Stop Showing Apathy Towards Indian Languages

The foundation of strong nation lies in the continuous mobility of language. Here mobility means that the language cannot be confined to any geographical boundaries. Language is that river which nourishes many civilizations and with its linguistic beauty and dialects adorns them. Therefore, the influence of the languages spoken in various states can also be seen in the languages and dialects of other regions. The notable point is that only through dialogue and the language continuously evolved. Any language gets strengthened when it takes the shape of literature because literature is the best medium through which one can truly experience the essence of any language. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all Indian languages are enriched with their linguistic heritage, they all are prosperous. Many great saints, devotional poets, folk singers and spiritual scholars have elevated language to the level of spiritual consciousness.

The question is despite having rich linguistic diversity of India, why our languages are still struggling for their existence and identity, why our languages are gradually dying. If we analyze the condition of our country then we would be able to understand that India’s  Hundreds of years of slavery, had a huge impact on the condition of our country either it was society or culture or languages. Indian languages never got the opportunity to become the language of administration. In fact our languages could not make progress in the field of education. Dominance of the English language left no stone unturned.

The English language was glorified a lot in the name of globalization and as a result, this language had a profound effect on the minds of the people. No one knows when the ruling language became a symbol of being elite. Indians never oppose any language of the world because we the people of India understand the natural inclination towards one’s own language, but should we tolerate it if Indian languages come on the brink of extinction due to the influence of other languages? Indian litterateurs, writers, poets and scholars are marking a mark on the international level.

Along with this, the Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs, Institute of Indian Languages and all other such institutions are making an earnest effort to elevate Indian languages by organizing national and international conferences, lectures etc. For the purpose of defining scientific and technical terms in Hindi and all Indian languages, the Commission for Scientific and Technical terminology was set up on December 21, 1960 by a resolution of government of India under the provision to clause (4) of Article 344 of the Constitution. This institution bears the responsibility of publishing glossaries, definitional dictionaries and encyclopaedia. It has also contributed to prepare school as well as university level terminology and departmental glossaries with the objective to ensure its proper usage. Now it is up to educational institutions to assimilate these terminologies and maintain uniformity. So why are we hesitant in assimilating our own languages?

The easiest way to preserve and protect any language is to integrate it with education in some form or the other. State should take necessary steps to inculcate Regional language in the school curriculum. In this regard, the initiative of National Education Policy is noteworthy. From the school level itself, it is very important to introduce students with the literature and litterateurs who have written in different regional languages.

Number of creative ways should be used to provide information about languages such as short poems, stories. Students should be made familiar with the beauty of that language through folk tales. Visits should be arranged to Sahitya academies established in different states of the country and as far as possible direct interaction should also be arranged with litterateurs. To enhance the linguistic understanding of students, schools should, conduct short plays or street plays from time to time. These activities will naturally encourage them to learn their languages.

If we fail in our efforts to preserve and protect the linguistic wealth available in our Indian language in this era of information technology, then it clearly becomes evident that even after seventy years of independence, we are still enduring linguistic subjugation and are hesitant to embrace our languages wholeheartedly. If this continues then it is possible that, like Max Muller, many more foreign scholars may become proficient in our languages. There is a possibility that in future, western scholars might be the ones to will educate us about our languages. For example as today we rely on the commentaries written by foreign scholars while searching for the authenticity of ancient texts.

Our small efforts may bring a renaissance to witness great literature by our new generation much like our great literary scholars like Mahadevi verma, Suryakant tripathi ‘Nirala’, Dinkar, N. Sundar Iyer, C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar.