Stop poking at us with Hindi rod

Amit Shah’s plea for Indians to understand the virtues of Hindi, which is a “friend to all other languages,” reminds me of a similar instance of language paranoia when I called Bismillah Khan’s office for an appointment.

“Do you speak Urdu?” said a voice at the other end. Before I could react, the voice continued: “Khan Sahib does not speak to journalists who don’t speak an Indian language.” Not to be cowed down, I told the voice: “Tell Khan Sahib that I can talk to him in Tamil, Telugu or Kannada. Which one does he prefer?”

Fortunately, we have a plethora of languages to handle whimsical shehnai players. But our Home Minister’s advice is too intriguing for us to react. He tells us that Hindi is not a “competitor” but a “friend” of other regional languages. This innocent statement is loaded with implications. Why has Hindi suddenly assumed the role of a friend of other “weak” languages?

The people of the four southern states may seem docile, but touch their language and they will turn insane with fury. It is futile to try to whip them into submission, since theirs are major literary languages that are also constitutionally recognised.

Take Malayalam. A “classical language” spoken by 3% of India’s population, but by 97% in Kerala. Malayalis who have emigrated to the Middle East, America and Europe have made it an international language as well. It is believed that there are 179,860 speakers of Malayalam in the US alone. A signal to the Centre that a language that has crossed international borders cannot be throttled in its own home. Any attempt to hijack it will be thwarted by the smiling Malayalee. The Home Minister had best leave this state alone.

Tamil (Tamizh) is another language with classical status (semmozhi) which the gods dare not touch. One of the oldest languages in the world (the Tamil epic Silappadikaram is believed to have been written between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE) is guarded like gold by the Tamilian. A language perfected by legendary poets like Thiruvalluvar, Ilango Adigal and Subramania Bharati. Tamil has also been the language of music and dance.

Tamil Nadu is the land that produced a host of legendary musicians and dancers who enriched the arts. So, the early defenders of Tamil decided to preserve their language through the arts themselves. The concept of TamilIsai to protect Tamil from being hijacked by Hindi fanatics was a brilliant musical stratagem to preserve a language. It would really be a tall order for anyone to separate the Tamilian from his Tamizh. Amit Shah will be wasting his time trying to do so.

But he will find a totally different response when it comes to Telugu land. The supporters of Telugu are in a different class altogether. They will neither smile nor sing, but they love their language so fiercely that no reaction is too desperate to save it from being usurped. Touch his language, the emotional Telugu loyalist may turn violent, set himself on fire or fast to death. Telugu is the most widely spoken among the Dravidian language family. With nearly 81 million native speakers, Telugu is the fourth most-spoken language in India and 15th in the world. Its rich and varied literature dates back to the 11th century when the Mahabharata was translated to Telugu from Sanskrit by Nannaya. With scholars like Vemana, Peddana, Kshetragna and Yallapaka Annamayya (who dominated Carnatic music with his 2,000 sankeertanas on Tirupathi Venkateswara), how can the Telugu people not hold on to their rich language? Pothana was another poetic gem who translated Vyasa’s Sanskrit treatise into Telugu as the Andhra Maha Bhaagavatamu. The Telugu’s will never allow these treasures to be appropriated by Hindi. Amit Shah had better stay away from them.

Lastly, there is the Kannada bastion, where the Centre does not anticipate much resistance. But it should know that even the mild Kannadiga can turn aggressive when an alien tongue unsettles his language. A language that is one of the most widely spoken in the world, Kannada also has a primordial literature that goes back a thousand years and is carved on the walls of ancient temples and monuments like the ruins of Halebeedu or the marvels of Hampi. Pampa, Ranna and Ponna – stalwarts of Halegannada – are Karnataka’s proud possessions. So are Kanaka Dasa, Purandhara Dasa, Kumara Vyasa -- all pioneers of Nadugannada – who made Karnataka a “nest of singing birds.” Language mingled with spiritual awakening with social reformers like Basavanna, Kumara Vyasa, Akka Mahadevi and Allama Prabhu.

Imposing a new language and a new culture against this background would be a farce. The peaceful Kannadiga will not accept it. Why, all four southern states carry the same message: Leave us alone, we are happy with our own culture and language.