Divided and lost in the maze of languages!

Raju Korti
One cliche that gets bandied about in India is about the beauty of unity in diversity. It is a red herring that is often tinctured with "inclusivity" as an additive and euphemism. My pointed reference is to the needless heart burning on the issue of languages. A war of words has erupted -- as it does every now and then -- over what is/should be  the country's national language. As actor Ajay Devgn tweeted that Hindi was and will remain the country's national language, people from the world of politics and entertainment started weighing in to muddy the waters further.

The divide over language is flogging a dead horse. It is a man-made issue that finds its genesis in politics. The country's map has been redrawn on linguist lines following the States Reorganization Act (1956). Among other things, it promoted unwarranted regionalism and misplaced pride. Worse, the twenty plus languages the country proudly boasts of, now come with an emotional quotient that we can do without. The North-South divide has been particularly notorious on this count with a dubious history of self-serving political leaders exploiting the regional ethos.

I fail to understand the self-aggrandizing that bloats this balloon. The narrow politics of language has only thrived on sentimental naivete and defeats the very concept of inclusivity. Language is and should only be a means of communication and expression. All languages are prosperous and expressive in their own way and learning more languages should be encouraged instead of confining and constricting people on which language serves the best.

As a journalist with The Hindu, I recall my visits to (then) Madras several times in the mid-eighties and how severely hamstrung I was as a non-Tamilian because of the animosity Tamilians nursed towards people speaking Hindi. To be fair to them, the simmering discontent in the state was a result of the severe backlash of how some political leaders in Maharashtra had stoked regional and linguistic passions. Whenever I tried to convey in Hindi, I invited murderous looks. Somewhere in the midst of this linguistic ferment -- evident in some measure in other states as well -- English gradually began to make strides as a link language.

As a visiting faculty across colleges in Mumbai, I am seeing how speaking English is becoming common among the younger generation. To them, the issue is not of language but of style. Looking down upon other languages finds a variety of excuses. I have heard any number of times how some languages lack finnesse, not able to understand what it means beyond phonetics. The unvarnished truth is language has become a highly divisive force. All this in a country which proudly proclaims Sanskrit as the Mother of all Languages but has consigned it to the pages of history -- and to the chagrin of some -- lost its expertise to foreigners. 

Let people speak and express in the language of their choice. Meanings don't change with languages. If you can't communicate in the language that other people don't understand, bloody well have the chivalry to learn theirs and encourage them to do so in turn. Don't fall for the emotional blackmail of those trying to drive a wedge for vested interests.

Each language contains countless unique words, phrases and grammar peculiar to it. If you don't learn it, you don't understand it. Language is a double-edged weapon. It has the terrifying power to divide, it also has the power to unite. We need to celebrate and accept language and the diversity it encourages. Above all, language should be just that. A medium of communication and cognitive expression. 

There is no such thing as a national language. There are only link languages. Inclusivity is inherent in a link. If you think this is sermonizing, go get a life!