<p>More than 20 years ago, I sat next to a thirty-something man in a railway carriage who was from Gaya. Conversation with strangers was still a thing then (the mobile was not all-pervasive) and he told me that he was a Japanese language teacher in Gaya. His students: locals who wanted to become guides to the many Japanese tourists who flocked to the town due to its association with the Buddha. </p>.<p>An alien language had taken root in a corner of Bihar and it had happened organically. Someone saw an opportunity for employment and income in learning Japanese and had run with it. Learning a language was a value proposition. </p>.<p>This anecdote is a good illustration of how people have the ability to adapt to the situation and do what is necessary if there is value in it. </p>.<p>Can we perhaps view the recent three-language formula kerfuffle in such a light? Legalities and the fine print of national policy apart, let us examine our language situation through a different lens. </p>.<p>Mother tongues have an emotional pull and serve as a binding factor for communities. We learn them unconsciously, with little effort, if we happen to live where our mother tongue is widely used. Learning it may be an act of labour for many who can’t learn it naturally owing to where they live. It may be on the insistence of parents or perhaps a self-motivated exercise because one attaches a certain value to it. </p>.<p>English is the language of power in modern India. It opens many doors. It is the language of higher education, of the higher courts, it opens doors to foreign opportunities and a whole lot more. One learns it since it is an enabler. </p>.<p>This brings us to the matter of Hindi. It was touted (a version of it, Hindustani) as the ‘national’ language during the freedom struggle since the need then was for a wholly Indian tongue to fight the anti-colonial battle. Hindi/Hindustani didn’t quite fit the ‘national’ bill even then and there was resistance against it. But it appeared to some that a consensus had developed around it. This was largely in the minds of the Hindi speakers themselves and when the first fault lines appeared on the eve of independence, a more feasible formula was thrashed out which did away with the ‘national’ altogether. </p>.<p>There have been language battles ever since. And the latest one which insists on Hindi teaching pan-India merely restates the tired and outdated ‘anti-colonial link language’ argument to buttress Hindi’s value. Except that English has proven its worth in the last several decades. So, none of the non-Hindi-speaking states are buying the argument anymore. English has also shed its ‘colonial’ status and been Indianised to a great extent. In such a scenario, by default, Hindi has lost its place as a language of value for many. </p>.<p>In fact, it is the Hindi-speaking states that need to come to terms with the value of English. Secondly, they need to recognise the languages subsumed under the dubious nomenclature of ‘Hindi’ and give all the mother tongues in their states their rightful place — Braj, Maithili, Bundeli and many others. </p>.<p>For the non-Hindi-speaking states, it is important to avoid the hegemonising route of insisting only on the majority language of their state. In Tamil Nadu, this would mean recognising Toda, Badaga, Irula and other mother tongues and giving them their rightful place. In Karnataka’s case, it would mean giving sufficient recognition to Kodava Takk, Tulu, Konkani, Byari, Dakhani and other languages. </p>.<p>Those who wish to learn Hindi since it is a language of value for them will do so — like those who learnt Japanese in Bihar! Equally, Hindi speakers must make an effort to learn other Indian languages and English. It is here that the matter is perhaps most complicated, since the false ‘national’ narrative has bred in them a certain complacency. The need of the hour is to substitute it with a value narrative to end the prevailing attitude of attempting to exert Hindi hegemony through threats. </p>.<p>English has won the economic battle for the moment. Its privileges should therefore be made available to all, in particular, the underdeveloped states of the Hindi heartland. Our Indian languages, however, continue to have great cultural value and should be given all the encouragement they need. And this should be democratised to mean all mother tongues, not merely two or three languages.</p>.<p>It is time to fully comprehend the complexity of the Indian language situation by viewing it through the lens of value and culture. All other arguments for or against a language don’t have much of a leg to stand on. </p>.<p><em>(The writer is the author of 10 Indian Languages and How They Came to Be)</em></p>
<p>More than 20 years ago, I sat next to a thirty-something man in a railway carriage who was from Gaya. Conversation with strangers was still a thing then (the mobile was not all-pervasive) and he told me that he was a Japanese language teacher in Gaya. His students: locals who wanted to become guides to the many Japanese tourists who flocked to the town due to its association with the Buddha. </p>.<p>An alien language had taken root in a corner of Bihar and it had happened organically. Someone saw an opportunity for employment and income in learning Japanese and had run with it. Learning a language was a value proposition. </p>.<p>This anecdote is a good illustration of how people have the ability to adapt to the situation and do what is necessary if there is value in it. </p>.<p>Can we perhaps view the recent three-language formula kerfuffle in such a light? Legalities and the fine print of national policy apart, let us examine our language situation through a different lens. </p>.<p>Mother tongues have an emotional pull and serve as a binding factor for communities. We learn them unconsciously, with little effort, if we happen to live where our mother tongue is widely used. Learning it may be an act of labour for many who can’t learn it naturally owing to where they live. It may be on the insistence of parents or perhaps a self-motivated exercise because one attaches a certain value to it. </p>.<p>English is the language of power in modern India. It opens many doors. It is the language of higher education, of the higher courts, it opens doors to foreign opportunities and a whole lot more. One learns it since it is an enabler. </p>.<p>This brings us to the matter of Hindi. It was touted (a version of it, Hindustani) as the ‘national’ language during the freedom struggle since the need then was for a wholly Indian tongue to fight the anti-colonial battle. Hindi/Hindustani didn’t quite fit the ‘national’ bill even then and there was resistance against it. But it appeared to some that a consensus had developed around it. This was largely in the minds of the Hindi speakers themselves and when the first fault lines appeared on the eve of independence, a more feasible formula was thrashed out which did away with the ‘national’ altogether. </p>.<p>There have been language battles ever since. And the latest one which insists on Hindi teaching pan-India merely restates the tired and outdated ‘anti-colonial link language’ argument to buttress Hindi’s value. Except that English has proven its worth in the last several decades. So, none of the non-Hindi-speaking states are buying the argument anymore. English has also shed its ‘colonial’ status and been Indianised to a great extent. In such a scenario, by default, Hindi has lost its place as a language of value for many. </p>.<p>In fact, it is the Hindi-speaking states that need to come to terms with the value of English. Secondly, they need to recognise the languages subsumed under the dubious nomenclature of ‘Hindi’ and give all the mother tongues in their states their rightful place — Braj, Maithili, Bundeli and many others. </p>.<p>For the non-Hindi-speaking states, it is important to avoid the hegemonising route of insisting only on the majority language of their state. In Tamil Nadu, this would mean recognising Toda, Badaga, Irula and other mother tongues and giving them their rightful place. In Karnataka’s case, it would mean giving sufficient recognition to Kodava Takk, Tulu, Konkani, Byari, Dakhani and other languages. </p>.<p>Those who wish to learn Hindi since it is a language of value for them will do so — like those who learnt Japanese in Bihar! Equally, Hindi speakers must make an effort to learn other Indian languages and English. It is here that the matter is perhaps most complicated, since the false ‘national’ narrative has bred in them a certain complacency. The need of the hour is to substitute it with a value narrative to end the prevailing attitude of attempting to exert Hindi hegemony through threats. </p>.<p>English has won the economic battle for the moment. Its privileges should therefore be made available to all, in particular, the underdeveloped states of the Hindi heartland. Our Indian languages, however, continue to have great cultural value and should be given all the encouragement they need. And this should be democratised to mean all mother tongues, not merely two or three languages.</p>.<p>It is time to fully comprehend the complexity of the Indian language situation by viewing it through the lens of value and culture. All other arguments for or against a language don’t have much of a leg to stand on. </p>.<p><em>(The writer is the author of 10 Indian Languages and How They Came to Be)</em></p>
