Tag: hindi

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India News USA

Indian-American fired for speaking in Hindi

The 78-year-old Indian-American engineer said in his lawsuit that there was no confidential or classified information anywhere near the call….reports Asian Lite News

A 78-year-old Indian-American engineer has claimed that he was fired from his job for speaking in Hindi with a dying relative on phone last year.

Anil Varshney filed a lawsuit against missile defence contractor Parsons Corporation and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, alleging systemic discriminatory actions by the company, AL.com reported.

He was “wrongfully terminated” after a white co-worker heard him speaking Hindi on a telephone call, lasting approximately two minutes, with his dying brother-in-law in India on September 26, 2022.

The suit claimed that the other worker “falsely and intentionally” reported that Varshney “committed a security violation by revealing confidential information and/or accepting this call during a confidential meeting or with confidential information in the background of the call”.

Varshney said in his lawsuit that there was no confidential or classified information anywhere near the call.

According to him, the cubicle where he accepted the video call was completely empty “with no office material or wall hangings in the cubicle, and there was no confidential information being exchanged nearby”.

“Despite there being no policy prohibiting the call, and without any investigation, defendants claimed Mr Varshney committed a serious security violation and fired him,” the lawsuit, filed in June in the Northern District of Alabama, read.

“Worse, they blackballed him from future work, effectively ending his career and life of service to Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the UA government,” the lawsuit added.

Varshney provided “engineering support for the development of integrated and layered MDAs, which defend the US and allied partner forces against ballistic missile threats.

Parsons denied any wrongdoing on its part in a response filed with the court on July 24.

In addition, it asked for the suit’s dismissal with prejudice, and that Varshney pay its attorneys’ fees and costs, the news website reported.

According to the lawsuit, Varshney has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Banaras Hindu University, and immigrated to the US in 1968.

He worked at Parsons’ Huntsville office from July 2011 to October 2022 and was recognised as “Contractor of the Year” in systems engineering and received a letter of MDA recommendation “for saving $5 million on the ground-based missile defence program”.

Varshney’s lawsuit seeks his reinstatement to a position “comparable to his former position”, along with reinstatement of privileges, and the revocation (or removal) of any disciplinary records in his file, according to AL.com.

If he is not reinstated to his job level, he seeks “front pay including benefits” and compensatory damages for “mental anguish and emotional distress”, along with punitive and liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees.

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-Top News Culture India News

India contributes $1 mn to promote Hindi at UN

Kamboj handed over the cheque of USD 1 million to Under Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Global Communications Melissa Fleming….reports Asian Lite News

India has contributed $1 million as part of a voluntary contribution to the United Nations to promote the use of the Hindi language in the world organisation and to foster inclusive dialogue and understanding, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said on Monday.

Kamboj handed over the cheque of USD 1 million to Under Secretary General of the United Nations Department of Global Communications Melissa Fleming.

“The Indian Government is delighted to make a substantial voluntary contribution to the @UN, with a focus on promoting the usage of Hindi. A step towards fostering inclusive dialogue and understanding,” Kamboj tweeted.

“Efforts of the United Nations to mainstream and consolidate news and multimedia content in the Hindi language have been appreciated in India and in countries where a Hindi-speaking population resides,” she said.

She said the Indian government will continue to promote the use of the Hindi language in the United Nations. “For this purpose, we are pleased to partner with the United Nations,” she said.

According to a press release issued by the Permanent Mission of India, the amount was given to the UN “towards the expansion of usage of the Hindi language in the United Nations”.

Hindi@UN project, in collaboration with the UN Department of Public Information of the UN, was launched in 2018, with the objective of enhancing the public outreach of the United Nations in the Hindi language and spreading greater awareness about global issues among millions of Hindi-speaking people around the world.

The UN News in Hindi is disseminated through various platforms including UN News, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as through a weekly UN News-Hindi audio bulletin.

With 50,000 current followers on Twitter, 29,000 on Instagram and 15,000 on Facebook, UN Hindi social media accounts publish nearly 1,000 posts every year. The Hindi UN News website with 1.3 million annual impressions remains in the top ten in internet search engines, said the press release issued last week.

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India News Kerala

Why language row doesn’t impact Kerala  

This nature of the Malayalee populace is reflecting in the language controversy as well…reports Asian Lite News

While Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s forceful direction that Hindi be accepted as an alternative to English was met with stiff resistance from most of the non-Hindi speaking states, Kerala remained silent.

Several states and opposition political parties came out against the Union Minister even though he had meant that communication between people of two states could be done in Hindi rather than in English but the local languages should never be ignored.

However, states like Tamil Nadu started protests against the statement with Chief Minister of M.K. Stalin shooting off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister against “imposition” of Hindi.

While the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu was live with all political parties, including the state unit of the BJP forcefully, stating that the imposition of Hindi in the state would not be allowed, Kerala was silent. There were no protests and even the politicians of the state did not speak their mind out.

The reason why there is no opposition to Hindi in the state is that almost all people have learnt Hindi in schools as the state had a three language education policy. English, Hindi and Malayalam are taught in almost all schools and most of the people knows Hindi well, even if they are not able to communicate.

This is one reason for Kerala not entering into an agitation mood after the announcement of Amit Shah. Another reason is the historic nature of Keralites, not to enter into major confrontations unnecessarily. Kerala has never witnessed strong agitations at a national level unlike that in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the other two southern states.

Even the decades-long water sharing issue of the Mullaperiyar dam between Kerala and Tamil Nadu has not led into a violent agitation in Kerala unlike the Cauvery issue between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu wherein many people lost their lives and properties damaged including motor vehicles, shops and establishments. This nature of the Malayalee populace is reflecting in the language controversy as well.

The middle class of Kerala is a migratory society and after education, many in North Kerala travel to middle east for a living those in central Kerala and South Kerala prefer both middle east, US, UK and Canada. A large migration to other North Indian states are also evident from Kerala. This has led to a cosmopolitan outlook for the Malayalis in their language, dress code, food habits and even in marriages. So Kerala as a society stands apart for barriers in language and hence there was not much impact on the statement by Amit Shah in the southern most tip of India.

While there are voices of dissent in some parts of Kerala, it is mostly confined to political parties like the CPM who want to oppose as the person who had brought the idea is Amit Shah. However, even those voices of opposition are turning shriller by the day.

More than this Kerala has the history of protecting its linguistic minorities with Tamil and Kannada minority communities getting reservation in schools and colleges and even in Public Service Commission. Still there were agitations in certain predominantly Kannada language speaking areas of Kasargod district in Northern Kerala for posting officials with Kannada language knowledge in areas where Kannada speaking people are in the majority.

The presence of a large number of migrant workers from North Indian states and Bengal have led to even the nook and cranny of the state knowing Hindi as a colloquial language that is used in vegetable shops, meat shops, local tea shops and even in buses and Keralites have adapted to the language of Hindi.

V. Manivarnan, BJP, Kannur district vice-president while speaking to IANS said: “Keralites as a society has always been shy of major agitations and with Hindi being a language used in every part of the state now, thanks to the arrival of a large number of migrant workers, the people of the state know that there is no point in agitation against the imposition of Hindi language. If objections and oppositions come up at a later stage, that would be politically driven for the sake of publicity.”

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India News

Southern states oppose Shah’s Hindi move  

Some Kannada organisations have also reacted, submitting they won’t be quiet if Hindi is imposed in the state…reports Asian Lite News

Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not as a local language has led to stiff opposition from Southern states including BJP-ruled Karnataka.

‘Won’t fall for Hindi slavery’

Siddaramaiah, former Karnataka Chief Minister, dubbed it as an attempt to impose Hindi language in the country, saying he won’t be quiet if any attempt is made to impose Hindi.

“The statement is not only against the federal principles of the country but also an insult to other languages. Amit Shah should immediately withdraw the statement,” he said.

Also, the social media in the state is abuzz with comments under the hashtag #IndiaAgainstHindiImposition.

“Time has come for the non-Hindi states to stage a protest,” he noted.

Some Kannada organisations have also reacted, submitting they won’t be quiet if Hindi is imposed in the state.

Amit Shah has stated that people from different states should speak in Hindi, not English and he also stated that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English.

“Amit Shah’s diktat of asking states to use Hindi as a language of communication instead of English is objectionable,” Siddaramaiah, a Congress veteran, said.

“As a Kannadiga with self-respect, I condemn Shah’s statement,” he said.

“We are not against Hindi, English, Tamil, Malayalam, Gujarati languages. However, the priority in Karnataka should be given to the Kannada language. If any attempt is made to impose Hindi, it is not possible to remain quiet,” he said.

Siddaramaiah said it is unfortunate to see Shah promoting Hindi language, and “carry out the slavery of Hindi” by neglecting his mother tongue Gujarati, as he hails from Gujarat.

“Mahatma Gandhi who hailed from Gujarat was a proponent of diversity, different languages, ethos. But, it is a tragedy that Amit Shah sees a role model not in Mahatma Gandhi but in Veer Savarkar, a pseudo-nationalist and proponent of ‘one culture’ and ‘one language’,” the Congress leader said.

A R Rahman takes a stand

Oscar-winner and one of India’s top music directors A R Rahman has tweeted a poster highlighting the significance of Tamil and what the language means to Tamilians.

Rahman tweeted the poster of a woman holding a staff with the Tamil letter ‘Lazha’ on it. Interestingly, the letter is unique to Tamil language. The poster, titled ‘Tamizhanangu’, also had lines from a poem by revolutionary poet Bharathidasan. The line, “Inba Thamizh Engal Urimai Sempayirukku Vaer” loosely means “Delightful Tamil is the root of the staple crop of our rights”.

Thousands have liked the tweet that Rahman has put out with several other top writers, actors, journalists retweeting the tweet to voice their support for Rahman’s statement.

‘Language chauvinism will boomerang’

Reacting to Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao on Saturday warned that language chauvinism and hegemony in the country will boomerang.

Highlighting unity in diversity as India’s strength, KTR, as Rama Rao is popularly known, tweeted: “India is a union of states and a true ‘Vasudhaika Kutumbam’. Why don’t we let people of our great nation decide what to eat, what to wear, who to pray to and what language to speak! Language chauvinism/hegemony will boomerang.

“I am an Indian first, a proud Telugu and Telanganaite next. Can speak in my mother tongue Telugu, English, Hindi and a little bit of Urdu too. To impose Hindi and diss English will be a great disservice to the youngsters of this nation who have global aspirations. #stopHindiImposition.”

This is the first reaction by a leader from the two Telugu states to Shah’s statement.

DMK organ hits out

‘Murasoli’, the organ of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, on Sunday come out strongly against the recent statement of Union Home Minister Amit Shah that Hindi should be accepted as an alternative to English and not to local languages.

In an article, it recalled how party patriarch and former Chief Minister, late M. Karunanidhi had, as a 14-year-old student, marched across the streets of Tiruvattur against the then Central government’s move to impose Hindi on the people of the state.

The people of Tamil Nadu still have not forgotten the rally taken out by Karunanidhi against Hindi, it said, adding: “Do not forget it”.

In a direct call to the people of Tamil Nadu to strongly oppose the imposition of Hindi, the article asserted that there was no coward in the state and that Hindi cannot be imposed on them.

Karunanidhi’s son and present Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin has strongly come out against the Union Home Minister’s statement, saying that it would destroy national integration.

Several state parties, including the opposition AIADMK, have also come out against the statement of Amit Shah and the VCK and the DK have announced that they would conduct protest marches across the state against the statement of the Union Home Minister.

MDMK leader Vaiko has also said that the imposition of Hindi on the people of Tamil Nadu will never be accepted and reminded the power centres in New Delhi to remember the anti-Hindi agitations that had taken place in Tamil Nadu in earlier days.

ALSO READ-NE states oppose Hindi as mandatory subject

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-Top News

NE states oppose Hindi as mandatory subject

However, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there is no instruction from Centre to make Hindi learning compulsory…reports Asian Lite News

Political parties and apolitical organisations in the northeast on Sunday expressed opposition to the move to make Hindi a compulsory subject up to Class 10 in the northeastern states.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday while chairing the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee had said Hindi should be accepted as an alternative language to English but not to local languages.

“The nine tribal communities of the northeast have converted their dialects’ scripts to Devanagari while all the eight states of the northeast have agreed to make Hindi compulsory in schools up to Class 10. There is a need to give elementary knowledge of Hindi to students up to Class 9, and pay more attention to Hindi teaching examinations,” the Home Minister had reportedly said in the meeting.

Assam’s influential apex literary body, Asom Sahitya Sabha (ASS) on Sunday has opposed the move to make Hindi a compulsory subject till Class 10 in the northeastern states. ASS Secretary General Jadav Chandra Sharma said making Hindi a mandatory language will endanger the indigenous language.

However, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that there is no instruction from Centre to make Hindi learning compulsory.

“Assamese is the mother tongue of the majority of Assam citizens. The Assam government in consultation with Asom Sahitya Sabha and tribal dominated organisations prepared a language policy where a student will learn Assamese and a tribal language besides English and Hindi. Bodo Sahitya Sabha has some opposition and that’s why the state government has yet to announce the policy,” the Chief Minister said.

Sarma said that Shah had said one must know Hindi even though “we want students to learn English and Hindi”.

“Amit Shah has not said one must not stop learning Assamese and learn Hindi. He said that one must, after learning Assamese or their mother tongue, learn Hindi. We also want the same for by learning Hindi a student from this region would be able to apply for government and non-government jobs in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra,” he said.

Home Minister Amit Shah

Assam’s Opposition leader Debabrata Saikia on Sunday said that Shah’s announcement is in contradiction to the New Education Policy introduced by the BJP-led Central government which seeks to support primary education in the mother tongue.

Manipur Pradesh Congress committee President Keisham Meghachandra on Sunday told the mediapersons in Imphal that the party strongly opposes Union Home Minister’s statement “on imposition of Hindi language in Manipur and other northeast India states”.

In Meghalaya, former Congress leader and sitting MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh, who along with 4 party legislators recently announced to support the BJP-backed Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, also strongly opposed Shah’s announcement.

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UK News

High Commissioner Ellis displays his Hindi skills

The party was held ahead of the talks between UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Ellis indicated that talks may include the Russia-Ukraine crisis…reports Asian Lite News

British diplomat flaunted his Hindi speaking skills at The Queen’s Birthday Party organised at the British High Commission on Wednesday night. Speaking at the event, the British high commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, said that the last year was quite difficult due to the coronavirus disease and nowadays Ukraine is facing difficulty due to Russia.

“Namaskar, main aur meri patni dono bahut khush hain ki aaj yahan iss baar sab log hain. Pichhle saal kaafi mushkil tha Covid ke wajah se. Aajkal Ukraine mein bahut mushkil hai Russia ke wajah se. Lekin aaj hum log saath hain. (Hello, I and my wife, both are elated that this time everyone is here. Last year was quite difficult due to Covid. Nowadays it is difficult in Ukraine due to Russia. But today were are together),” Ellis told the gathering.

The British diplomat then switched to English, saying it was the extent of his Hindi. Ellis added that his Hindi teacher was present at the event but “probably hiding with embarrassment.”

“Guruji, my apologies.”

The party was held ahead of the talks between UK Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Ellis indicated that talks may include the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

“I don’t want to comment on specific issues regarding Ukraine. What I would say is that the principles of UN Charter are important to us all. That is exactly what our Foreign Secretary will be talking with Jaishankar on March 31,” news agency ANI quoted Ellis as saying.

Amitabh Kant, CEO of Niti Ayog, was also present at Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday party. Kant said that “We’ve had long, historic relations with Britain but we’ve very vibrant relations in world of trade, investment, climate change, sustainability and many areas of growth and partnership.”

“We have a very vibrant, dynamic and very energetic relationship that is going to grow and expand in the years to come even further,” he added.

ALSO READ-Ambassador Ellis holds talks on vax certification with India

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Bollywood Films

Rashmika ready for Bollywood debut

Telugu actor Allu Sirish insists “Vilayati sharaab” was not a planned step. “I don’t know how did this land in my lap. This is a stroke of luck or something…reports Asian Lite News.

Geetha Govindam fame Rashmika Mandana is a very familiar figure in the film industry now. Rashmika will make her Hindi debut with “Mission Majnu”, but before that she surprised fans when she entered the Hindi showbiz scene with an appearance in the music video of Badshah and Yuvan Shankar Raja’s latest hit, “Top Tucker”.

Telugu actor Allu Sirish, too, has taken the Hindi music video route to enter pan-Indian mindspace. He appears in the new Darshan Raval track “Vilayati sharaab”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE_Hiv7ltEk

Are music videos the new big ticket for regional actors aspiring to woo Hindi-speaking markets? Trade analyst Atul Mohan believes that for regional actors, doing Hindi music videos is part of their “pan-India goal”.

“Times are changing. With the success of ‘Baahubali’, ‘KGF’ and dubbed films, the dynamics of the market has changed. Now, actors like Prabhas and Vijay Deverakonda are promoted as pan-India stars. Everyone wants to go pan-India, to increase popularity. Music video seems to be the new favourite. It is one of the steps to achieving the pan-India goal and increase the face value,” he tells.

Telugu actor Allu Sirish insists “Vilayati sharaab” was not a planned step. “I don’t know how did this land in my lap. This is a stroke of luck or something. Even while doing the video I didnt think how many views I would get. I just enjoyed it so much. I wish I could just again shoot the video because it was so much fun,” he says.

Singer and music composer Nakul Abhyankar, has composed music for Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films and is known for his track “Thumbi Thullal” (Cobra), “Azhage” (Tamil film ‘Action’) among others. In his opinion, the collaborative effort of bringing artistes of the North and the South always reaps good results.

“Movie releases have reduced because of Covid and hard truth of any film industry is that if you are out of sight, you are out of mind. What Badshah did with Top Tucker was great. It was good to see the North and the South come together with Badshah on one side and Yuvan (Shankar Raja) and Rashmika on other side,” he says.

He adds: “It’s a good thing to see big names being involved in independent music scene. It’s a good thing but I would also love to see musicians come up along with actors and make a bigger impact.”

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Bollywood Films

Allu Sirish eagerly waiting for ‘something exciting’

“I have not thought about a Hindi debut yet but if something exciting comes my way I will definitely do it,” said Sirish…writesYashika Mathur

While many actors from the South have made their debut in Bollywood with film roles, Telugu actor Allu Sirish is trying the music video route. He features in video of the hit track “Vilayati sharaab” sung by Darshan Rawal and Neeti Mohan.

The song is composed by Lijo George and DJ Chetas, and penned by Kumaar. Featuring with Sirish is TV actress Heli Daruwala.

Sirish, brother of Telugu star Allu Arjun, calls the video a “stroke of luck”, adding that he awaits “something exciting” for a Hindi film debut.

“I have not thought about a Hindi debut yet but if something exciting comes my way I will definitely do it,” Sirish tells IANS.

He adds: “Right now my dubbing work only is travelling so much and that gets me so excited. With the films lined up here, I don’t get time to actively pursue anything else.”

Sirish made his acting debut as the lead star of the 2013 bilingual film “Gouravam” and later did successful films such as “Kotha Janta”, “Srirasthu Subamastu” and “Okka Kshanam”.

The actor’s last release, “ABCD: American Born Confused Desi”, got a great response from pan India television reach.

Talking about “Vilayati sharaab” and how it happened, Sirish says: “I don’t know how did this land in my lap. This is a stroke of luck or something. Even while doing the video I didnt think how many views I would get. I just enjoyed it so much. I wish I could just again shoot the video because it was so much fun.”

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