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<a href="https://theprint.in/author/rupanwita-bhattacharjee/" title="Posts by Rupanwita Bhattacharjee" class="gmail-author gmail-url gmail-fn" rel="author">Rupanwita Bhattacharjee</a> <span class="gmail-td-post-date gmail-td-post-date-no-dot">29 September, 2018</span> </div>
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<div class="gmail-template_7_caption">Muhammad Ismail | ThePrint</div>
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<p><strong>During Constituent Assembly debates, Ismail pushed
for Hindustani because it was the most spoken and understood language in
India.</strong></p>
<p>Muhammad Ismail, one of the members of the Constituent Assembly, was
an important participant in the debates that shaped the country’s
official language policy.</p>
<p>Ismail, who was a pioneer of the Indian Union Muslim League, believed
that the language which was spoken by the majority in the country —
Hindustani — should be made the India’s official language.</p>
<h3><strong>Political journey</strong></h3>
<p>Born in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu on 5 June, 1896, Ismail received his education in the same city.</p>
<p>His political journey began in 1909 when he established the Young
Muslim Society in Tirunelveli. Soon, he became a member of the Muslim
League. In 1945, he was made the president of the Madras Presidency unit
of the Muslim League.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Also read</strong>: <a href="https://theprint.in/forgotten-founders/the-man-who-played-a-role-in-the-politics-of-india-pakistan-and-bangladesh/103976/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The man who played a role in the politics of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Ismail was among the few Muslim League members who chose to stay back
in India after Partition. He went on to became the IUML’s first
president in 1948. The party remains relevant in Tamil Nadu.</p>
<h3><strong>Language debates</strong></h3>
<p>During the Constituent Assembly debates, it was decided that India’s
official language should be able to “assimilate the modern tendencies
and modern conditions in the national life”.</p>
<p>Looking at the country’s Hindu and Muslim populations, Ismail
advocated making Hindustani with Devanagari and Urdu scripts the
official language because it was the most spoken and understood in the
nation.</p>
<p>Quoting Mahatma Gandhi while making his point, Ismail said the father
of the nation always wanted a common language to be made the official
one in the country. Hindustani met all the conditions as it was spoken
by the villagers, was an indigenous language and also “born and bred on
the soil”, making it the most suitable language.</p>
<h3><strong>Tamil language </strong></h3>
<p>During the debates, many leaders wanted a Dravidian language to be
the official language because of their ancient history. Tamil checked
the criterion due to its Dravidian roots and the fact that it was “first
spoken on the soil”. Ismail also favoured making Tamil, which was his
mother tongue, the official language. However, the fact that Tamil was
not spoken by a majority in the country held it back.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Also read:</strong> <a href="https://theprint.in/forgotten-founders/harekrushna-mahatab-the-man-who-started-the-merger-of-princely-states-with-india/106792/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harekrushna Mahatab: The man who started the merger of princely states with India</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Ismail’s logic for choosing an official language for numerals was the
same. Unlike other Indian languages, he supported foreign numerals due
to their wide acceptance.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/upload_document/EIGHTH-SCHEDULE.pdf">Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution</a> consists
of 22 official languages, 14 of which were originally listed, including
Tamil. The rest were added through amendments in 1992 and 2004.
Hindustani, however, is not recognised as an official language in India.</p>
<h3><strong>Away from politics</strong></h3>
<p style="font-weight:400">Apart from being a politician, Ismail was
also a businessman dealing in leather goods and the meat industry. In
the Madras Presidency, Ismail was office-bearer in several business
organisations.</p>
<p style="font-weight:400">After stints in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, Ismail died on 5 April, 1972, after a prolonged illness.</p></div></div>
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div></div>