What is the National Language of India?
Am sure that 90-95% of people say it as either Hindi or English.
But, it is interesting to note that the word "National Language" is not mentioned in the Constitution of India. Indian law specifies Hindi and English as the official languages of the Indian Republic.
The constitution of India which was adopted in 1950 said that for a period of 15 years i.e., till 1965, English along with Hindi would be the official language of India after which, Hindi would solely become the National Language which would be officially used all over the country. Non-Hindi speaking states are supposed to learn the language and start using Hindi for official purposes.In 1965, when Lal Bahadur Shastri tried to implement the same across the nation, it was greatly opposed by the people of South India especially in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. By 1967, government made an amendment in the Constitution to make English and Hindi along with regional languages as the official language and did not make any language as The National Language.
Many of my friends oppose this move. They feel that if a single language is spoken all over the nation, national integration would be promoted. But, let us do a small exercise of thinking out of box...
What could have happened if no one opposed "compulsory imposition of Hindi Language"?
The National Language would have become Hindi, replacing English everywhere.. in office, in courts, in media, etc. and, we would have used Hindi in place of English.But we did not do that. We started using English., and it is estimated that by 2020, India will have the highest number of English speakers in the world.What did we achieve by this?
Well, if Hindi is used in the place of English, we would never enjoyed the fruits of Globalization., and we would have not prospered in IT, ITES, Pharmacy and BPO sectors.All our jobs would have gone to Indonesia, Laos, Sumatra etc.So.. are we supposed to thank the leaders who opposed Hindi...? One thing is evident.... Whatever happens.. happens for a cause.
@ Badri
ReplyDeleteThis is quite an eye opener, I am not ashamed to admit, that I was thinking Hindi was our "National Language" and English was our “Mostly used medium of instruction”, I bet I am not alone here!
I want to take this discussion ahead; how many of us really agree with a school of thought that proposes “Restriction on anything “or “Promotion of a particular idea” would actually stop people from using the restricted stuff or following the idea that is proposed??
How many us have really stopped consuming tobacco after seeing that scary picture on the cigarette box, Or stopped smelling weed which in any form is strictly banned, How many of us have lost virginity even before we started secondary school, How many of us have really surrendered to the idea that one language would result in integrity.
Let’s deal with these in detail.
Effect of warning label on cigarette: Many research studies have agreed and accepted that warning labels have actually increased “cravings” in the smoker!
Underage sex: 49% of girls loose virginity by the time they turn 18 , and 44% of boys do it before they turn 18 (Situation in the US)!
One language results in oneness: Most recently we have a fire burning brightly between Telangana and Andhra! Yes both these regions speak Telugu!
An addicted smoker would not think twice before he lights the cigarette, obviously he wouldn’t remember what government says! A teenager bent to have sex does not know the spelling of “rules” at the spur of the moment. A Telangana’ite and Andhra’ite surely exchange there words of anger and hatred for each other in telugu!
The point I am trying to make here is a person committed to do anything would do it come what may! It always is an individual’s motive! It is always the prevailing conditions that decide the direction of a situation. There were “N” number of freedom fighters that shed there blood for India’s freedom, But the direction of India (before partition) was decided by Gandhi , Nehru, Valabhai Patel, Jinnah and lord mount batten(The presiding governor)!
A thought process of any individual cannot be controlled by rules and regulations. Rules can only be an attempt to have a “regulated environment”. It’s the life that an individual leads lets him decide what he does. It depends on various factors like parenting, education, countries equilibrium, and his current situation and the list goes on and on!
Well said Raghu...
ReplyDelete"A thought process of any individual cannot be controlled by rules and regulations. Rules can only be an attempt to have a “regulated environment”. It’s the life that an individual leads lets him decide what he does."
This statement is 100% correct....
Thought Hindi is our national language. Its true that, everything happens for a cause and if we believe, it will have something good for us :)
ReplyDeleteWe should be really thankful to the leaders who encouraged english. Its because of them we are having good jobs with good earnings now.
Keep posting good topics.