Yale University brings Hindi debating to America

Washington, March 29 (IANS) Students from America's top universities like Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia are all set for a debate on the theme of "Higher education is not worth it" -- in Hindi!

The fourth edition of the Yale Hindi Debate that has grown into a national event since its start in 2008 as an internal Yale competition will have two rounds; a preliminary on March 30 and the final one on the Yale University campus on April 6.

A platform for students to debate issues of social, economic, and political relevance, the debate also witnesses participation of students and faculty from Pennsylvania, New York, Cornell, Wellesley, California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Welseyan, and Texas universitues.

The annual Yale Hindi Debate was conceptualised and founded by Nikhil Sud, a 2006 graduate of St. Columba's School in New Delhi and a 2010 graduate of Yale College who is now studying at the Yale Law School, regarded as the top law school in the US.

He was encouraged and guided by Seema Khurana, senior lector for Hindi and South Asian Studies at Yale University.

The Yale Hindi Debate has truly emerged as one of the most significant efforts of the Yale India Initiative and the growth of South Asian studies in the US.

This is reflected in the remarkable diversity of the participants. Debaters are not only native Hindi speakers. There are also a striking number of non-native heritage speakers, and non-native non-heritage speakers.

Topics from past years include (translations): "Patriotism is No Longer Relevant" (2009), "Religion is More Divisive than Unifying" (2010), and "Marriage is a Dying Institution" (2011).

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)