Minister blames past govt policy for decline of formal Hindi

The past Government administration contributed to the decline of formal Hindi in Fiji by pushing government radio stations to use Fiji Hindi, Minister for Multi-Ethnic Affairs Charan Jeath Singh claims.

Mr Singh claimed this had affected the way Hindi was spoken and promoted through Government broadcasting.

He was speaking during an event focused on promoting Hindi language and culture and said government radio stations were previously directed to use Fiji Hindi instead of formal Hindi.

According to Mr Singh, this contributed to the weakening of formal Hindi and its connection with the younger generation.

“The Coalition Government had now restored the Multi-Ethnic Affairs policy and re-established the Multi-Ethnic Affairs Office to help promote languages and cultures,” Mr Singh said.

He said the Government would continue supporting programmes aimed at protecting and promoting Fiji’s different languages and cultures.

“Support for community programmes was important in keeping languages and cultural traditions alive.”

He said the Government’s support included funding through the Multi-Ethnic Affairs grant.

“Such programmes could help strengthen relationships between children and their culture through activities such as libraries and cultural education,” Mr Singh said.

He said the Government would continue supporting initiatives that promoted Fiji’s multicultural heritage.

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