Two-Way Learning Of Languages Needed For Assimilation Of Indians
By Aishik Chanda
19 February, 2015
Countercurrents.org
At a time when the Narendra Modi-led BJP government is initiating programmes and schemes for the development of North East region, utmost care should be taken not to impose the “Hindi form of nationalism” on the region for the agenda of “assimilation” that many influential Hindi-speaking BJP leaders in the higher echelons of power may suggest.
Instead, the learning of languages should be a two-way process. In the Hindi-speaking states, option for a third language, from the 22 official languages of the country, should be inducted in the curriculum. The Hindi-speaking children, if taught a regional language such as say Telugu or Assamese, will not only develop a sensitivity to the linguistic diversity of the country but also get benefited by knowing the language when he/she grows up and migrates to other states for education or job purposes. One can’t deny the fact that India over the next 30 years will see more and more inter-state migrations mainly for job but also for education.
If the “two-way learning” plan is implemented, teachers of the regional languages will migrate to the small towns and villages of the Hindi belt, thus not only the children but also parents will get exposed to the “other Indian” and learn to respect the people who speak in a tongue different from theirs. This may also save the innumerous Nido Tanias who were and continue to be sheer victim of not only ignorance but also hatred for being different from what the “true Indian” (if such a nomenclature exists) is presented to the vast majority.
The knowledge of other languages in the Hindi belt will also give a spurt to learning about the literature of the regional languages, thus sparking research and work on arts, which have received scant attention and importance in the age of pursuit after professional science and management courses.
On the other hand, Hindi should be taught in non-Hindi speaking states, but again only as third language without any sign of imposition, which will help the “other” to know the most-spoken language, which most now get to know only through Bollywood films. Knowledge of Hindi will help say a Mizo or a Tamil converse more easily with the local populace post-migration and make the language truly the “communication language” of the country.
Many Hindi speakers who migrate to non-Hindi speaking states face an acute problem of learning the local language – mainly because of difficulty to grasp the new language due to lack of exposure at tender age, when a child quickly learns a language, but also due to the misconception that “Hindi is the national language. Everyone should speak it. Why should I learn a different language?”
Hindi, the language spoken by around 42 per cent of the population mainly in the northern, eastern and central parts of the country is not the only national language of the country. A 2010 Gujarat High court order had stated that though Hindi is understood by majority of the Indians, it can’t be deemed as the only national language. The High Court ruling has affirmed equal status to all the 22 official languages of the country.
It should be noted that till 1965, the Indian constitution, in Articles 343 and 345, mentioned Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of India but with a clause that states are free to adopt one or more local languages for all or any of the official purposes of the state.
However, after the anti-Hindi agitations in the south, particularly in Tamil Nadu in the 1960s following the imposition of Hindi in the schools, the national language status was accorded to all the 22 languages that have been recognized as official.
The process of two-way learning for both Hindi and non-Hindi speakers will help the innumerous migrants – from IAS officers to construction labourers -- feel at home at any part of the country they travel to.
The writer is pursuing M.A. in Dalit and Tribal Studies and Action at Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai. He was a working journalist at The New Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle in Hyderabad. He continues to write as an independent journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]
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