The controversy over languages is nothing new in India. The battle between Tamil and Hindi as well as other such skirmishes are well known. However the constant “enemy” and favourite whipping boy has been the English language! The mantra for all our politicians from earliest days has been – when in doubt hit out at the English language. Abuse it, ridicule it and pin all the woes of this poor country on it. But when it comes to educating your children or grandchildren – seek out precisely those institutions that propagate the use and teach that language.
India has the unique advantage of having a number of languages which have developed so fully and completely that they are in no way second to any international language be it Spanish, French or English. For example just to name a few like Tamil, Marathi, Bengali have the kind of depth flair and reach of any international language in the world. But then all of them exist in one country – India. Hindi as a language is a latecomer and in many ways the kind of official Hindi that’s used only by AIR and the Government is quite artificial. The original “ Hindustani” was a far more robust and lively language – borrowing freely from whichever language Indian or international that was convenient. On the contrary, the official Hindi borrows strictly from Sanskrit.
The question then arises as to why our forefathers chose to push Hindi at independence? I have a sneaking suspicion that they knew very well that the language of advancement would remain English but the excessive stress on Hindi and even the other regional languages to the complete black out of English in Government run or aided schools would provide a large section of “followers” disadvantaged by the fact that they didn’t know the language of the “elite” – English. There was also another deep rooted plan. Once Hindi was to be the official language there would obviously be a large demand for those who already spoke that language at the dawn of independence. Employment in Government jobs would be assured and therefore came a large brigade of Government employees from four major states of the north of India, their only qualification being that they already knew Hindi! Sometimes I wonder how the rest of the country never saw through this plan? The “myth” of official language Hindi is perpetuated continuously by the Government of India and its parliamentarians. The MPs on the Official language committee have a field day thundering at departments and public sector and other institutions officers about the use of Hindi. It’s a charade on both sides – 3 hours of abuse and then three days of much needed rest, recuperation and gifts in a 5 star resort at an exotic place.
I wonder whether the founding fathers ever seriously considered the adoption of Sanskrit as our official language ? It’s not as ludicrous a suggestion as it may seem at first blush. Remember the Jews adopted Hebrew, an ancient language considered “dead”, at their independence and it is the official language of the State of Israel. Would it have been tougher for us to learn Sanskrit rather than Hindi? Perhaps it may have been but it would have saved the country a lot of trauma and turmoil. Besides spreading the net of Government sponsored language jobs all over the country rather than restricted to the four states! Sanskrit teachers could be found all over India at independence rather than Hindi teachers who were in a few pockets. But that is side tracking the issue and we may spend no more time on the adoption of Sanskrit as the official language. Now it is too late and perhaps possible only after 50 or 100 years when our children’s children search deeper for their roots!
The English language is now our only remaining edge over the Chinese. They have beaten on every other score – from the sports field through the economic road and even down to the battle field. Even the Chinese acknowledge this advantage and are now desparately trying to close the gap. The fact remains that while the rest of the country understands and knows that the “language of opportunity” is and shall remain English our politicians and leaders find it a convenient non-issue to drum up. Its like the drum of “patriotism” one can beat it as loudly as one wants and side-step all the real issues that confront the country. Rather than face reality and accept the fact that facility in a language doesn’t mean a loss of heritage or culture, many of our leaders would have us believe that knowing English makes for loose morals. Janus like they would never dream of their children not attending those “ English medium” “ convent schools “ and being highly proficient in that language.
History tells us that India suffered the most whenever it turned xenophobic. The English language provides a window into the outside world – after all it’s the international lingua franca. It is said that over 61 countries speak English more than double those that speak French or Spanish. Internet penetration by language is highest in English. Now with the Chinese also opting for English over other international languages – world commerce will be conducted more and more in that language. And we Indians who have such a head start, such an advantage would be a pitiable lot if we threw away that advantage. Instead of concentrating on improving the way English is taught and making it available at the basic schooling level, we find it easy to indulge in English bashing as an easy way out. There is also another constituency that these so called leaders address when they rubbish English – precisely those whose sole claim to employment is knowledge of Hindi imagine if all the Hindi officers and Hindi departments were to be suddenly closed !?!? More importantly if now new recruitment of “Hindi officers and staff” was to be done? But to speak positively about English is to be not just unpatriotic but down right treacherous. Again reality is diametrically opposite – how come so many “unpatriotic “ young men and women are competing just in one university that the cut off for the Honours Bachelors programme is the highest in all disciplines.
Its about time the death knell was rung on this constant debate and English bashing.
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