I grew up with four languages . Literature came to me through Kannada and my school education was in Kannada but my engineering degree was in English. My aunt taught me Hindi and persuaded me to take certain exams that helped me develop an interest in this language. I would switch between my mother tongue, Konkani , and Kannada, without being aware of it, and this was not unique to me.In Karnataka , the relationship between neighbouring languages has always been very cordial and strong. Of course, there are disputes with Maharashtra over Belagavi but Marathi is still one of the major languages spoken in the border districts. The Marathi theatre (sangeet natak) was popular in northern Karnataka. Similar examples abound in Kannada literature.While one of our greatest poets, DR Bendre, spoke Marathi at home, other eminent writers such as DV Gundappa and Masti Venkatesh Iyengar spoke Tamil at home. In fact, the Kannada Sahitya Parishat, which is celebrating its centenary this year, was born in the house of a Telugu speaker. Unlike other state capitals, Bengaluru is not the geographical centre but is close to Karnataka’s borders with Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Thus, Bengaluru has always had a significant population that speaks in other tongues. Hindi is not a neighbouring state’s language. If it were, people would have learnt it naturally, as they have Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.The Bengaluru Metro masked the Hindi names of Kempegowda-Majestic and Chickpet stations and deputed extra forces to check protests by pro-Kannada groups.There is no emotional connect with Hindi. A good number of people in Bengaluru may understand spoken Hindi, thanks to Bollywood films, but that does not mean they are able to read the Hindi script. The feeling of imposition arises when one has to endure something that has no direct utility value. The issue of Hindi is similar. When it comes to the debate over signboards at Metro stations, I am in support of the argument to have Tamil as the third language instead of Hindi. Doing this is also an acknowledgement of the large number of Tamil-speaking population in Bengaluru. This is no different from having signboards in Bangla or Hindi in certain parts of London. Let us not forget that the current agitation is against an attempt to impose a language; it is not a debate about Hindi itself, which is a beautiful language, as are Urdu, Tamil and other Indian languages.I question the very need to “fit” Hindi in a non-Hindi speaking state. As we have seen in other parts of the world and in our own country, imposition of language ends in a disaster. Diversity is the biggest hurdle to an authoritarian state. Every government desires to dilute this diversity, in a hundred ways, with language being one of the means. While the current government appears to be more aggressive with this strategy, it is not as if previous governments did anything to strengthen diversity.Diversity is the biggest hurdle to an authoritarian state. Every government desires to dilute this diversity, in a hundred ways, with language being one of the means.Similarly, large corporations dislike diversity of all kinds as it is a block to gain benefits of scale. I have heard from my friends in academics that there is a lot more funding for Hindi than for any other Indian language. Thus, you are creating a situation where, if you know Hindi, you will enjoy certain advantages. When one describes Bengaluru as a city of migrants to justify the imposition of Hindi, keep in mind that workers, especially blue-collar workers, have no problem in learning the local language. For example, I have yet to come across a Malayali shopkeeper in the city who does not speak Kannada. People learn a language only when it is useful to them. In a lighter vein, my mother studied in Marathi medium for a few years though she was living in Sirsi in North Canara. That was because, in those days, most of the boys would move to Mumbai for jobs so, if you married them, you would also have to live there. Parents would get their daughters to learn Marathi just so that their life would be easier. It is a different matter that my mother did not marry someone from Mumbai!I believe we should strongly promote the local language in every state. The primacy of the local language is not negotiable. We must also encourage knowledge creation in the local language because only then will we get more talent into the mainstream. You will not get the best out of people who learn in a language which is not their own.You see this in Europe, the structure of which is similar to India, with its many distinct languages and cultures. You will see scientists from these countries who can communicate in English but produce research papers in their own language. This can also happen here if we create opportunities for people studying in Indian languages. Coming to the question of having a common Indian language, I do not think it is possible or desirable to have a single unifying Indian language.Imposing Hindi will not unify us, but having a deep respect for other languages will. In South India, especially in non-urban areas, Hindi is virtually absent but people have not had any problem communicating with each other or in doing business. Let us accept the fact that a large number of people in India do not understand a word of Hindi and they don’t need to. Hindi is another Indian language and nothing more. Whether we like it or not, English is gradually playing the role of lingua franca in the country. There is a desire to learn English because people see value in doing so. English is seen as the language of the new world.It is not the case with Hindi. It would be very superficial to see the current agitation as one that is about signboards alone. The anxiety that local languages are losing their ground may also have fuelled this. Similar to the desire of corporations for a monolithic market, politicians seek uniform vote banks. This attempt at imposing Hindi has a longer term political objective. Diversity of every kind is necessary for democracy to survive and thrive in India. It is in our interest to protect this diversity.(As told to Indulekha Aravind)(Shanbhag is a Kannada writer based in Bengaluru)