A ‘nativised’ Hindi associated with Assam’s only hill station is trying to hold its own amid a row over the Centre’s move to make the ‘standardised’ form of the language compulsory in high schools across the northeast.
Hindi reached Dima Hasao – a district formerly called North Cachar Hills – in the late 1800s primarily through merchants and construction workers who worked on a mountain railway system. By the time the railway line was completed in 1899, the non-tribal settlers and diverse indigenous communities across the hills had developed a pidgin to communicate among themselves.
It came to be known as Haflong Hindi, named after the headquarters of the district where the Dimasa people are the dominant community. The other tribes are Hmar, Kuki, Zeme (Naga), Biate, Vaiphei, Hrangkhol, Khelma, Rongmei, Karbi and Jaintia.
