Swaraj and Hindi

Looks like External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj won't have such a tough time making good use of Hindi. For three consecutive years, she had won the best Hindi Speaker award at state-level competitions held by the Language Department of Haryana. On Sunday, at a press conference on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Modi government, Swaraj took questions in both Hindi and English but replied in Hindi. An interpreter facility was available for those who didn't follow Hindi. Swaraj, who hails from Haryana and is an MP from Madhya Pradesh, speaks in Hindi during bilateral talks whenever the foreign dignitary is not an English speaker. She believes the interpreter should translate from Hindi to the language of her foreign interlocutor for better communication.