of instruction.
• It was determined at NEP 2020 to campaign for the three-language formula in order to promote multilingualism and national unity.

What is the status of Hindi in India in comparison to other regional languages?

• According to the 2011 Linguistic Census, India has 121 mother tongues.
• 52.8 crore people, or 43.6% of the population, listed Hindi as their mother tongue, and 11% reported Hindi as their second language.
• As a result, 55% of the population speaks Hindi as their mother tongue or as a second language.
• Bengali is the second most spoken language in India, with 9.72 crore people speaking it and accounting for 8% of the population.
• Bengali, Malayalam, and Urdu speakers have decreased, but Hindi and Punjabi speakers have increased.
• Between 1971 and 2011, the number of Hindi speakers increased by 2.6 times, from 20.2 crore to 52.8 crore.

What is Hindi's constitutional status?

• The Indian Constitution lists 22 official languages, including Hindi, under Schedule 8.
• According to Article 351, it is the Union's duty to support the growth of the Hindi language in order to make it a lingua franca (a shared language of communication used by individuals who speak different languages) in India while not interfering with its genius, style, and expressions.
• Article 348 (2) states that the Governor of the State may, with the prior consent of the President, authorise the use of Hindi or any other language used for any official purpose of the State in the proceedings of the High Court having its principal seat in that State, provided that decrees, judgments, or orders issued by such High Courts are in English.
• According to Article 343(1) of the Indian Constitution, Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the official language of the Union.

Drug Menace

The Supreme Court has stated that drug abuse has captured society and requested some modules that may convert into an Order to address the issue.

More on the news

The Court's View on the Drug Problem:

• It is an issue of demand and supply, according to the court's counsel in the case.
• It admitted that the drug mafia is making inroads into society, particularly among young people, posing a "dangerous scenario."

Order of the Court:

• The Supreme Court directed that some common limits be established and an acceptable solution to the matter be found.

The government's reaction:

• The government stated that departments such as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence are looking into ways to close loopholes and strengthen preventive measures to combat the threat.
• They are also looking at a "narco-terror angle" in the case.

More information on drug consumption and related issues in India

The following are the most often used medications in India:

• The most often abused substances in India include alcohol, cannabis, opium, and heroin.
• The most often injected pharmaceuticals are buprenorphine, propoxyphene, and heroin.

The Effects of Drug Abuse

Economic potential squandered:

• Leads to the physical, psychological, moral, and intellectual degradation of the nation's youth.

Increase criminal tendencies:

• The illegal production and distribution of narcotics has resulted in crime and violence all across the world.

Social Issues:

• Domestic violence is on the rise, divorce is on the rise, and ethical norms in society are deteriorating.
• Diverting resources away from communicable and other diseases and toward drug misuse.

India's Drug Trafficking:

• For the last three decades, India has served as a transit and destination for heroin and hashish manufactured in the Golden Triangle and Golden Crescent.
• The illicit two-way flow of these medicines and chemicals not only breaches Indian borders but also poses a serious threat to national security.

The seriousness of the situation

• Post-Pandemic scenario: According to the court's adviser in the case, the drug problem has gotten worse since the pandemic.
• Persons participating in the drug trade, both pushers and users, employ sophisticated ways to deal with drugs.
• Narcotics are transported using courier and postal services.

Threat information:

• Distribution networks have become more organized, methodical, and ubiquitous.
• Narcotics worth 30,000 crore have been seized in recent months.
• According to reports from the Narcotics Control Bureau, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and even the AIIMS, a "significant population" was addicted to drugs.

Data from the highest courts:

Several High Courts across the country have previously recognised the drug mafia's shadow influence on society.

• The Madras High Court noted the extensive effect of drug peddlers in schools, institutions, and other public areas in 2020.
• The Punjab and Haryana High Court has been hearing a case about Punjab's chronic drug problem for some time.
• The Kerala High Court ordered the state government to set up campus police units in educational institutions.

Measures taken by the government to combat the drug problem

India has taken a comprehensive approach to lowering both supply and demand for narcotics and drugs.

The approach consists of four components:

• first, passing laws;
• second, maintaining physical security of borders and coasts;
• third, eliciting cooperation from neighbours;
• and fourth, collaborating with voluntary organisations in the national effort to prevent narcotics and synthetic drug consumption.

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985

• The Narcotic Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act) of 1985 was enacted to combat drug misuse by outlawing the use, distribution, manufacturing, and exchange of drugs.

The Act contains provisions for:

• Cannabis, poppy, and coca plant farming, as well as the production of psychoactive compounds in association with the cultivation of these plants.

Objective:

• Its major goal is to regulate the production, possession, sale, and transportation of medicines classified as narcotics or psychotropics.

Outcomes:

• This act prohibits the selling of 200 psychoactive substances to walk-in clients.
• These medications can only be obtained with a prescription.
• Since its inception, the law has been amended numerous times.

National Drug Abuse Control Fund

• The fund was established under a provision of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1985.
• According to the Act, the fund would be utilised to combat drugs trafficking, rehabilitate addicts, and discourage drug usage.

Seizure Information Management System (SIMS):

• In order to digitise pan-India drug seizure data, the MHA created an e-portal named 'SIMS' in 2019 for all drug law enforcement agencies mandated by the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS).
• It has the authority to charge persons in cases involving the illicit use and supply of narcotics.
• India is a signatory to several international drug-related UN conventions, and NCB is also responsible for enforcing the provisions of these international accords.
• The Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment just established the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan website.

Way Forward

• Promoting evidence-based therapies is a must if we are to reduce drug demand and supply.
• Prevention programmes that involve groups such as families, schools, and the local community are critical in this regard.
• The media can play an important role in raising awareness about drug usage.

Read Also: Drug Abuse