I have seen some of the criticism in The Hindu to my article “Required, two tongues” (Op-Ed, September 20, 2012). I am a totally democratic person, and do not mind criticism at all. However, I would like to give my response:
(1) I have said that I am totally opposed to the imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu, or anywhere else for that matter. In the function at Anna University in Chennai, where I spoke recently, I advised Tamilians to learn Hindi. After my speech an elderly gentleman got up and said that Tamilians should not be compelled to learn Hindi, and English was good enough to be the link language in India. I replied that I was totally against any compulsion. If my suggestion that Tamilians should learn Hindi made sense to Tamilians, they should accept it, but if it did not make sense to them, they should reject it. Where is the compulsion? It is not fair to distort what I said.
(2) Tamil cannot be compared to Hindi, not because Hindi is superior to Tamil (I hold all languages in equal respect) but because it is much more widespread. Tamil is only spoken in Tamil Nadu, which has a population of 72 million. But Hindi is spoken not only in the Hindi belt, but in most non-Hindi states as a second language. In the Hindi belt there are 200 million people in Uttar Pradesh, 82 million in Bihar, 75 million in Madhya Pradesh, 69 million in Rajasthan, 27 million in Jharkhand, 26 million in Chhattisgarh, 26 million in Haryana, and seven million in Himachal Pradesh. Taking into account Hindi speakers in the non-Hindi belt in India (Punjab, West Bengal, Kashmir, Orissa, Assam and other North Eastern States,Telangana, etc), the number of Hindi speakers would be about 15 times that of Tamil speakers. Apart from that, Pakistanis (who number about 200 million) also speak Hindi, though they call it Urdu. How then can Tamil be compared with Hindi? Tamil is only a regional language, while Hindi is a national language. This is not because Hindi is superior to Tamil, but due to certain historical and social reasons.
(3) English is the link language only for the elite in India, and not for the common man. Anyone coming from Tamil Nadu to other parts of India will realise this. Without knowing Hindi he will experience great difficulty (in fact one of the Tamilian judges in the Supreme Court told me very recently that he had made a great mistake in not learning Hindi since he was finding it difficult in Delhi, but now he has started learning Hindi ). Only about five per cent of Indians know English (though I myself have appealed to people to learn English, since much of the knowledge of the world is in English, and I have strongly criticised those who say “ Angrezi Hatao (abolish English”). In fact Hindi is already the link language for Indians, even for many South Indians, as I had explained in my article.
(4) When I was Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, I once went to a shop in Madurai. To my surprise I heard the Tamilian shopkeeper speaking to someone on the telephone in Hindi. Since I had picked up some Tamil I said to him, “ Romba nalla Hindi pesreenga. Eppadi ? (You are speaking such good Hindi. How is that?”) He replied, “ Arasiyalle Hindi vendaamnu solvaanga, aanaa engalikkubusiness pananum. Adnaal kathukitten . (Politicians say that we do not want Hindi, but we have to do business. So I have learnt Hindi”). I think this shopkeeper had more sense than those who oppose Hindi.
(5) I dislike both Hindi haters as well as those who wish to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu and other States. The issue should be considered rationally, instead of emotionally. No one can dispute that Tamil is a great language, with great literary works like Tirukkural, Silapathiharam, Manimekhalai, Kambar Ramayanam , and in more recent times, the great poems of the nationalist poet Subramania Bharathi and many others. I fully support the demand that lawyers in the Madras High Court should be allowed to argue in Tamil (except before judges who have come on a transfer from other States), though judgments should be in English so that people from other States can read them. When in the Supreme Court, I would sometimes speak a few sentences in Tamil when a Tamilian lawyer appeared before me. I think I was the first Judge in the history of the Supreme Court to speak in Tamil in court.
I would appeal to Tamilians to once again consider my suggestion that they should learn Hindi. If my suggestion does not make sense, please reject it.
Published in The Hindu on 28th September,2012
The very 1st thing I like about your articles is that they speak in such a simple way that even a school student can red and understand them. Apart from others using bookish words to show their "PANDITYA/scholarly knowledge" you keep them to your reader who may or may not be that intellectual.
ReplyDeleteAnd one thing what I request you is to please have some time and read and reply my letter.Please
Justice Katju,
ReplyDeleteA very appealing clarification. Only those being emotional in their thoughts would oppose your suggestion, in this regard. My mother tongue is Tamil. I was raised in various parts of India and currently reside in the US. I can glue better with people from North India and Pakistan, mostly because of my ability to speak Hindi. I don't know how it is wrong to learn an additional language. No where you suggested to 'replace' Tamil by Hindi. I do hope readers focus on it and decide for themselves rationally.
- Vijay
Dear Mr. Vijay,
DeleteWhen it comes to oppose Hindi, Tamil Nadu stands in the front. I really appreciate the opinion which you have developed and I want all people of your state(Tamil Nadu) to have opinion like you. It is unfortunate to observe that Tamil people remain confined to their state. Very few migrate to other parts of India in contrast to other south indian states. Hindi comes as the main reason. It may not be scientifically proved but it is sure that Hindi has some connection with the love and devotion towards the country. Hindi is the representative language of India in the world. It is the identity of India.
Dear Anonymous:
DeleteThe two major obstacles in penetrating Hindi in Tamil Nadu are:
1) Politicians with the Dravidian agenda
2) The Tamil Movie Industry.
Politicians from TN use this argument (anti-Hindi or Pro-Tamil) to organize voters and there by causing some loss to connect with other ordinary people from different states.
The Tamil movie industry is fairly large and could give a good run for even bollywood. This perhaps keeps a lot of Tamilians off, Hindi. I mean, a lot of Pakistani folks understand about our culture through our movies an soaps.
In my case, I was born & raised in Maharashtra. Then I have lived in various other states. In essence, when I advocate learning other languages (not just Hindi), I'm labeled an 'outsider'. So, I keep my opinions to myself but do hope things change.
And I believe you are not correct in claiming people from TN don't immigrate. They do, in big numbers. Mostly, in bureaucratic or other white-collar jobs. And such people rely heavily on English (understandably though).
Unless people become more rational and practical, it is hard to convince others.
- Vijay
\\It may not be scientifically proved but it is sure that Hindi has some connection with the love and devotion towards the country. Hindi is the representative language of India in the world. It is the identity of India.\\\\
DeleteI see this as very offensive , because india the union of states dont hold any language as its national language. i though agree Hindi is much needed to communicate to the person in the other states, also i strongly condemn the way the people portray the hindi as the language of india,,Is it bcoz it is widely spoken, or is it bcoz of the quality....The fact is no regional culture , interest , language , and customs could be traded against the name INDIA .
As usual a bunch of ignorant people are jumping the guns. The way to interpret an article is first read it, re-read it and then criticize it based on logic. Alas, people don't have that ability or patience. Justice Katju, your criticism often worries me about the number of semi-literates that exist in various parts of our country.
ReplyDeleteJust because Hindi is spoken by the majority of the people doesn't mean it should be accepted as the national language. That would be majoritarianism and should be discouraged in a democracy while you go on and on about how a few people you know benefited from the knowledge of Hindi. The reason why more and more people in the South know Hindi these days is because Hindi is taught compulsorily in school in some states. So let me ask you this question: why should children or people in general from non-Hindi speaking states have to go through the additional stress of learning one more language while those from Hindi speaking states do not have to?
ReplyDeletedear friend,
Deletethere are logical flaws in your arguments....
1. you spoke of majoritarianism in democracy.... if it is wrong than what is the solution that you suggest.... raising questions on decisions without having proper solutions doesnt make much sense. state has to run in some language at last. and mind you democracy is majoritarianism.... thats why we have governments who enjoy majority support....
2. coming to "extra burden" of learning another language, you are holding it from wrong end. if we are so much concerned about the burden on children we should stop teaching them english, sanskrit, algebra, trigonometry and what not.... these all are useful to very limited people than why should we burden our young genereation.... but than we are doing injustice to them by not giving them chance to learn.... whether we like it or not our ancient wisdom is manuscripted in sanskrit....how do we expect them to learn about our societal values.... so let student decide what they want.... may be they can learn languages at least without exam.... but languages should be taught....
//like it or not our ancient wisdom is manuscripted in sanskrit// I find that this statement only talks of your ignorance. Not all our ancient wisdom is in Sanskit! Tamil was the first language to be declared a classical language by the Government of India. And for a language to be declared classical the language must contain "A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage". So please correct the logical flaws of your argument.
DeleteI do agree with your view that students (and their parents in some case) should decide what they want. Students who want to learn Hindi in Tamil Nadu have access to it and many learn it as well. The majority which doesn't want to should be left alone instead of someone or the other constantly preaching time and again that they should learn Hindi or Mandarin (because majority in the world speak it), when they absolutely don't want to. It is because they think 'rationally' for themselves that they are able to decide for themselves that they do not want to. The overhead with learning English is enough for some; it is useful all over the world though.
I'd go ahead and say the problem is yet again radical (fanatic) nationalism mixed with lack of critical thinking and rationality , the arguments which have been raised against learning Hindi , are at best , childish rants . One can learn any language he/she desires but cannot seek to impose its view upon others under the grab of being pro culture . Indians need a dose of rationality and scientific thinking , and I'd go as far as saying that the general majority of Indians are living in modern "Dark Ages" .
ReplyDeleteLanguage at best has only one essential purpose that is communication , if people mistake it for identity then they are sorry lot indeed .
Once again, I totally agree with you my friend.
ReplyDeleteThe big problem with we Indians in general is that we oppose anything and everything, without comprehending what is actually said. Another classic problem we are faced with is lack of practical thinking.
I recently heard from someone who was advocating 'restoring the glorious old days' by replacing Hindi & English by Sanskrit. It's like we will do everything in the name of patriotism to move back, but will seldom do anything to move ahead. This used to annoy me in the past, but now worries me.
And the growing number of identities people take privilege in, has been going up day by day. We certainly need the likes of Justice Katju, who are promoting scientific and rational thinking.
I agree with you friend , though Indian constitution talks about single citizenship , its not enough for people , they want to identify themselves with dual citizenship of their state , district or even locality .
DeleteRestoring glorious old days , I don't know what that will do . I only think it will restore the primitive mentality of the past , yes there has been numerous and great literary works in sanskrit and philosophy is great . Ancient works are good , but lets not skip the reality , these has been written by small number of people who were considered scholars in the past not every one in ancient India was bright . Its like taking the best scientists in NASA and claiming every human in the world has is at the same mental level as him when reality is total opposite . There is only handful of bright people in vast population of humans . Natural selection in earlier days used to take care of that but we have evolved to a degree we need not worry about predators , so along with bright people we also have I feel sorry to say but asinine ones as well .
Excellent point.
ReplyDeleteAnd I often this tendency among many people. "View past more glorious than it actually was, view future more dreadful than it actually will be, completely ignore the present" Even if we had a few intelligent people, I doubt whether they would be able to contribute anything significant to the current needs. We have evolved as a society and the sooner we accept this change, the better it is for us. Your example of scientists at NASA making a claim that all humans today are equally smart is again an apt example.
I do hope we all become more practical, logical and rational rather than emotional and full of blind faith.
Sir, though I usually find your arguments for or against some issue on your blog very convincing, I am afraid I beg to differ with those you present in this one.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, as is often wrongly believed, Hindi was not widely spoken in many States even in North India when States were formed on linguistic basis post-independence in India. In fact, the colloquial Hindi spoken in, say Rajasthan, vastly differs from the dialects spoken in, say UP, MP, or Bihar. The other States of Punjab, Haryana, HP, or Jammu have even more exclusive dialects spoken only in parts of those States.
Hence, our learned leaders post-1947 shouldn't have given pre-eminence to Hindi over other 'regional' languages. I have reason to believe that it so happened simply because of the clout leaders of UP had in national politics.
Moreover, if a link-language was indeed sought, they could have chosen Sanskrit, which is the mother language for most modern languages in India. On the contrary, Tamil is a dravidian language, which predates Hindi, and as you rightly mentioned, has a very rich body of literature from ancient times. No other regional language can claim to have the depth and richness of Tamil literature. In a country as diverse as India, language and dialect changes every few hundred kilometers, making linguistic synergy very difficult between provinces and cultures.
Hence, unlike many States insisting on preeminence of vernacular language even in legal circles, the Union Govt must retain both Hindi and English as link-languages. I do not like or dislike any language in particular, and like you, feel that it should be left to the wisdom of the people to choose which ones they should learn. The instance you mention about the shop-keeper in Madurai is a case in point. As the old saying goes - be a Roman while in Rome !
I extend my appreciation for Mr. Katju's comments. We should understand the importance of Hindi in our country. It is closely associated with our very own culture and tradition. Today, foreigners show keen interest in learning Hindi and know more about India and her history.
ReplyDeleteIt is shameful that we as Indians are opposing Hindi. Imposition in any way is harmful for the society. People, especially South Indians should understand the vitality behind the growth of Hindi.
We are recognized all across the globe due to our rich cultural heritage and not because of English. English is a hindrance in the growth of Hindi and even other so called regional languages.
Hindi has its dominance and will always remain dominant.
Mr.Fool Katju,
ReplyDeleteIn what sense u hv said Hindi is Our national language?.. english and hindi are the official languages of india.india neither hv national language nor national religion.
Its a democratic mistake tht people like u became justice of supreme court.
If u have dare,tell north indians to learn any 1 of south indian language or bengali to make india unite.
Except TN i dont think any other southern state has a problem in learning and speaking Hindi. I every day see people from TN struggling to talk with Auto drivers or bus condutors or shop keepers since they cant speak hindi or kannada. We must the learn the language of the land where we live but at the same time we must also lean the language which is understood by most the people our nation.
DeleteExcept TN i dont think any other southern state has a problem in learning and speaking Hindi. I every day see people from TN struggling to talk with Auto drivers or bus condutors or shop keepers since they cant speak hindi or kannada. We must the learn the language of the land where we live but at the same time we must also lean the language which is understood by most the people our nation.
DeleteExtremely Foolish Karikala Cholan!
ReplyDeleteDid you read the article? "india neither hv national language nor national religion." Firstly, your sentence should have been "India neither has national language nor national religion". Well, don't want to be grammar police here. But well, where does Justice Katju make a claim about 'national language' or 'national religion'. He only said that it's advantageous to learn Hindi that's it.
If it's 'democratic mistake' that likes of Justice Katju become Supreme Court Judge, it's a bigger 'democratic mistake' that people like you are born in India. Again re-read your the article and your comment will sound astoundingly stupid, even to yourself.
That's it!
Some group of people (being a majority) try to impose their language , culture & traditions over the other thinking that those people outside are uncivilized people . India is a concept of Unity in diversity & not based on Clearing all minority traditions , culture & ever thing & making their sole interest to be followed nation wide.
ReplyDeleteWhen we talk about tradition & culture , language , Tamil is the oldest among all. Tamil is the only international language of India . There are 186 universities ( Other than India) to have departments for Tamil & teach Tamil to their children . Tamil is an official language in four countries.Answer for the following questions ? Why tamil given the classical status & admired world. Without having this hindi as a language of study we are now top 2 richest state in India . We have the largest skilled man power in India.
Since i am a central goverment Employee . I am able to sense the partiality done to non -hindi speaker . Now a days . When we go for an Interview choice is given u can speak in english or hindi. Normally facing an interview there will be a fear burning inside. a non Hindi person has to think in his mother tongue - convert it into English & speak whereas a Hindi speaking person can easily comfortably use his mother tongue . and since the interviewers
are not machine , a low performing candidate who uses Hindi will naturally touch his/her heart & get over a non -Hindi speaker (tough he /she performed well).This partiality could be easily avoidable by making english as a medium of interview.
Partiality
1. A non hindi speaking child should learn three languages to survive in the world .
2. A hindi speaking child -with hindi itself comfortable .
In the name of Integration we will not allow the very concept of India (ie unity in diversity)
Or else make a separate country carved out of India - Call it as Bhimaru state ( where literacy rate will be as low as 5 % ) so that Tamils had earned money will not be diverted to this bull shits
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteWhat can I say about your comment... perhaps, semi-sensible, off topic, best describes it. You need to read the article 10 times and then write comments based on it. Don't blabber the points in your mind, when they don't relate to the topic in discussion.
Tamil is a great language, blah blah. Agreed. But going by practicalities, which would be a viable thing to do? Let Hindi speakers learn Tamil, so that it's convenient to Tamil speakers? Or Tamil speakers learn Hindi so that it's convenient to themselves? Or don't learn any other language and remain ignorant, home-state bound?
If 10% of Indians were more logical and less emotional, we would have achieved greater highs in life.
That's it!
Dear Tamilian anonymous,
DeleteIf you continue with the same anti-Hindi sentiments for long time which you all have dragged till now since the time before independence, I am sure the word by which you all are referred i.e. "Tamilian" will become an abuse for you,exactly in the same way as "Bihari" is an abuse for people from Bihar because of their wrong attitude and behaviour. Do you want other Indians to call you "Tamilians" in negative way,as an abuse? If no, please stop hating Hindi. It can be easily concluded from your all statements that you try to uphold the supremacy of Tamil over Hindi. But you forget that by doing so you are flowing the river from sea to mountain. I accept the richness of Tamil but richness has no relation with the popularity among masses.It is still a language spoken by only less than 10% Indians.Now if you dream that all Indians know Hindi,it is not going to be feasible.Though you may say Hindi is language of illiterates,you may say Hindi is not pure being affected by many foreign languages etc,but it is a fact that it is the common language over a vast majority of India and will always remain so.
It is also true that Hindi originates from a small area of Delhi and western UP but why don't you try to reason it out why Hindi then became the most popular language of India and not only of Delhi or UP.And this Hindi expansion was a gradual and slow process and not enforced overnight by some Hitler-like person. North Indians have some qualities which is lacked by people of other region of India. Let me take you back in history. Just open some history book and start looking the dynasties right from Magadha dynasty.Many strong dynasties were established which almost covered all India,Pakistan,Bangladesh,Afghanistan,Bangladesh etc. Some names include Mauryan empire,Gupta empire, Harsha empire etc. They all were North Indians and their language was in close relation with Hindi if not exactly same. Even almighty Mughal empire advocated Urdu which was much close to Hindi. British entered into India from South.Where were you at that time?Why didn't you put resistance to British? They were only North Indians who finally posed resistance to them but by that time they had already occupied the major portion of India. They were North Indians who fought a long war against British in order to send them out. The free, united India which you see today is the result of blood shed by thousands of North Indians. I don't find a single freedom fighter from South India. Where were you during those times?and now you fight against the North Indians. We have some ego. Why will we give English as dominant status which is the language of our regime. Every country has its own language which is the dominant one.In our case,why will it be English? We have embraced English because it is an universal language.But we can't insult the language which is our own language.
I would just say try to think practically and rationally. Don't think like egotist mad.
//I don't find a single freedom fighter from South India.//
DeleteLol. What more can we expect from NorthIndian Hindi- centric education you've received. I'll not be surprised if you claim that Hindi is our national language. Bah!!! Height of ignorance. God save my beloved India from Hindi and Hindi speaking bhaiyas.
Great website, Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOk, I am a Tamilian who , in order to qualify to be a true Indian, should learn Hindi. Agreed.
ReplyDeleteThen what.. I should also speak Hindi without an accent right...
Then what... I should also start looking like a North Indian ?
Justice Katju's article is 100% logical. But it assumes that all Indians are logical and intellectual like Sri.Katju.
Opposition to Hindi is not out of any language hatred .. it has nothing to do with the language but to make a point. If TN had not stood up to Hindi imposition, India would be very different today.
I think the Government should not waste the tax payers money in promoting a particular language. If a language is wide spread, popular and serves the purpose of commerce it will automatically become the national/official language. English helps to tap the knowledge of the rapidly developing world and definitely an asset to the country. I think it is better to keep the issue untouched, and time will definitely give us an answer to the language issue. Hindi is making inroads in TN mainly because of Bollywood and North Indian migrant workers coming into the state. As Mr Katju rightly said elsewhere, ours is a country of migrants. I do not know Hindi, but as an Indian, I consider it as my language. I own it. And so is Tamil and other dialects. I think it is very wrong to criticize any language and it is equally wrong to use public money to promote and be partial to one. It is also important to note that in the US, it is now considered important for the President to know Spanish. Instead of looking at the issue of majority why not think about the depth of knowledge available in a language. I think only that will help us to alleviate the living conditions of the majority of Indians seeped in poverty.
ReplyDeleteI think you are imposing Hindi on others, although you sugar coat it well. If its necessary, people do learn things, a Tamil living in core Maharashtra would have to learn Marathi, same would apply to a Bengali living in Kerala. None of them have any practical reasons to learn the others language, when they do need to, they do. As for your merchants example in Madurai.
ReplyDeleteThis imposition of having Hindi as a common language must end here. Full stop. We must be proud of our unity in diversity. This is complete non-plus.
Better also give some tips to learn Hindi..
ReplyDeleteIt ll be helpful for those who are interested.
sir, i agree with you. but one point i contradict that hindi is our national language. According to articles in constitution India does not have any language declared as national although it is mentioned that Hindi and English is to be used on broader prospects for official works. But if u speak in other way like Hindi is a language which is spoken nationally then that is accepted.
ReplyDeletei am student from annauniversity from north....
ReplyDeleteand i can say that many pepole here are keen to learn hindi.
and yes few are there who really hates hindi and hindi speakers
but if we really wants to promote hindi work should be done from school label..
bcoz it will increase harmony between two diffrent culture..
Hindi is not needed in Tamilnadu. North Indians, please let us live in peace. I am proud to have Tamil as my mother tongue.
ReplyDeleteVazhga Thamizh!!
hindi in its pure form is not spoken in entire india. And if we check, hindi have got lot of imports from islamic origins, there are lot of words from turkish dialect. The true hindi is not here, this is the problem
ReplyDeleteI have faced great difficulties while I was in Mumbai & Kolkata......I strongly recommend that every Indian should learn one language as a common medium.... As Hindi is widely spoken in india , it is wise to learn Hindi...even in foreign countries when Indians meet, they speak Hindi...learning Hindi is an advantage for every indian...learning one additional language will never destroy ones own mother tounge
ReplyDeleteWhy we are just talking about India?
ReplyDeleteNowadays Hindi is not spoken only in India, it has been used in all over the world. Hindi is the third most spoken language in the world. It is spoken by more than 800 million people all over the world. So for anyone's personal growth even learning Hindi will be as beneficial as learning English.
I would just say to think practically and rationally. Don't try to be Marathi, Bangali, Gujrati, Bihari, Madrasi, Tamilian etc....... Try to be Hindustani.
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I may be off topic with respect to the main thread on Justice Katju's "Think rationally about learning Hindi and it will make sense" comment, but I wanted to add some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThe leading country in the world is unquestionably the _ _ _. You guessed it! Why do so many inventions come out of this country? Is it because of the fact that everything is taught in one language which is English and that any additional language that a student wants to learn is optional? The fewer languages that is imposed on a student, the more time he or she could devote toward the sciences, mathematics, etc., which is what is running the world. We live more and more in a global economy.
The second thing I wanted to point out, is an interesting study that was done, about the usage of certain verbs in a language that may carry the secret to why only certain cultures dominate the world, when it comes to inventions such as bus, train, telephone, cell phone, TV, Plane, microwave, compute, website,etc. You name it. The list goes on and on and on, and never stops.
The language of a certain culture could be distilled to one single phrase which is,
"Is your watch running?"
The cultures that use the verb "running" which symbolises working of a watch as opposed to "walking" as used in many cultures around the world to denote the verb "working", seems to be an interesting bunch.
So this is how the question, "Is your watch working?" would appear in a few languages that I happen to speak.
Spanish - Esta caminando tu reloj? Simply translated, it reads, Is your watch walking?
Tamil - Onadu watch oditha? Simply translated, it reads, Is your watch running?
Hindi - Theri gaddi chalthi hai kya? Simply translated, it reads, Is your watch walking?
If you notice the verb "running" appears in English and Tamil, but the verb "walking" appears in Hindi and Spanish.
Certainly, a Hindi, Tamil or Spanish speaker or anyone else for that matter, who speaks in English has adopted the English speaking culture, in a subliminal way, not to mention their active use of a number of tools that the English speaking culture is churning out day in and day out. More examples: Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Just like migrations in population is usually from a developing country to a developed country, a society would stand to gain economically, so long as language migration is toward languages that predominantly use verbs such as "running" to define "working" of something instead of "walking". Who knew that there could be a psycological twist to the topic on languages.
If India has to succeed as a nation, then the use of English words peppered in a sentence in the vernacular language, be it movies, soap operas, etc., should be seen in a positive light. Going forward, Indian people, in the country and abroad, will be using thousands more English words for technological tools that have yet to be invented, by the one country that seems to be delivering. We can't be pretentious by giving more importance to any one of the regional Indian languages and relegating English to second level, and simultaneously enjoying the technologica fruits(which never stops giving) bestowed upon us by the English culture.
The bottom line is, one language would be optimal, two would be company, three would be a crowd, and language migration should be toward languages that use action verbs such as "running" instead of "walking".
VJM, Houston, TX
Coincidentally, I'm also in Houston right now.
DeleteAnother thing I find confusing is that English has the largest total amount of speakers - 1.5 billion. But just because they have a plurality doesn't mean that everybody should all learn English, right? Likewise, I don't get how Hindi having the largest proportion of the population means we should all adhere to the majority's desire.
Democracies are about equality, not just majority rule. When it becomes majority rule, we have another word for it - mobocracy.
Also, I think we're ignoring some of the big reasons why many people refuse to learn Hindi.
http://www.unifiniti.com/2015/08/on-origin-of-national-language.html
In my post, I explain how the idea of national languages started, and I try to compare pros and cons for Hindi later on.
John
Send all these hindi haters on this website. They will learn Hindi in no time.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mindurhindi.com/how-learn-hindi-online-30-days-english-free/
I was amongst them 3 months before but now
main acchee hindi bolta hoon
Send all these hindi haters on this website. They will learn Hindi in no time.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mindurhindi.com/how-learn-hindi-online-30-days-english-free/
I was amongst them 3 months before but now
main acchee hindi bolta hoon
this paper calls for reviewing India's language policy completely -
ReplyDeleteThis has been published in a peer-reviewed journal
https://www.scribd.com/doc/264800277/SUJAY-Dynamics-of-Language-Spread-in-Multilingual-Societies-FINAL-FINAL-FINAL
Sujay Rao Mandavilli