Editor: Md. Ibrahim & Vivek Gupta
Camera: Sumit Badola
Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s renewed push for Hindi as the national language, on Hindi Divas on Saturday, 14 September, has encountered a thorough pushback.
The outcry raged on social media with hashtags like #StopHindiImposition, capturing a snapshot of the palpable opposition and anger among Indians.
We illustrated the contours of this pushback through 10 revealing graphics. The Quint used the Talkwalker tool to collect trends and data on #StopHindiImposition from Saturday noon, when Shah made the call, up until Monday evening. As of 7 pm on Monday, the hashtag had a potential reach of over 482 million or 48.2 crore, as per Talkwalker.
482 Million Reach Since Saturday
It is worth noting that Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and Maharashtra which have seized upon the hashtag and got it across to to 482 million have a combined population of 265 million or 26.5 crore people.
South Carries Baton
Figures from states in the south, west, and east appear like different-sized battalions leading the resistance on social media. The figures on the states reveal the number of times the hashtag has been deployed in their conversations across social media.
Actor and political leader Kamal Haasan appeared to have his fingers on the digital veins of Tamil Nadu and issued stern warning against the imposition of Hindi through a video uploaded across social media.
Delhi-NCR Only North Indian Region to Engage
Delhi-NCR, however, emerged as lone red oasis in north India’s heat map depiciting engagement with the hashtag. In fact, the capital region was the second highest user of #StopHindiImposition, only behind Tamil Nadu
- Tamil Nadu: 48.8K
- Delhi-NCR: 28.4K
- Karnataka: 14.8 K
- Maharasthra: 5.8K
- West Bengal: 1.1K
- Kerala: 966
Most Opposition in English & Tamil
Nearly 90 percent of all social media engagement with the hashtag was either in English or in Tamil.
- English: 55.7
- Tamil: 33.8
- Kannada: 5.7
- Marathi: 2.5
- Hindi: 1.6
3/4 of All Who Engaged Were Men
The hashtag appears to have been used overwhelmingly by men. As of 7 pm on Monday, over 73 percent of all those who engaged with the hashtag were men.
The Bigger Picture
So, what other keywords did people use while deploying #StopHindiImposition? #StopHindiImperialism, Amit Shah, #HindiDiwas, #Kannada, #Tamil featured most commonly.
What’s the Sentiment Evoked?
While #StopHindiImposition has prompted and includes much negative sentiment, three spikes over the last 48 hours show that the hashtag has also been used in a positive vein to promote Hindi.
In the Last 24 Hours
Between 5 pm on Sunday and 5 pm on Monday, sparks of positive sentiment accompanying the hashtag made brief appearances in an overwhelmingly negative sentiment towards the proposal of Hindi as the national language.
A Medley of Languages
As expected, the hashtag has been used in conjunction with a variety of languages and key words. Tamil, Kannada, English, and Hindi feature prominently among other terms that found mention along with the hashtag.
Those in Mid-20s Engaged the Most
Along with English and Tamil as the most commonly used languages, 25 to 34 was the most common age bracket which engaged with the hashtag.
Therefore, according to the figures, a Tamil male in his late twenties, who is fluent in English, would be the most common entity to use the hashtag StopHindiImposition.
Emoting With Emojis
Finally, emojis are as a much a potent tool for gauging public sentiment as words. A list of the top seven emojis employed alongside the hashtag illustrate a sense of. . . well, emotions that evoke opposition to the aggressive imposition of the Hindi language.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)