<div dir="ltr"><h1 id="hd" class="">Push for Hindi in Centre-state mail</h1>
- Panel set to call for 3-language policy
BASANT KUMAR MOHANTY
<p><b>New Delhi, May 28:</b> A
government-appointed panel is expected to suggest that all official
communication between the Centre and non-Hindi speaking states should be
in three languages: English, Hindi and the state's language.</p>
<p>The 17-member panel, headed by retired JNU faculty Kapil Kapoor, is
due to submit its report on a language policy to the human resource
development ministry soon.</p>
<p>Kapoor, however, declined comment on the report. "I do not want to talk about the report. I am yet to submit it," he said.</p><div id="inarticle_wrapper_div"><div id="inread1_26817" style="display:inline-block;overflow:hidden;clear:both;width:479px"><div class="" id="inread_26817" style="height:1px;overflow:hidden"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr id="zd_tr_26817"><td style="" id="zd_td_26817"></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div>
<p>However, two panel members told this newspaper that the committee had
completed its discussions and reached a consensus on recommendations to
be made in the report.</p>
<p>Under the Official Languages (Use for Official Purpose of the Union)
rules applicable at present to the whole of India except Tamil Nadu, all
communication from the Centre to North-eastern states, non-Hindi
speaking eastern and southern states has to be in English.</p>
<p>In the case of Hindi-speaking states, the communication is in Hindi.
If any letter is sent in English, there has to be a Hindi translation.</p>
<p>The language policy has long been a contentious subject in the
country. After Independence, efforts were made to make Hindi the
national language. English was not preferred since it was the language
of the colonial power that had exited the country. Ultimately, both
Hindi and English were made official languages for official
communication.</p>
<p>There were plans then to phase out English by 1965. But the
popularity of English increased because of its global acceptance and the
opposition to Hindi by people speaking regional languages. There were
widespread protests in Tamil Nadu. In 1965, the government said English
as an official language would not change till all states agreed.</p>
<p>The new panel has suggested that central departments and ministries
should engage translators in all the scheduled languages - major
languages listed in the schedule of the Constitution - for official
communication. A state would be free to respond in any of the three
languages.</p>
<p>"The committee discussed a possible link language. But it was agreed
that the panel should recommend that the official communication should
be in two official languages and the respective regional language for
the specific non-Hindi speaking state," a member said.</p>
<p>Another member said unlike the 1960s, there might not be much protest
since the local language had been given space. The need for change has
been felt in view of protests from some states against English.</p>
<p>Linguists believe that the proposal to push Hindi in non-Hindi regions would still face resistance and logistical problems.</p>
<p>Prakash Chandra Pattanaik, a professor in the department of modern
Indian languages in Delhi University, said it would not be feasible to
implement the three-language policy in official communication.</p>
<p>"Translation of the document into a regional language would be major
issue. There is no proper translation training in the country. The
cultural issue is also important. It may not be acceptable to many," he
said.</p>
<p>The panel is also expected to support the continuation of the three-language policy in schools.</p>
<p>Panchanan Mohanty, the coordinator of the Centre for Endangered
Languages and Mother Tongue Studies at the University of Hyderabad, said
the three-language policy promoted in the 1960s had failed to make much
difference to people's language practices.</p>
<p>Under the three-language formula, students of Classes VI to X were
supposed to learn Hindi, English and any other modern Indian language.
If properly implemented, the majority of the people now would speak
three languages.</p>
<p>According to the 2001 census, 42.7 crore of 102 crore people were
Hindi speakers. But only 12 per cent Hindi speakers knew an additional
language. That means 88 per cent Hindi speakers were monolinguals, he
said. Similarly, about 90 per cent Tamil speakers were monolinguals.</p>
<p>"In India, four per cent of the population are speakers of 96 per
cent of the languages while 96 per cent of the population are speakers
of 4 per cent of the languages. The situation must change in order to
conserve the multi-lingual character of the country," Mohanty said. He
said there was no inter-language dictionary to facilitate translation.</p>
<p>There are 22 scheduled languages in the country. The 2001 census has
found another 100 languages that have a good number of speakers.</p><p><a href="http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160529/jsp/nation/story_88260.jsp#.V0xR8r692-c">http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160529/jsp/nation/story_88260.jsp#.V0xR8r692-c</a><br></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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