I get angry when Indians speak to each other in English: Tomio Mizokami

The septuagenarian has been one of the major attractions of the 10th conference inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

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When the PM’s visit to Japan was finalised last year, Tomio wrote a letter urging him to speak only in Hindi. The retired professor loves Modi not only for acknowledging the request but also because he speaks fluent Hindi.

But the inaugural function in Bhopal did not leave him impressed because Modi used English words unlike External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who consciously pronounced “report” as “rapat” in her speech.

What roiled him more is the mismanagement in the Bhopal edition of the conference, the biggest in history with thousands of participants “but not many foreigners”. He had to find his own accommodation, something he was not prepared for. “I have attended five conferences including the one held in Delhi in 1983 but the arrangements were never so bad.”

The veteran, who is also conversant with Punjabi, wanted to speak at one of the sessions on “Hindi in foreign policy” but was not allowed to. He blames “officers who wear ties” for neglecting Hindi in the country and also on foreign soil. “I have had enough. It has left me ‘atrupta’ (unsatisfied),’’ he says of his disappointment with the conference. “I won’t attend the next conference.”

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