English continues to be the only pan-India language that acts as the link for most of our countrymen to converse with each other. From cultural exchange to trade and commerce, from corporate functioning to Government communications, the dependence on English is all pervasive.
Billboards, media advertising, signage and even advice ‘not to spit’ and ‘do not litter’ are found written in English. So, we seem to be totally overawed by this foreign language and enamoured by its versatile reach and power. So far, so good! But is it good for our national prideIJ
Haven’t all non-English speaking countries developed without the dependence on a borrowed languageIJ After 66 years of independence, the sole reliance on the language of our erstwhile rulers does no credit to the political and administrative classes of the country.
English indeed is a very rich and useful language that is spoken in large parts of the world, including by a large number of expatriate Indians. Command of Indians over this language is highly regarded the world over and many Indian writers regularly produce international bestsellers. Many professors and scientists rely on English to teach and research in the best universities of the world. The efficacy and usefulness of English is not the issue as an instrument of communication with the outside world. The only question that begs explanation is why the growth of a national language for inland communication has remained asymmetrical. Appallingly we have not been able to substitute an Indian language for all-India communication all these years — dependence on English has only increased.
Globalisation need not be decried for sway of English; utility of the language for the global market is a good enough reason for it to be learnt as a medium of international communication. But why should we need it for dealing in a typical Indian market. Any two ‘well-educated’ Indians, not known to each other will invariably begin the conversation in English because they do not have the self-confidence to start talking in an Indian language lest their status gets diminished. No Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, French, Italian, German or Spaniard suffers from such inhibitions.
A fallout of this lopsided language policy or the lack of it is that the new generation does not have a good knowledge of any Indian language. And his/her command over English is often limited, being a foreign language. The end result is that more and more people are not able to speak or write any language with ease and reassurance. It seems our collective consciousness to have a lingua franca is facing inertness.
Experts opine that children’s learning ability enhances in their mother tongue because that is the language in which they think. But in our quest for everything English we have totally ignored this fair principle and adopted a language, which is alien to Indian’s psyché and emotional being. The result is that more and more of our countrymen are not good in their mother tongue and converse imperfectly in a language that does not belong to them.
The knowledge of English definitely helps in finding better jobs as it elevates its protagonist to a higher level but they start looking down upon those who do not speak the language. It has created a divide in the society between the affluent and the powerful who express themselves in English and those who cannot. This attitude has grown from a deep sense of inferiority vis-à-vis the Western culture and English being the most heady symbol of that culture provides a magical spell.
We did not plan well for a link language. We did not prioritise the need to evolve an acceptable language that could replace English in say 15-20 years. All Indian languages have suffered because of the lack of this clarity and will.
Considering the overall reach and number, Hindi could have evolved over the years as a natural medium of national communication but we did not do our homework well. The antagonism had a historical context, which could be addressed by statesmanship and judicious application of a forward language policy. The lack of it resulted in the failure of the so-called three language formula as nobody seems to know more than two languages in this country. Our Government welfare programmes are notified in English for a population that does not understand it. Typically most work in the Government offices and trials in courts are conducted and orders issued in words that are latin to the puzzled petitioners. They sign on trust, affidavits in courts and documents in the Government offices that are ‘read over’ to them by their benefactors. The largest democracy ought to do better than this.