THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY June 27, 1959 The Second Official Language — A Comment Annada Sankar Ray |T is everywhere the rule for inde­ Hindi in the constituent states of State language and the State, rastra, pendent nations to assert their the Union. Hindi becomes the offi­ means the national state. independence by expressing them­ cial language and is described as Departure from What Gandhlji selves through their own national such in the Constitution only at the languages. Where no .such language Union or Federal level. No option Wanted exists an exception may be marie is given. It does not lose its re­ Nine years have passed and the and a foreign language adopted. gional character, however, even way things are shaping has become India is an independent nation here, for Article 345 is nowhere clearer. Gandhiji wanted the Union and its independence, requires to be superseded. Government to be light and to limit asserted through its own language itself to only three portfolios; De­ It is a shocking anomaly that a or languages. There is no room for fence. Foreign Affairs and Commu­ language which has nowhere been an exception on the ground that no nications. The rest he wished' to clearly distinguished from 'regional' such language exists. On the cor: have left to the member states and should he the mandatory 'official trary, the Eighth Schedule of the these were to be organised on lin­ language of the Union whereas it is Constitution of India enumerates guistic lines. It was against such a not the mandatory 'official' Ian no less than fourteen languages. background that he advocated for guage of any particular State. At least three of them. Sanskrit, use at the Centre a composite lan­ Hindi and Urdu, are more than Only Two Rivals in 1950 guage to be called Hindi-Hindustani. regional and are, to that extent, In 1950, when the Constitution It was to be composed of simple national, The others are national was adopted, there were only two words drawn from both Hindi and m another sense. Bengali, Marathi rivals in the field: Hindi and Eng­ Hindustani and he wished it to be and Tamil classics, for instance, lish, The so-called regional lan­ written in both Devanagari and are- Indian classics and all Indians guages were too numerous and their Persian scripts. It was not to be a regard them as part of their national ambitions were too parochial. No highly Sanskritie language which heritage. A Bengali song, '' Maria one seriously believed that India excluded all Persian and Arabic ganamana1" is the official anthem could afford to have a dozen 'offi­ affiliations. Both Hindustani and of free India. Scarcely less popular cial' languages at the Union level or the Persian script have since been is the Bengali-Sanskrit song, ''Vande even three like Switzerland. It was dropped by men who at one time Mataram". Both these are .sung enough that Tamil Marathi, Bengali followed his guidance. Neither the everywhere in India. and the other potential rivals of language nor the script they have Hindi were being given a free held chosen would have had his appro­ English Given No Designation in their home areas. Hindi had only val. With fourteen national languages one powerful antagonist. It was in the Held, each pressing its claims The present position is that we English. National self-respect de­ to be the official language of the-' have a heavy Federal Centre which manded the choice of an Indian Indian Union, the framers of the administers countless things. There language On the other hand there Constitution could not seriously con­ is an expanding public sector. As was reasonable apprehension that sider the claims of a. fifteenth. India moves further along the road the identification of the Indian State English. English was, however, re­ to industrialisation and approaches with Hindi would be just as discri­ tained for the sake of convenience closer to social ownership and state minatory as its identification with during the fifteen-year transition management of industries the Cen­ Hindu. The country was full of period. Subsequently its use is per­ tre, even if it does not take over fanatics who swore by the slogan, mitted for the purposes specified agriculture, will grow progressively "Hind. Hindu, Hindi". The adoption under Article 343(3). English is heavier. The identification of the of a secular policy by the State given preference in matters concern­ Indian Union with Hindi written In foiled them in one respect: India did ing the Supreme Court, High Courts the Devanagari script will then Ine­ not become a Hindu State. It was etc under Article 348. It was not, vitably have a crushing effect on essential that the policy adopted in however, given any designation; It the regional languages. Hindi- regard to language should be simi­ is neither regional, national nor speakers by birth and adoption will lar to that followed in matters of official. As a matter of fact the acquire directly and indirectly an religion. India should not become a word 'national' has nowhere been enormous amount of patronage. Hindi State. used, not even with regard to Hindi. Those whose mother tongue is not Hindi Is, if the Eighth Schedule is There was straight voting on the Hindi will be forced either to neglect read with Article 345. a regional question of Hindi versus English. their own language or suffer in language like the other thirteen. The protagonists of Hindi won by a competition with those whose mother Like, them, it may be adopted as the single vote, Hindi therefore became tongue is Hindi. If, as in China, official language of one or more of the 'official' language of India. The regional administrations are abolish­ the regional states or, if two or word 'official' is here an eyewash. ed and people moved from one end more states so desire, it may be The sponsors of Hindi were afraid of the country to the other in large adopted for the purpose of inter­ to give offence and stopped short numbers, they will inevitably lose state communication. There is no­ of the word 'national'. In Hindi their own languages, Hindi will he thing mandatory about the use of the word used, 'rastrabhasa', means of more practical use to them, THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY June 27, 1959 THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY June 27 1959 Enforcing National Unity the Union level. It is not right to Through Hindi Not to be Trifled With consign all but one to lower levels. Thirdly, language is not some The Official Language Commis­ It is a question of status and dig­ sion frightened us with the idea of thing to be trifled with. It is eve nity. Hindi-speakers and Bengali- more deeply rooted in the huma enforcing national unity through speakers and Tamil-speakers must Hindi. The result of their recom­ psyche than religion. Nations bake have exactly the same status every­ on language are more numerou mendations was the opposite of where. If it is possible to than those based on religion. Com what they intended. Madras order­ reach the highest positions in the munities have, on occasion, surrend ed extensive Tamilisation. No one Union without knowing any other ered their religious identity, bu could protest as such an order is language but Hindi then it should never the linguistic identity. Whei not inconsistent with the Constitu­ also be possible to reach them with­ Nationalism came to India in the tion. As time passes the Union out knowing Hindi. Conversely, if nineteenth century it took three dis- Government will find it more and non-Hindi-speakers must, in their tinct shapes: Hindu Nationalism more difficult to function effectively own interest, learn Hindi or go to Bengali or Maratha Nationalise in the South and Madras will be the wall then Hindi-speakers must, and Indian Nationalism. All three gradually isolated from the rest of in their own interest, likewise be co-existed for a long time and help­ the country. If other non-Hindi- required to learn Tamil, Telugu etc ed and hindered one another speaking areas follow the Madras or be disqualified for employment "Vande Mataram" was in fact writ- pattern, national unity will be weak­ under the State. ten for Bengali Hindus and served ened further still, all without con- Hindu Nationalism as well as Ben­ travening the Constitution, Verily Only One Languages. Secondly, nowhere in the world gali Nationalism, before it was the letter killeth. A preliminary taken over in a modified form by understanding with all concerned do the common people find it possi­ ble to learn more than one language, Indian Nationalism. Since Inde­ .should have been reached before any pendence the Indian State has wisely final decision was taken on the their mother tongue. For other languages they do not have the time, refrained from identifying itself 'official language' issue. Parliament with any religion and thereby struck should have been empowered to the energy or the interest. It is a daydream to imagine that the com­ at the rout of religious nationalism, decide. Left to itself Parliament Hindu, Muslim or Sikh. If, simi­ might have taken a more realistic mon people of India will ever be literate in two languages and two larly, it ceases to identify itself and less doctrinaire line. To amend with any single language the roots the Constitution a two-thirds majo­ scripts. Left to themselves people tend to lapse into illiteracy very of linguistic nationalism (nowadays rity is required It may prove diffi­ called linguism) will be cut. If the cult to obtain one at this stage for quickly even after being taught only one language and one script.