The election of the Modi led BJP government has led to the rise of several developments. While the plan of switching to Hindi for tweets and other official government notices is being widely debated about, the use of an English language skills test in the civil service examinations has been leaving several aspirants criticizing the same with nationwide protests.
In the middle of all this, another development has many a local interested and in some cases, completely baffled. Recent reports suggest that more and more foreigners are seeking to learn the local language Hindi in order to woo Indians.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is believed to have taken the election tagline “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” followed by the BJP in the recently concluded elections, as reference to what he thinks is a message that portrays a larger cultural affinity than mere diplomatic skills.
Case in point: The new TV commercial by Germany’s Lufthansa Airlines that shows Indian foods being served and Indian movies being played on board the flights as a sole dedication to the Indian flyer. Aiming to bridge the cultural sensitivity to Indian recipients, Lufthansa apparently came up with the idea to connect with Indian fliers on an emotional level.
Many embassies in the nation’s capital have also started enrolling their staff in Hindi classes while many researchers from reputed companies are approaching institutes to learn the language. Even visitors from countries like South Korea, Japan and China, etc. have started approaching institutes in India in a bid to learn advanced Hindi that would help them communicate better with the locals and improve their diplomatic and business relations better.
Experts also believe that communicating in the local language would allow foreign corporate to give off the impression of respecting the nation’s culture and values rather than just maintaining a friendly front. They ascertain that learning the local language would help these companies connect better with the locals on an emotional level, which would in turn be better for their business as opposed to when they maintain only an international identity.
The local language Hindi has no doubt gained a prominent stand in India ever since the Modi government took over. With more foreigner companies aiming to learn the language in order to strengthen their business, diplomatic and political ties with the nation, one does not need to have a doubt as to what is going on here.
