And for a Friday following the National “Hindi Diwas”, some thoughts….. some musings…..
The three language formula has been well accepted and working efficiently. There are no pressing issues. Considering the huge diversity of this country, it is implicitly understood that Hindi and English are the two official languages and these two along with all the 22 local state languages become the scheduled official languages of India. Every state operates in their own regional language and Hindi and English are the link languages. India has managed so well all these 75 years without defining any one language as a National Language. Then why fix something that isn’t broken. There is a growing resentment in non Hindi speaking states, particularly in South India, who fear that imposition of Hindi as the National language will be a huge disadvantage to them. In theory, having a single National language is ofcourse a nice idea, but imposing on a multilingual country like India can be disastrous. More than 780 mn Indians do not speak Hindi.
The over zealous desire for a Hindi Rashtra could also be due a deep seated resentment of English as the language of the elite. But that’s hardly the case. It’s a hybrid Hinglish, Vinglish which unites India, from Kashmiri in North to Malayalam in Deep South. While there are no official or documented numbers, most anecdotal evidence points to the growing trend of recognised and unrecognised English medium schools across rural towns and craze even in villages. Small farmers, factory workers, labourers are all desiring sending their children to English medium. Every parent recognises the route to getting a job is knowing English and is willing to make all personal sacrifices for their kids to have a better future.
Let us all recognise the strengths and value of Indian English accents and vocabulary and diction changing in every state. Let’s focus on the future. Let’s create more opportunities for our next generation, the English language way, the competitive way, the SEEGOS way.