[Lgpolicy-list] [lg policy] India: 'Time has come for a third language in Tamil Nadu'

[Harold Schiffman]

'Time has come for a third language in Tamil Nadu'
The recent controversy surrounding the dropping of German and inclusion of
Sanskrit in Central government - Kendriya Vidyalaya - schools has breathed
new life into the debate on the language policy of the new government. On
no other issue is the north-south political divide more magnified than that
of languages. Tamil Nadu's leaders cutting across political lines have
criticized the stand of the Centre; but there seems to be hardly any debate
among Tamils on the newfound importance for Sanskrit over other languages.

The history of language politics dates back to the core of the Dravidian
movement. In 1938, when the Congress government made teaching Hindi
compulsory in Madras presidency, the Justice Party led massive protests
against the imposition of Sanskrit and Hindi. Similar efforts by India's
first post-Independence government were met with stiff resistance from DK
and DMK. The anti-Hindi imposition protests swelled up to consume the
entire state and dominate the political discourse of the 1960s. Sensing the
widespread support against the imposition of Hindi in TN, Nehru provided a
compromise formula where English and Hindi would continue as official
languages of the country.

Soon thereafter, the newly elected DMK government renamed Madras state as
Tamil Nadu and officially confirmed the rise of language as a predominant
political issue. While other states followed the three language policy
endorsed by the Centre, Tamil Nadu chose to script its own destiny. Under
DMK chief minister Anna, the state pushed forward with a two-language
policy for students to study Tamil and English. During this time, the
Centre repeatedly urged states to follow the three language formula whereby
students would study their regional language, Hindi and English.

But, Anna knew what he was doing. Speaking at a convocation ceremony at
Annamalai University, he justified the two-language policy thus: "The
Government of Tamil Nadu has stated in unmistakable terms that Tamil and
English can serve all our purposes, the former as the official language of
this state and the latter as the link language. If it is accepted that
English can serve admirably as a link between our states and the outside
world, why plead for Hindi to be the link language here? What serves to
link us with the outside world is certainly capable of rendering the same
service inside India as well. To plead for two link languages is like
boring a smaller hole in a wall for the kitten while there is a bigger one
for the cat. What suits the cat will suit the kitten as well."

History has told us that past efforts with the three-language policy have
failed even in the northern states. According to the National Education
Policy of 1985, the state governments were asked to "adopt and vigorously
implement the three-language formula which includes the study of a modern
Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages apart from Hindi
and English in the Hindi speaking states, and of Hindi along with the
regional language and English in the non-Hindi-speaking states."

While there is much debate about the need for Sanskrit, the time for a
third language in Tamil Nadu may have come. Today, as we witness more
inter-state migration than ever before, there is no doubt that learning a
third language in Tamil Nadu is an asset. Numerous centres for German,
French and Japanese have mushroomed in our cities and towns. So, it is
probable that students from Tamil Nadu will also be eager to learn Hindi,
but not when it is imposed on them. At the same time, the Prime Minister
may also be well served to assess whether BJP-led states like Madhya
Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan would equally foster the learning of
Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil.

*(The author is a policy advisor to elected representatives)*

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Chennai/Time-has-come-for-a-third-language-in-Tamil-Nadu/articleshow/45355633.cms


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