Hindi push in Russia: Universities encourage students to learn language
Several Universities in Russia have started offering Hindi courses. This comes as an increasing number of students are showing interest in learning the language. The language courses in Russia ar also being used by the country as a means of soft power diplomacy at a time when the US is showing a hostile attitude towards both Russia and India.
New Delhi: Russia is encouraging students to learn Hindi in Universities. This push for the language comes amidst increased engagement between Russia and India over the years and is being seen as a good soft power diplomacy by the country. Konstantin Mogilevsky, the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, said that a growing number of young people in Russia are showing interest in learning Hindi. He instructed Universities to broaden their studies in the language.
Growth in student enrollment in Hindi in Russia
Recently several students have shown a keen interest in learning HIndi in Russia. Several colleges and Universities in the country have reported increased enrollment of students in this course.
The Russian Minister said that Hindi is spoken by more people in India than English and therefore it cannot be taken lightly.
The demand for learning Hindi is growing in the country and therefore several Universities are encouraging people to take up the course. Some of the Universities in the country which are offering Hindi courses include, Russian State University for the Humanities, the Institute of Asian and African Studies of the Moscow State University and the Moscow State Linguistic University. All of them are conducting a number of Hindi courses.
Mogilevsky said that the number of people opting to learn Hindi has multiplied by 2 or three times. GIen the huge number of students opting for the course, several Universities outside Moscow, including the St Petersburg State University, as well as Kazan Federal University are now offering Hindi courses.
Government officials in the country have noted a steady increase in applications in this course.
International developments
Meanwhile this encouragement by Russia for Hindi learners, comes at a time when the geopolitical environment is continuously changing. The US has put a 50 per cent tariff on Indian products for allegedly being a close ally of Russia and buying oil from the country.
In face of this new development and continuous tirade by Trump against India, Russia sees this as an opportunity to further cement its relationship with the country. However the 2 countries (Russia and India) have grown close to each other since 2022.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has described Russia as India's most dependable partner. He was quoted by India Today as saying, "We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relations in the world after the Second World War."