[lg policy] The Hindu: Let a hundred tongues be heard

[Harold Schiffman]

Forwarded From:  EDLING at bunner.geol.lu.se


The domination of English and Hindi is turning Indian education and
culture into a depressingly monolingual affair

Scores of articles and books have been written about the need for
multilingual education and social justice. But over the years, English
has been successfully defended: first, as a lingua franca in a
veritable tower of Babel; second, and more recently, on grounds of
globalisation. No wonder, its erstwhile opponents from the cow belt
have stopped clamouring for its ouster. The call for angrezi hatao has
now passed into history, and any leader using this as an election
plank is doomed to forfeit his deposit. Jostling for space in the
bazaars of Banaras are hoardings advertising shops such as angrezi
dabakhana, angrezi sharab and angrezi sikho.

Twin threat

If you live in any of the Hindi-speaking States, it is likely that
every other day you would hear of debates about the future of Hindi.
Naturally, the spectacular rise of Hindi is not often talked about in
these quarters as a threat to the linguistic diversity in India,
whereas both English and Hindi need to be perceived of as the twin
threat to the healthy linguistic diversity which, if allowed to grow,
might turn Indian education and, consequently, Indian culture, into a
depressingly monolingual affair.

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/let-a-hundred-tongues-be-heard/article3939291.ece



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