Give regional languages their due, learn Kannada

A uniform language policy is needed for mutual respect and linguistic harmony, not imposing Hindi for national unification

Recently, DH reported that the principals of several CBSE schools in Bengaluru called attention to the plight of migrant students who have to learn Kannada. This follows the Government of Karnataka’s decision to make Kannada mandatory in all schools across the state, regardless of their board affiliation. This report took me down memory lane to 37 years ago, when my father, a bank employee, was transferred from Davangere, a small town in Karnataka, to Delhi.

I was six years old and was to be admitted to second grade. I had to take a written test and undergo an interview. Upon seeing my blank Hindi paper (I did not then know that such a language existed), the principal remarked, “Isko to bilkul hi Hindi nahi aati” (she absolutely doesn’t know Hindi) and somewhat suggested that it would be an obstacle to granting admission. My maternal uncle, who had been living in Delhi for the past few years and had accompanied us for admission, assured her that I would learn Hindi in as little time as possible. When my mother was apprised of this, she took upon herself the task of teaching me Hindi. By the end of three months, I could read, write, and speak Hindi, and by the end of the year, I had scored the highest marks in the annual exams. My mother made sure of that.

It astonishes me that we did that without batting an eyelid. Today, I see so many people from different parts of the country making Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, their home, having come here in search of jobs and for education. They have benefited immensely from the job opportunities and the entrepreneurial ecosystem that prevail in Bengaluru. They have adopted Bengaluru as their home
but refuse to learn the language of the state.

In contrast, when people from the south go to Hindi-speaking areas, they are not given a choice. What’s more, they are made to learn Hindi compulsorily in their own states. The reason put forward for this imposition of Hindi on the southern states has been ‘national unification’. Any attempt to promote a sense of unity and brotherhood should be based on mutual respect and not through imposition. India is a multi-linguistic nation. All Indian languages have a rich linguistic history. In fact, all four southern languages—Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam—have been given the status of classical languages, as they have an ancient linguistic history that dates back 2000 years and deserve to be respected and appreciated.

It would be pertinent here to draw attention to an episode in the series The Crown titled Tywsog Cymru, in which Prince Charles is packed off to Scotland so that he can make a speech in Scottish on the occasion of his investiture as Prince of Wales. The people who are entrusted with the job of tutoring him feel insulted by his lack of knowledge of Scottish history and culture and his lack of effort. Disregard and apathy for a language and a culture are an affront to that state. People who move to other places, even temporarily, should make an honest effort to learn the local language. This is the respect and gratitude that they
can show to the state which they have made their home, even
if temporarily.

We Indians abide by the mandatory prerequisite to clear the proficiency test of a foreign language to move abroad. But we have trouble learning other Indian languages whose alphabets sound the same and whose many words and expressions are similar. The governments of southern states (barring Tamil Nadu) are also to blame for this situation, as they have ignored this issue for too long.

The question of leniency for students from outside the states having to learn Kannada in a board exam year is indeed adding to the already existing burden. This begs the question: have similar concessions been provided to people who move from the south to the north for any reason? If at all any concession is allowed for students from outside the state, it should be based on a uniform policy all over the country. I believe that, barring a few exceptions, learning a language is not impossible if one puts both their heart and mind to it, and learning Kannada should be even easier as the language is known as sulida baaLehaNNinanthaha bhashe (a language as easy to learn as eating a peeled banana). For those who want to make an honest effort, there was, interestingly, a small piece of information on the page adjacent to the one that carried the report. It was titled ‘online Kannada classes’, conducted by Kannada Prasaara Parishat.

(The writer is an independent researcher)