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As programmes promoting Hindi are being organised across the country ahead of Hindi Diwas 2026, Madhya Pradeshโs nearly four-year-old experiment with conducting MBBS studies in Hindi raises questions over its impact on students.
Crores of rupees were spent on the initiative, and thousands of Hindi medical textbooks were prepared and published. Yet, according to available records, not a single student has taken the entire MBBS theory examination in Hindi over the past three years.
The experiment with medical education in Hindi began in 2022, following the Central Governmentโs push to link medical education with Indian languages.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Union Home Minister Amit Shah had emphasised the need to use Indian languages in medical education. Madhya Pradesh became the first state to move ahead with the initiative.
At the behest of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, work began on making MBBS textbooks available in Hindi. A team of medical experts, doctors and translators was formed, with reports suggesting that around 300 experts were involved in the process.
Under the plan, textbooks for key subjects in the first year of the MBBS course were translated into Hindi and made available in the market.
Around 50,000 Hindi medical textbooks were published at a cost of approximately 10 crore, according to available data. The initiative also drew interest from other states. The Bihar government purchased Hindi medical textbooks as part of the effort.
However, after the books were published, efforts to popularise them among students and encourage them to take examinations in Hindi did not prove as effective as initially anticipated.
The books are available, but Hindi has largely remained absent from examinations. Students continue to prefer writing their MBBS theory examinations in English.
According to available records, not a single student has written the entire theory examination in Hindi over the past three years.
Several reasons have been cited for the limited adoption of Hindi. Manish Jain, a Bhopal-based medical book publisher and one of the pioneers in publishing MBBS books in Hindi, told Aaj Tak that medical education has traditionally been English-centric.
As a result, making a sudden shift to studying and taking examinations in Hindi is difficult for students.
There is also apprehension among some students that writing examinations in Hindi could result in lower marks compared with English-medium students. Others fear that having "Hindi medium" mentioned on their certificates could affect their future career prospects.
This concern over careers has emerged as another major obstacle to students opting for Hindi-medium examinations.
The translation of medical textbooks into Hindi presents another challenge. Technical vocabulary, medical terminology, and complex medical concepts need to be presented in Hindi in a way that students can easily understand. This makes translating medical science textbooks a difficult task.
As a result, many students continue to prefer original English textbooks. English also remains dominant among faculty members and within the academic system of medical colleges.
Publishers have alleged that even after the books were produced, they did not receive the expected support from deans, academic administrators, or the bureaucracy to encourage their use among students.
According to Manish Jain, the Madhya Pradesh government initially purchased around 1,000 to 1,500 books from publishers. Similarly, around 600 to 700 books were purchased in Bihar. However, demand for Hindi medical textbooks subsequently failed to reach the expected levels, leaving publishers with large unsold stocks.
Jain clarified that the primary objective of the scheme was not to make Hindi compulsory for every MBBS student. Instead, the Hindi textbooks were intended mainly as reference material to help students from Hindi-medium backgrounds, particularly those from rural areas and small towns, understand medical subjects.
Students also have the option of taking examinations in Hindi. In Madhya Pradesh, they are allowed to write their answers in Hindi alongside English, while provisions have also been made for a concession of up to 50 percent on examination fees for students opting for Hindi medium.
Despite these provisions, students have not used the option on a large scale.
While interest in Hindi medical textbooks has remained limited in most parts of the state, Ratlam Medical College has shown a different trend.
According to Manish Jain, the Dean of Ratlam Medical College is actively supporting the initiative, and Hindi-translated MBBS textbooks have reached around 80 percent of students there.
The example suggests that institutional support from college administrations and faculty members could play an important role in expanding the reach of Hindi medical textbooks.
Jain has cited countries such as China and Japan while arguing that India needs to learn from nations that use their mother tongues in medical education.
According to him, medical education in countries such as China and Japan is widely available in local languages, and these countries have made significant progress in medical science and research using their own languages.
In India, however, English continues to dominate medical education. Students often view English as the safer career option because of its role in higher education, research, and access to global medical literature.
The issue, therefore, goes beyond simply making Hindi textbooks available. Madhya Pradeshโs experiment has reached a point where questions are being raised about how the success of the initiative should be measured.
The government commissioned textbooks, brought together experts and translators, and spent crores of rupees on the initiative. Yet, if students are still reluctant to opt for Hindi in examinations, questions remain over whether publishing textbooks alone is enough to make Hindi a genuine choice in medical education.
The experience also raises questions about the need for wider institutional support, teacher training, standardisation of medical terminology, confidence about career prospects and impartial evaluation of Hindi-medium answers.
Ahead of Hindi Diwas, Madhya Pradeshโs experiment highlights the gap between announcing Hindi as an option in medical education and making it a choice that students are confident enough to use.
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