Many languages, one India
Linguistic diversity and multilingual ethos are among the fundamental characteristics of India. This feature is nothing new to the country, as, even in the olden times, the territory, encompassing the present India, was home to several languages such as Sanskrit, Tamil, Pali, Prakrit, and Persian, apart from being open to positive influence of many foreign languages. It is quite evident that the country has been having a long and healthy tradition of multilingualism in contrast to the unilingual identity which once shaped the European model of nation-state.
Being home to five language families (Indo-European [Aryan, Iranian & Germanic], Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burmese and Semito-Hamitic), India had, by the end of 19th century, 179 languages and 544 dialects, according to Sir George Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India (1903-1923). A document of the Centre's Education Department, citing a 1989 publication, states that 'there are at least 50 Indian languages in which writing and publishing are done in substantial quantity.'
The 2011 Census, the last such exercise, assigns 22 scheduled languages, meaning that they figure in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, and 99 non-scheduled languages to the five language families. These 121 languages and 270 mother tongues are grouped under different languages as per the Census. Indian literature is a testimony to the country's rich heritage, intellectual, social, historical and cultural. It has also contributed to continuity of the social value system of the people, while keeping in tune with changes that sweep the world. The Sahitya Akademi, India's national academy of letters, preserves and promotes literature in 24 languages, including English. Literary traditions of the different languages are strong and healthy, highlighting the idea of oneness.
Backdoor entry
Given this backdrop, any attempt by those in power to force a monoculture or monolingualism, overtly or covertly, would not find takers. It is this factor that operates behind fears and concerns of people in the southern region of the country that their language or culture might get subsumed in the pursuit of any political project towards uniformity. The National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, despite clearly avoiding the aspect of mandatory Hindi learning unlike in the previous two policy documents of 1968 and 1986, is still viewed by sections of society in the South as one that seeks to facilitate the backdoor entry of Hindi, as it also subscribes to the three-language formula in school education.
In fact, the recent controversy in Maharashtra over making the learning of Hindi mandatory as the third language in the primary classes (Grade 1 to 5) of all English and Marathi medium schools following the State Board stream and the subsequent withdrawal of the move has added to the apprehensions regarding the issue of Hindi imposition. Though political considerations outweighed other reasons for the Maharashtra government's decision to retract its decision, the outburst of opposition in the western State — its capital, Mumbai, is the nerve centre of Hindi cinema — has only highlighted the delicate social equilibrium with regard to the language question.
As a matter of policy, Tamil Nadu is the only southern State that has been opposing the three-language formula. Its stand on the issue —continued opposition to the formula that has been stipulated under the NEP, 2020 — is costing the State quite substantially even in monetary terms, as the BJP-led Union government has not released to the DMK-ruled State about ₹2,152 crore under the Samagra Shiksha Scheme (SSS) which includes the Centre's share towards the Right to Education (RTE) component.
Despite differing with Tamil Nadu on the formula issue, Kerala, where the LDF regime is in power for the 10th successive year, is, however, opposed to the imposition of Hindi. Even as high-profile representatives of the Central government continue to assure non-Hindi speakers that there will not be imposition, the suspicion arises in the minds of the latter because they use every opportunity not only to project themselves as custodians of the Hindi language but also to run down Western (English) education. There is nothing wrong in making efforts to provide the medium of instruction in the mother tongue of students and getting educational materials written in such languages, but, in the name of any such work, there is no need to demonstrate aversion towards English, whose value as a language has much wider connotations than any other Indian language.
Give and take
In fact, this principle — no aversion towards any language — holds good for those who complain about Hindi imposition, as some of them do exhibit opposition to Hindi and Sanskrit on the ground that the two languages represent the 'cultural hegemony' of North India. What should not be forgotten is that every language, including those in the Dravidian family, benefits by having constant interactions with one another, apart from influencing one another. In this regard, various forms of fine arts and writing in each language have displayed how they absorb, assimilate and embellish themselves by observing the works of other languages. Indian cinema is one such platform where cross-pollination happens frequently.
Ideally, the mother tongue should be the medium of instruction at least in primary education. But, over the years, lack of importance to language studies in schools has produced at least one generation of parents whose knowledge of their mother tongue itself is not sound. Moreover, the policy of making the learning of local language mandatory in some States, including Tamil Nadu and Telangana, up to Grade 10 in all schools, regardless of the stream, creates difficulties for students, whose parents migrate to such States when their children are midway through school education. Under such circumstances, the State governments and school managements need to be flexible, considerate and imaginative in permitting students to continue their studies in the English medium of instruction.
No language is a divisive tool. This has to be kept in mind by everyone who should have respect for all other languages, while being conscious of the greatness of their mother tongue. It is time to put an end to weaponising language for political pursuits and the governments, both at the Centre and in States, should take meaningful steps to promote and preserve the Indian languages.
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