Open Forum
New
Delhi, 19 September 2019
National Language
ANOTHER PANDORA’S Box
By Dr. S. Saraswathi
(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)
In the series of
efforts launched by the BJP government to promote unity and integrity of the
nation, it has now turned attention to the question of a national language for
multi-linguistic India. More than the issues like “one nation, one poll”, “one
nation, one Constitution”, “one nation, one ration card”, or “one nation, one
curriculum”, entry into the language question is likely to invoke instant and
passionate public reaction.
Home Minister Amit
Shah, speaking on Hindi Day in the capital, opened the debate on the need for a
national language. He said that Hindi is the only language that can unify the
country and steps should be taken to promote it, thus opening another Pandora’s
Box.
He claims that his
object is to halt the overwhelming influence of English in the country. While
asserting that unity and diversity is the strength of our nation, he said that
“a national language is needed so that foreign languages do not overpower our
own”. He was speaking in the Rajbhasha Award ceremony -- a fit place to enthuse
the audience with the idea “Let us make Hindi the most widely used language in
the world” as reported in the media.
The Home Minister
also linked Hindi with Mahatma Gandhi, a tactical remark, in the context of
Bapuji’s 150th Birth Anniversary.
Promotion of Hindi is for realising the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar
Patel of one language for the country. He reminded the people that Hindi is the
“heart and soul of our freedom struggle”.
Of all socio-economic
issues that divide people, the one about national language stands unique in the
sense that the pro and anti groups do not concede or even listen to each
other’s point of view. It is indeed a
highly emotional question, much more than religious attachment. It raises
questions of numerical size, comparative development, adaptability to
contemporary use, richness of literature, age of the language, etc, -- factors
that intensify irrelevant comparisons and introduce linguistic divisions
where they are not present.
In this controversy,
different terms are being used interchangeably without clarity in their meaning
like national language, official language, link language, regional language,
and common language. Apart from this, there is medium of instruction.
BJP’s optimism that
Hindi or any other language can be the uniting factor for the nation is
reasonable and can be worked out if that language is spoken by or understood by
a big majority -- say three-fourths of the population. In a vast country with
over one billion population, even if three-fourths speak the same language, the
other one-fourth is also large and cannot be pressurised to learn a new
language.
Our uniting factor is
our culture, our way of life transcending linguistic barriers. Extraordinary
effort is required to elevate Hindi to the status of a uniting factor. That
effort should receive voluntary cooperation of the people of India. Till that
time, Hindi will have to wait patiently.
In truth, India
stands united with multiple languages and unity will grow stronger and stronger
with more and more scope for their promotion. Pride in one’s language and its achievements
are unshakeable sentiments in India and also get hurt at the slightest offence.
There is of course genuine difficulty for Hindi-speaking population to put itself
in the place of non-Hindi people, particularly those far away from the Hindi
heartland to realise the implications of HM’s speech.
National language is
the term commonly used when talking about a language that is spoken in a
country. It denotes a connection between a territory and a language spoken
there. A number of Constitutions mention national languages, but in a different
meaning. The term is also used in a region crossing political borders. National
language is used for symbolic purposes in a nation’s flag or emblem. It
represents the national identity of a country. Many countries have found it
difficult to determine their national language, and very often, it is confused
with official language.
An official language
is the one used for official purposes, i.e. in official documents and
proceedings, police and court reports, etc. A national language is also the
official language in a country, but an official language is not necessarily the
national language. In Singapore, for example, there are four official languages
-- English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil, but only one national language --
Malay. Kenya’s national language is Swahili, but official language is
English. Arabic has dual role in Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia.
Official languages
are mentioned in many Constitutions and have a unique legal status. In many
African countries, indigenous languages are given official status and their use
promoted. Noteworthy in this connection is the US Constitution, which mentions
no official language and grants no linguistic rights and obligations. Despite
being a melting pot, there is strong sense of identity, which rests on progress
and development.
So also, the Constitutions
of Australia, Denmark, Gambia, Uruguay and many others do not mention national
or official language. Some others like Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, and
Sweden constitutionally protect minority languages.
Canada, South Africa,
and Belgium, which have linguistic groups cherishing a distinct identity need
constitutional protection. The Constitution of South Africa gives official
status to 11 languages, but like Zambia and Zimbabwe has no national language.
South Africa recognises linguistic rights of individuals and groups as
fundamental. Japan, the Netherlands, and Myanmar have not adopted any language
as national or official.
A link language is a
“semi-technical” term used for a language that is used for communication
between two or more linguistic groups like Swahili in South Africa. Hindi is
able to take this place easily between a Gujarati and Marathi because of their
proximity to Hindi areas, which facilitates learning without effort, but meets
resistance with Tamil or Telugu.
Link languages grow
on their own and are not promoted by policy interventions. Necessity is said to
be the mother of inventions; so also, it is the mother of absorption of
languages. People are generally bilingual in border areas between linguistic
States in India without anybody’s promptings. Hindi is growing in its role as
link language due to increasing contacts and communications. No other Indian
language has had this opportunity. Those in favour of linguistic unity have to
wait.
In Europe, French
served as the “lingua franca” -- a mixture of Italian and Southern French -- in
18-19th centuries and English has taken that place today. International organisations
such as the WHO, World Bank and others have promoted English because of its
global spread and not by any deliberate promotion.
With such variegated
pattern in the linguistic world, India can better strive to strengthen its
unity and integrity with several factors other than language since its very mention
raises protests and offers a strong bond for a new Mahagathbandhan. The DMK has already stirred up an anti-Hindi call
to unite political parties. Since there is no compromise solution, the wiser
way is to build unity by encouraging all languages equally.
BJP leaders cannot be
unaware of possible reactions to any proposal to push Hindi with official
machinery directly or indirectly. The Home Minister must only be testing the
atmosphere and must have got the result. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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