HINDI is not National Language of India - Myth or Reality - ब्रह्मज्ञान

Since India has got Independence we have made a lot of national things such as national flag, national symbol, national bird, national animal but no national language. Most of the north Indians live with a wrong belief that Hindi is national language of India, while it is not. However Hindi and English are two official languages used by central government. Hindi is used as primary official language in states like Uttar Pradesh, but there are some genuine reasons behind not declaring Hindi as national language.

In 2010 Gujarat High Court observed that it is not mentioned in our constitution to consider Hindi as a national language. It was observed when a person filed a PIL to print ingredients, price and other manufacturing details on different products in Hindi.

If you take a look at languages spoken in India, you will find that there are more than 1600 languages, out of them there are more than 100 major languages, 22 officially recognized languages of different states, but no national language. Those who live in northern India find Hindi as a widely accepted language but in southern India, very few people can understand Hindi (writing and speaking is something nearly impossible, if the person has not lived in northern India). Similarly a north-Indian can't speak tamil, telugu, kannada, which are official languages of southern states. Formally educated people of both of these regions usually interact in English.

 Do you know that around 44% of Indian population can interact in Hindi, while just 25% of Indian population have Hindi as their mother tongue. Population base of no other language in India exceeds the 10% mark. 

What does Indian Constitution say about National Language ?

Indian Constitution does not say anything about National Language. However the term "Official Language" is used. Clause 1 of Article 343 of the Constitution of India states that "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script." However Indian constitution also gives the freedom to use English as an official language, which is widely used in communication between central and state governments.
Article 345 of Indian Constitution  gives the state the ability to choose any other language as an official language, which is the reason behind total 22 official languages in different states.

For people of other countries it seems a bit strange that there is no national language of India that can bind the people of India together. But still India is surviving much better than other country.

Why Hindi can't be National Language of India ?

However population of Hindi speaking people in India is far more than any other language, but still more than 55% of Indian Population don't have any clue about writing, speaking or understanding Hindi. Capital of India is surrounded by Hindi speaking states, but it does not mean that the same language can be imposed on whole nation as a compulsory subject. Currently English is a language of communication between north Indians and south Indians, and it is a part of Education in every state. English is also utilized in communicating with world. If we add Hindi as another subject for these people, then will add a lot of educational burden, as then they will need to study three language i.e their state language, English and Hindi.

Most of the people of Hindi speaking states consider Hindi as a National Language (राष्ट्र भाषा), while it is just an Official Language (आधिकारिक भाषा). It is easier for them to accept it as a national language as they can speak it, but it will be harder for them if somebody asks them to learn Telugu or Kannad. India is a land of cultural diversity, thousands of religions, casts and languages. Even if we don't have a national language, we know that definition of patriotism is same in every language. Ability to speak a particular language does not define your nationality. We respect the cultures, that we don't even know about. My personal view is that there is no harm is surviving without a national language. We belong to a country where thousands of Gods are worshiped, but we salute the same flag. Most of us sing "Jan-gan-man" and "Vande Maatram" in our schools without even knowing its meaning and feel proud of being and Indian. So don't worry national language, and keep learning the good things in the language that you know.