As Tamil Nadu, one of the most prosperous States in the country, showcases its economic muscle through the Global Investors Summit, what is considered by many as muscle-flexing of a different kind is being played out in Bhopal. The 10th World Hindi Conference, which, due to political circumstances has acquired a tinge of controversy, is being held in the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Juxtapose this on External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj’s announcement earlier this month regarding the government’s intention to seek official status for Hindi at the United Nations, and the echoes of ‘Hindi imposition’ that formed the anti-Hindi protest movements exactly half a century ago would haunt the cultural corridors of Chennai.
These voices are most pronounced in the States south of the Vindhyas, especially from in the State whose rich language, Tamil, is considered by many to be the farthest from Hindi. However, in this melee where the Hindi-Tamil divide is being viewed as an unbridgeable dichotomy, a few salient points are lost.
To paraphrase what the respected ex-Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C.N. Annadurai, once said to make an argument against Hindi as a national languages solely on the basis of its numerical superiority, Hindi or Hindustani, is the ‘common crow’ of Indian languages. It is ubiquitous, its usage found in different forms across most of the country, its prevalence so commonplace that many of us take it for granted when carrying out our daily activities. Yet, it is aesthetically pleasing in its own way, its simplicity and easy maneuverability is what makes it so uncomplicated to learn. From the experience of those who, despite having little background in Hindi, found it easy to master it once they settled in different parts of the country and from my own personal experience, I can attest to the fact that there couldn’t be an easier language to master among the 22 official languages of our country.
The reason? Hindi is not one language though it is mostly written in Devanagari script. It is an imperfect amalgam of several rich languages — like Urdu, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic and Maithili and several dialects spoken in the northern parts of the country like Awadhi, Bagheli, Chhattisgarhi and Bhojpuri — which, to quote Gandhiji, makes it one big binding force for the nation-in-the-making that is India. Further, mastery in Hindi opens the doors for mastery — not just working knowledge — of several other languages belonging to the Indo-Aryan family like Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi.
To draw a parallel, mastery over Tamil will open doors for mastery over at least three other South Indian languages — Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, all belonging to the Dravidian family. However, because of its rich heritage stretching back to centuries and because of the vastness of its literature, it would take considerably longer period of time to gain such a mastery. Hence, no doubt, Tamil is a far more purer language in terms of its status. But, like Sanskrit, knowledge of its literature remains limited in reach due to the same vastness. Mastery over it is not difficult but it is surely more time-consuming.
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Though many would consider them anachronistic, it is surely interesting to know about Mahatma Gandhi’s views on making Hindi a representative language. He said, to quote an authoritative source for Gandhian literature, for a language to be considered representative of the country, it should meet five parameters. The first, it should be easy to learn, at least “for the official class.” Second, activities pertaining to the country, including political, should be possible throughout the country in the language. Third, it should be the speech of the majority inhabitants of the country. Fourth, it should be easy to learn for the whole of the country. And, fifth, weight ought not to be put for momentary or short-lived conditions. He felt that Hindustani, the version of Hindi that borrows liberally from Urdu, Persian, Arabic and other languages, was the most-likely candidate. I’m sure he would have felt the same about its possible inclusion at world bodies like the U.N.
He was in favour of keeping his windows open for difficult cultures to enter, without getting swept off his feet by any. At the United Nations, there are six languages that enjoy official status. They are: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. These languages, to quote Wikipedia and U.N., are spoken by 2.6 billion people, less than half the population, across the world and are official languages in more than half the nations.
Including Hindi will make the body more representative and open the doors for other languages, Tamil and Telugu included, to enter. Being culturally and linguistically better-represented will also help in strengthening India’s bid for Permanent Membership in the not-too-distant future. Also, Hindi is already an official language at UNESCO. Making it official, sooner or later, at the other bodies will only be a logical move.
All it will involve is adoption of resolution by a simple majority and final passage by a two-third majority at the UNSC. These steps can also be initiated for other Indian languages later.
It is not my objective to say that Hindi is the only language that meets the criteria among Indian languages or Hindi can be the only language that can seek to meet the criteria for an official language at the U.N. Gandhiji’s objective or that of many of the learned advocates of Hindi now, was not to glorify the Sanskrit roots of the language, unlike that of the imposition lobby which sought to promote a highly Sanskritised version of the language half a century ago, acts that repelled many scholars and intellectuals, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru included. It was their act of attempted imposition, countered by anti-Hindi agitation here, that resulted in an entire generation of Tamil speakers being deprived of this sweet language. It was as if we banished the common crow from visiting our kitchen windows.
None of the progressive-minded thinkers have ever considered it wise to impose it on the non-Hindi speaking regions, like those in the South and those in the Northeast. However, many of them have been of the opinion that with greater integration, there would be better exchange of cultures and consequently, Hindi would not only lend some of its unique features to these distinct languages but also borrow generously from them. This happened liberally in the case of the other three South Indian languages — Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. This did not happen in the case of the most ancient and the richest language in terms of literature, Tamil. What could have been the reason?
The apprehensions of the ‘anti-imposition agitationists’ 50 years back were genuine. They feared that once Hindi was made the ‘sole’ official language for the purposes of communication, people from regions where Hindi was not the prime language spoken, especially those living this side of the Vindhyas, would stand to lose out on educational and employment opportunities. Fifty years later, the debate stands almost settled. India doesn’t have a national language. There are 22 languages that come under Schedule VIII of the Constitution.
At present, a move to get Hindi the status of an international language is being given a political angle. It is unfortunate that a language spoken by nearly half the population of this country, by 490 million people worldwide, next only to Mandarin, is facing such a hurdle. There are voices that say that spending crores on getting business transacted internationally will be a boondoggle. Should that be held as an argument against Hindi’s recognition? And should recognition to Hindi preclude recognition to any other language? Other Indian languages — Telugu by 70 million people and Tamil by 68 million people — can be considered the peacocks, richer in splendour but limited in diversity. However, it is Hindi, the common crow, that is the most representative of all.
Parallels are being drawn to the imposition of Sanskrit, Gita and Yoga by this government. However, we need to consider that India’s quest at the U.N. high table is due since 2010, during the time of the previous government.
Another point whose salience is lost in the melee is that Hindi is not the only language whose recognition is due in the U.N. A more many-splendoured and mellifluous language, Bangla, the second most spoken language in the country, is also to be considered in the near future. However, the windows of recognition to it will open only if we support Hindi being approved.
If the countrymen from this part of the Vindhyas feel that this is not time for Hindi to be made a language there, considering that pro-Hindutva leanings of the current dispensation, let the move be placed on hold now. Let the government’s ideology run its course. Let the debate over Hindi’s usage, in a world more connected and more cosmopolitan than what it was 50 years back, acquire new dimensions. But please don’t bring back the ‘anti-Hindi’ mood of 1965, please don’t create a false dichotomy between Hindi and Tamil, and please don’t give more credence to the revered rationalist Periyar’s slogan of ‘Vizhga Hindi’ (“down with Hindi”). These anxieties were genuine at one point of time. However, they are past their expiry date and there is no question of forced imposition on a State that is economically and culturally more diverse than it was 50 years back. To oppose Hindi by virtue of being ‘anti-Hindi’ rather than ‘pro-Tamil’ will, unfortunately, unnecessarily and impractically, push us 50 years back.
Let the common crow make its presence felt in the comity of nations. It will be a humble but resplendent representative of our Indian culture. It will also open the doors for the other official languages of India to find representation at U.N. and other world bodies.
