Editorial: Communicate to understand better

Harris used this Tamil word to pay respects to those who instilled in her values she held onto dearly – namely her family and her ‘aunts’. Social media was thrown into a tizzy as everyone from Padma Lakshmi to desi influencers went on to praise Harris for alluding to her Tamil connection.

However, this sense of media-induced national pride is almost ironic when one considers the language barrier splitting India right now. A raging argument was kicked off in the aftermath of a recent virtual training session, held by the Ayush Ministry. A group of yoga and naturopathy practitioners from Tamil Nadu took offence to the comments of Ayush Secretary Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha who said those who did not speak Hindi could leave the meeting. The 37 attendees from Tamil Nadu did not follow Hindi, which was the medium of communication during most sessions, while Kotecha on his end said he did not speak English.

Similarly, two weeks ago, DMK MP Kanimozhi said she was questioned by a CISF personnel at an airport, who asked her if she was an Indian when the MP said she did not understand Hindi. Kanimozhi found support from several quarters including former Finance Minister P Chidambaram who remarked he also often found himself at the receiving end of taunts, from government officers and citizens for not being conversant in Hindi. Others like Karnataka former CM HD Kumaraswamy also pointed out to bias in how politicians from the south were sidelined by their north Indian counterparts. The controversy surrounding official languages (we have 22 of them) was heightened by a development on a pan-India level – the introduction of the New Education Policy 2020, which has suggested a three-language formula, two of them being a regional language, along with English. Setting aside the notion of language as a marker of cultural identity, we must understand languages from a perspective of real-life application. For instance, it might be foolhardy for us to assume out of a sense of misplaced national honour, that we can completely do away with English.

In India, everything from supermarkets to pharmacies to hospitals, airports, highways, and educational institutions bear the stamp of English. For a majority of literate citizens, getting by in the course of one’s day to day life would be impossible without the language. One could attribute this all-permeating character of the language to its contentious colonial history, but as a living and evolving language, English is the lingua franca of the world. But there are exceptions to this argument. One only needs to look at China, Japan or southeast Asian or Middle Eastern countries to comprehend how deep-seated the idea of the native language can be, vis-a-vis, public amenities.

Visitors and tourists in such countries often find themselves clueless in the absence of English signage or instructions, or even natives who speak the Queen’s English. By that account, India might come across as a more foreigner-friendly nation, given almost everyone would at least make an effort to guide you in whatever broken English a person can muster. This brings us to the question – in a multi-cultural nation such as ours, is it feasible to offer one language a pride of place over another, on account of a majoritarian choice? Whether it’s Tamil, Hindi, or English, the value of a language is determined to a great extent by how well it serves the local community. The need of the hour is to recognise languages for what they are – a means of communication. The government must steer clear of a divisive mindset, as far as languages are concerned. At best, it can be a facilitator by enabling equitable policies that help Indians understand each other better.