Once again, the
debate on English versus the Indian languages (specially Hindi) is hitting the
national news. Some people seem to have a big problem with the UPSC testing the
Civil Services aspirants in basic English proficiency in its entrance test.
(Intellectual bankruptcy.... what else ??)
Earlier, I had written a post on the use of English as compared to the regional languages for higher education in India, when a loonie baba suggested that all higher education in India should be conducted in Hindi or the regional language.
Once all such
ridiculous ideas are demolished through logic, such people turn to the issue of
nationalism which they think is automatically associated with language.
What such people
fail to understand is that a language is a means of communication. It is NOT
the parameter to assess one’s patriotism.
A person may have a
particular mother tongue. But it is not necessary that his or her mother tongue
is understandable to most of the people that person wants to communicate with.
Thus, if that person uses another language to communicate with other people, it
does not automatically imply that he or she is being disrespectful to the
mother tongue.
A person may be
living and working away from his hometown and his parents in another place. And
therefore, instead of his parents, he interacts with his colleagues and boss on
a regular basis rather than his parents. Will that mean he becomes
disrespectful to his parents simply because he is not interacting with them on
a daily basis ? Similar logic.
Most ‘patriots’ who
shout for the use of Hindi or other regional languages instead of English do so
because of their negative views for the British who once ruled India. But they
forget that English is not the Queen’s property. Yes, the British Empire once
ruled almost the entire world. But one good thing that resulted from it is that
it provided a common language of communication for people from various parts of
the world.
My mother tongue is
Hindi, but I’m writing this post in English. That doesn’t turn my loyalties
towards the United Kingdom. Neither does it imply that I disregard Hindi or I’m
disrespectful towards Hindi. I’m writing in English in order to put across my
thoughts, whether good or bad or right or wrong, to people not just across
India but across the world.
Often, when I visit
a blog directory such as ‘Indiblogger’, I come across some popular blogs by
people which are in their regional language. However much I would like to read
their views, I cannot do so since I do not understand that language. Similarly,
a person from another region of India would be unable to understand my blog if
I were to write it in Hindi. So, either I have to learn another person’s
language or he has to learn mine in order to communicate our views to each
other.
English serves that
purpose easily and efficiently bringing people on an equal platform instead of
one learning the other’s language. The same goes for people from different
parts of the world.
And when people
give the examples of Russia, China, Germany, etc. to suggest that they still
use their own language instead of resorting to English, they simply show their
ignorance about the fact that even these countries are turning to English in
order to reach out globally in every field.
And yes, the above
countries are more or less homogeneous in the composition of their populations
regarding language. India, on the other hand, is not a homogenous country. It
is in fact, a Union of States with different cultures and languages. It’s
similar in comparison if we consider the European Union to be one country. No
wonder we don’t have a single national language and hence need to depend on
English as a common language of communication.
So, instead of
hating a language just because it is associated with a certain population,
people should understand that a language is simply a mode of communication. One
should not compare and classify languages, let alone use it as a tool to
determine one’s patriotism.
And, instead of
changing the education system according to one’s language proficiency, it is
much better and easier to be educated in a common language of communication
from the beginning along with one’s mother tongue and other regional languages.
(Image courtesy : Google Images)
