Oracle
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You are correct. Let me elaborate it.Yes, it's the same people I'm talking about. For them to come down south, they'll need to speak a language that their companies understand, and that obviously is English, not Hindi. They will speak to their coworkers, both local and from the North, in English, eventually English becomes their de facto language, something even an Idli Center waiter will understand.
Currently, there are parts of the Hindi belt that have completely done away with English. English medium schooling is just a luxury of a few thousand kids in district headquarters. What the southbound-rush will do is ensure that English medium schooling will spread, because English will have become a necessity.
If there's a job-rush to say Manipur or Nagaland, English will be relevant, not Hindi. The people who will invest in the NE will conduct their business in English, the way they do in the South.
Besides, you know better, Far-North-East people are excellent English speakers, they are the most westernised Indians. Their English is far better than their Hindi.
English is here to stay, nothing can replace it.
But, I was talking about say when you go for marketing, buy a smoke, autowallahs etc. Yes local language is needed, but even Hindi is finding it's way through. The last time I went to HAL market to buy fish was in 2003. It's far from the place I live. A friend insisted to drive, and last weekend I went to HAL market. The guys selling fish were Kannadas and they spoke with my friend in Bengali. All fish stall owners spoke Bengali. And Hindi too. And yes there were locals too with vegetables, they spoke Hindi too. Since I have picked up some Kannada, I would brush up my Kannada there, bargaining.
Also, many of my colleagues while we are smoking or are in a pub/bar talk in Hindi. And they mainly are South Indians. Some of them are very poor in Hindi, but they manage.
Yes, Hindi is spoken in a broken kinda language in NE, but it is Hindi. You can understand it, and they would understand the Hindi you speak. And Hindi is important when you go out for shopping, grocery, paying bills etc.
Also, I never knew most schools in North India have done away with teaching English. This is bad.
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