B.A Hons in Hindi: Course Details, Admissions, Fees, Syllabus, Career, Scope

What pops in your mind when someone asks you - what are the best specializations available in the Arts stream? English? Political Science? History? Economics? Geez! How many of you came up with “Hindi” in the first place as soon as you saw the question in the first line? I bet “Hindi Hons” did not tickle your senses at the first instance. Well, we are not here to blame none of you for not having thought about Hindi Hons in the first place.

The reasons why B A Hindi honours isn’t spoken about within the student community are many. Today, in this article we will try to find out the reasons behind why Hindi Hons in India isn’t that a popular programme as is English, Economics, History or even Political Science. We will provide you with what one can learn from a programme like Hindi Hons. In the end, we will quickly graze through the list of top colleges in India which offers B A Hindi (Hons) programme.

Reasons Behind Why Hindi does not Enchant the Young Minds

Whenever someone digs deep into the reasons behind why Hindi is not a very popular course among today’s youth, the first thing that comes up is the “Impact of Colonization”. Well, yes we cannot deny the impact of being ruled by some “Islanders” from Europe for more than 200 years has had a serious impact on our native tongue, but there are several more reasons behind the students opting for Hindi Hons as their last choice. In the following section, we will try to demystify some of those.

1. Impact of Colonization - The Britishers came to the Indian Subcontinent during the early 1600s as merchants of spices. By and by, they started to participate in the internal matters of the subcontinent which was overseen by the Mughals at that time. By the latter half of the 19th century, the British East India Company was dissolved and the entire subcontinent was brought under the rule of the British monarchy after the failure of the 1857 revolt. From thereon began the subjugation of the natives in every aspect. It occurred to the Brits after a few years that to rule over the natives, it is important to bring them to their own level. So, they started projecting the idea of - Superior Man or the White Man’s Burden through which they displayed themselves at a higher pedestal than the natives. The whole idea behind it was to portray themselves as superior beings and “providing an opportunity to the Indians to rise to their level”. The best way, as propagated by the Britishers, was to learn English to become more “English-Like”. When the Britishers left the subcontinent in 1947, this mentality had already taken firm roots in the mind of the then “Literates”. Today, the situation has worsened even. Anyone who can speak English flawlessly is looked upon as “educated” and vice-versa.

2. Blind Aping of the Western Culture - It is somewhat an extension of the previous pointer. Because our forefathers idolized those who could speak English fluently, that same mindset was passed on to their children and their children and so on until it reached us. Because our forefathers considered the English-speaking people superior to themselves, they and us, both have blindly accepted that their culture is more superior to us and thus started following them blindly. It has had a huge impact on the mind of the Millenials. Today, everyone loves listening to Western songs, everyone wants to be accepted as a part of the “English-Speaking Gentry”, everyone tries to communicate in English, everyone wants to write in English. With each passing day, the usage of Hindi language is becoming obsolete and with it the interest of the younger generations towards it.

3. Parental Pressure - Parents these days are too obsessed with their kids communicating in fluent English. In the pursuit of it, they encourage their kids to read English comic-books, watch English toon shows and suddenly “Tenali Raman”, “Panchatantra ki Kahaniya” and classics like these went out of fashion. Most of their emphasis is always on - how their kids will learn English so that they are not left out of any social group when they grow up. The kids grow up to become “parrots” (excuse the choice of word), yes parrots because they diligently master the art of “speaking with a pebble beneath their tongue”.

4. Career Prospects - Of course, nothing in India can be as important as the Return on Investment, i.e a course only seems appropriate if it opens up “respectable” career opportunities in the future. Most of the times, students opt for other arts programmes except for Hindi believing that those will lead them to the glorious lane, at the end of which some “glamorous” opportunities will be up for grabs. That is totally not the case as it also opens up a wide horizon of job opportunities for the Hindi graduates. However, the word - glamorous is debatable

Why Students Should Opt for Hindi Honours?

With so many points mentioned above which are the potential reasons behind the status of Hindi and Hindi honours in India, it is time to provide a counter-perspective as to why students should opt for Hindi honours at the graduation level.

India was the centre of attraction, years before the Mughals and the European sailors set their foot on this land. One of the main reasons to pursue Hindi honours at a higher level is that it will help today’s youth to reconnect with their lost glory. Except this, the students also get to know various other things like:

• Hindi Script

• History of Hindi Language

• Masterpieces that are written in Hindi

In Hindi honours, the students are taught from the level Zero which basically enhances their understanding of the language. Even in this age where everyone is going ga-ga over English and its implications as a Universal language, majority of the Indian population communicates in Hindi. Hindi is still the sole language which bridges the gap between bigger cities and smaller towns & the soul of the nation - villages.

Career Options for Hindi Graduates

Having spoken enough already about how the position of Hindi language diminished and why should the younger generations opt for Hindi honours at the higher level, let us discuss some of the career opportunities that Hindi graduates can explore:

• Teaching - One of the only opportunities people think that is open for Hindi graduates or postgraduates is teaching.

• Screenwriting - Bollywood tops the list of the number of films that are released every year worldwide and the majority of them are in Hindi. Hindi graduates can take up the job of a screenwriter provided they possess a Master’s degree in the specialization. With the advent of streaming services like Amazon Prime, Netflix etc, the demand for good screenwriters has increased over the last two to three years. Students can also opt for a masters programme in screenwriting post-completion of their Bachelor’s programme to be picked up right away

• Government Jobs - The students can aim for a Government job after completing their higher studies in Hindi. Hindi graduates can easily make a career in PSUs, SSC or Civil Services

• Journalism - It is one of the best career prospects for a student who have completed his/her higher studies in Hindi. The job of a journalist is to connect with the masses and provide them with an unbiased and a higher degree in Hindi will serve the purpose effectively

There are several other career prospects for a Hindi graduate except for the most popular ones mentioned above. Let us explore some of the top colleges in India which offers Hindi (Hons) at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Top Colleges in India Offering Higher Degrees in Hindi

The students can scroll through the table below which will provide them with the list of top colleges in India that offers Hindi specialization, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. The list will provide the names of top 5 colleges in each of the metropolitans -

Colleges Offering Hindi (Hons) in Delhi

Colleges Offering Hindi (Hons) in Kolkata

Colleges Offering Hindi (Hons) in Mumbai

Colleges Offering Hindi (Hons) in Tamil Nadu

It is indeed important for the students to not believe in made-up stories about different programmes from third-party sources and instead must make wise decisions on the basis of their own research. Also, literature, be it English literature or Hindi Literature, teaches a lot many things and the students learn that everything which is being projected is not the complete truth and there is counter-information which must be dug out - a very valuable lesson. All the best!!