Passports in Hindi: BJP's push only hardens opposition against the language

The agitation over Hindi being imposed in non-Hindi states dates back to formation of India in 1947

According to the Indian Constitution, the official languages of India might be Hindi and English, but the complexity of having multiple states — just like the European Union — means that in practice, people speak many more than just these two languages.

There has been a massive outrage against the ruling nationalistic and conservative Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) because of its enforcement of Hindi over other state languages. The recent announcement by Sushma Swaraj, Union Minister for External Affairs, about the use of Hindi in passports, has pushed this outrage even further.