Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Maithili; Eighth Schedule
Why in the News?
While five languages were granted classical status earlier this month, Maithili was not considered as the Bihar government had not officially forwarded the proposal, despite ongoing demands for its inclusion.
About Maithili Language
- Maithili belongs to the eastern sub-group of the Indo-Aryan branch of languages.
- It is believed to have evolved from Magadhan Prakrit.
- The poet Vidyapati (14th century) popularized Maithili, establishing its importance in literature and folk culture.
- It was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution in 2003, making it one of the 22 officially recognized languages of India.
- It is an optional subject in the UPSC exams, providing an opportunity for candidates to take it as a paper.
- It was granted second official language status in Jharkhand in 2018.
- It is spoken primarily in Bihar and Jharkhand in India, with a significant presence in Nepal.
- According to the 2011 Census, there are around 12 million Maithili speakers in India.
- It is the second most spoken language in Nepal, especially in the Terai region.
- Mithilakshar, also known as Tirhuta, is the original script used for writing Maithili.
- It belongs to the same family as Bangla, Assamese, Odia, Tibetan, and Nepali scripts.
- The script’s oldest records date back to 950 AD, found in Sahodara stone inscriptions.
|
About Eighth Schedule:
|
Details |
| Purpose |
Lists the official languages of India as recognized by the Constitution. |
| Relevant Articles |
Part XVII (Articles 343 to 351) of the Constitution outlines provisions for official languages. |
| Key Constitutional Provisions |
• Article 344(1): Mandates the formation of a Commission by the President to recommend steps to promote Hindi after five years of the Constitution’s commencement.
• Article 351: Promotes the development of Hindi as a medium to represent India’s composite culture. |
| Languages in the Eighth Schedule |
Currently includes 22 languages:
Initially Included (14 languages): Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Later Additions: Sindhi (21st Amendment, 1967), Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali (71st Amendment, 1992), Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali (92nd Amendment, 2003). |
| Official Language Status |
Hindi (in Devanagari script) is the official language of India, with English as an additional official language for administrative purposes. |
PYQ:
[2014] Consider the following languages:
- Gujarati
- Kannada
- Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as ‘Classical Language/Languages’ by the Government?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3 |
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Classical Languages
Why in the News?
The Union Cabinet has approved conferring the status of Classical Language to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese, and Bengali.
Classical Languages in India:
|
Details |
| Objective |
To recognize and preserve Bharat’s profound cultural heritage embodied in these languages and their literary traditions. |
| Criteria for Classical Language Status |
2004 (when Tamil was declared a Classical Language):
- High Antiquity over a thousand years.
- A body of ancient literature valued by generations.
- Original literary tradition, not borrowed.
2005 (when Sanskrit was declared a Classical Language):
- High Antiquity over 1500-2000 years.
- Ancient literature valued by generations.
- Original literary tradition, not borrowed.
- Distinct from modern forms, with possible discontinuity.
2024 (as recommended by the Linguistic Experts Committee):
- High Antiquity over 1500-2000 years.
- Ancient literature valued by generations.
- Includes knowledge texts, prose, inscriptions.
- Distinct from current forms or may show discontinuity.
|
| Previously Conferred Status |
Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu (2008), Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014) |
| Implementation Strategy |
• Establishment of Central Universities for Sanskrit (2020)
• Promotion of Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Odia through the Central Institute of Indian Languages (Mysuru)
• National and International awards for Classical Languages |
| Impact on Employment |
• Employment in academia, research, and archiving
• Jobs in preservation, digitization, translation, and publishing of ancient texts |
| States Involved |
Maharashtra (Marathi), Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh (Pali, Prakrit), West Bengal (Bengali), Assam (Assamese) |
|
| The Eighth Schedule |
- Lists 22 official languages, governed by Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution.
- Includes Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu
|
| Chronological Additions to the Eighth Schedule |
• 1950: Initially included 14 languages
• 1967: Sindhi added (21st Constitutional Amendment)
• 1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei), Nepali added (71st Constitutional Amendment)
• 2003: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santali added (92nd Constitutional Amendment)
• 2011: “Oriya” replaced with “Odia” (96th Constitutional Amendment) |
PYQ:
[2015] Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?
(a) Odia
(b) Konkani
(c) Bhojpuri
(d) Assamese
[2014] Consider the following languages :
1. Gujarati
2. Kannada
3. Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as ‘Classical Language / Languages’ by the Government?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3 |
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Classical Language
Why in the News?
Classical Language Centres in India are seeking more autonomy to improve their effectiveness and address operational challenges.
Classical Language Centres in India
- India has designated 6 languages as classical: Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia.
- Special centres have been established to promote these languages.
- Only the Centre for Tamil functions autonomously.
- The centres for Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia operate under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) in Mysuru.
|
About Classical Languages in India
| Aspect |
Details |
| Recognized Classical Languages |
Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014). |
| Additional Languages for Preservation |
Pali, Persian, Prakrit, and Farsi (Persian) as per the National Education Policy-2020. |
| Criteria for Classical Language Status |
– High Antiquity: Recorded history of 1500-2000 years.
– Valuable Heritage: Possesses ancient literature and texts.
– Originality: Unique literary tradition, not borrowed from other languages.
– Distinctness: Language and literature distinct from modern forms. |
| Promotion of Classical Languages |
– International Awards: Two major awards for scholars in classical Indian languages.
– Centre of Excellence: For studies in classical languages.
– Professional Chairs: UGC requested to create chairs in Central Universities. |
| The Eighth Schedule |
Lists 22 official languages, governed by Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution. Includes Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. |
| Chronological Additions to the Eighth Schedule |
– 1950: Initially included 14 languages.
– 1967: Sindhi added (21st Constitutional Amendment).
– 1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei), Nepali added (71st Constitutional Amendment).
– 2003: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santali added (92nd Constitutional Amendment).
– 2011: “Oriya” replaced with “Odia” (96th Constitutional Amendment). |
PYQ:
[2015] Which one of the following was given classical language status recently?
(a) Odia
(b) Konkani
(c) Bhojpuri
(d) Assamese |
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Classical Languages in India
Mains level: Read the attached story
Introduction
- In a significant move to deepen cultural ties, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced that the Centre has decided to include Farsi (Persian) as one of the nine classical languages in India under the New Education Policy.
Classical Languages in India
- As of now, India recognizes six languages as classical, including Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
- In addition to these classical languages Pali, Persian, and Prakrit and their works of literature are to be preserved according to India’s National Education Policy-2020.
- The addition of Farsi (Persian) brings the total to nine classical languages (Needs more clarification).
Criteria for Classical Language Status
The Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha outlined the criteria for declaring a language as ‘Classical’:
- High Antiquity: The language must have a recorded history spanning 1500-2000 years.
- Valuable Heritage: It should possess a body of ancient literature and texts cherished by generations.
- Originality: The literary tradition must be unique and not borrowed from another linguistic community.
- Distinctness: The classical language and its literature should be distinct from modern forms or offshoots.
Promotion of Classical Languages
Upon being recognized as a classical language, the HRD Ministry provides various benefits, including:
- International Awards: Two major international awards for eminent scholars in classical Indian languages.
- Centre of Excellence: Establishment of a Centre of Excellence for studies in Classical Languages.
- Professional Chairs: Requesting the University Grants Commission (UGC) to create Professional Chairs for Classical Languages, initially in Central Universities.
The Eighth Schedule
The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution outlines the official languages of the Republic of India. It is governed by Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Constitution.
- Purpose: Originally created to grant representation on the Official Languages Commission and enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
- Medium for Examinations: Candidates appearing for public service examinations have the privilege of using any language from the Eighth Schedule as a medium to answer exam papers.
- Languages Included: Currently, the Eighth Schedule includes 22 languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
Chronological Additions
The chronological additions to the Eighth Schedule are as follows:
- 1950: Initially included 14 languages.
- 1967: Sindhi was added through the 21st Constitutional Amendment Act.
- 1992: Konkani, Manipuri (Meitei), and Nepali were included through the 71st Constitutional Amendment Act.
- 2003: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santali were added through the 92nd Constitutional Amendment Act.
- 2011: The spelling “Oriya” was replaced with “Odia” through the 96th Constitutional Amendment Act.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following languages:
- Gujarati
- Kannada
- Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as ‘Classical Language / Languages’ by the Government?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”zd3km5etnb” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Bhartrihari Muni
Mains level: Claims Made by Rashtrabhashawadis
Central idea
Language, a magical interplay of sounds, is celebrated in Hindi as a rich connector of cultures. Challenges arise as some advocate for a rigid and exclusive form of Hindi, risking the loss of diversity and inclusivity. Balancing standardization with openness ensures Hindi remains vibrant and accessible to all.
- Hindi purists are individuals or groups who advocate for a more traditional and conservative approach to the Hindi language.
- They often emphasize linguistic purity, seeking to preserve Hindi in its classical form and resist the influence of foreign languages, especially Persian and Arabic.
- Hindi purists may promote the exclusive use of Sanskrit-derived vocabulary and resist the incorporation of words from other languages.
Key Characteristics of Hindi Purists:
- Sanskritic Purity: Hindi purists often advocate for purging Hindi of loanwords from Persian, Arabic, and other languages, aiming to maintain a more Sanskritic purity.
- Resistance to Linguistic Evolution: They may resist linguistic evolution and changes in grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation, striving to uphold a more traditional and classical version of the language.
- Opposition to English Influence: Hindi purists may express opposition to the increasing influence of English on the language, advocating for the preservation of Hindi’s unique identity.
- Promotion of Indigenous Culture: Emphasis on promoting indigenous culture and values through language, rejecting elements perceived as foreign or detrimental to the cultural heritage of Hindi.
Key Highlights:
- Dhwani – The Magic of Sound: Bhartrihari’s philosophy highlights dhwani (sound) as the magical element infusing meanings into words, emphasizing the dynamic and ever-changing nature of language.
- Eclectic Nature of Hindi: Hindi, the author’s mother tongue, is celebrated for its eclectic richness, connecting individuals to diverse cultures, philosophies, and histories.
- Contested Position of Hindi: Modern Hindi faces contestation as questions arise about its openness to cultural influences. Anxieties stem from claims made by rashtrabhashawadis, leading to concerns among both non-Hindi and Hindi speakers.
| Prelims focus
Bhartrihari Muni, an ancient Indian philosopher and poet.
Era: Lived around the 5th century CE.
Philosophy of Language: Notable for the “Vakyapadiya,” a seminal work in linguistics and philosophy of language.
Poetry: Explored themes of love, detachment, and the impermanence of life through his poetic works.
Significance: Revered for shaping Sanskrit literature and leaving a lasting impact on linguistic and philosophical thought in ancient India.
|
Challenges:
- Threat to Openness: Grand claims by language purists pose a threat to the inherently eclectic and open character of Hindi, causing anxieties among those who admire its diversity.
- Language as an Expansionist Monster: Hindi speakers are doubly threatened as the language faces a negative image and attempts to be portrayed as an expansionist force.
- Same Language Everywhere: People want Hindi to be the same for everyone, which might make all the different ways of speaking Hindi disappear.
- Not Letting Hindi Change: Some folks don’t like Hindi changing and learning new things, which might stop it from growing and getting better.
- Some People Feel Left Out: Making Hindi super important might make people who don’t speak it feel left out.
Key Phrases for mains value addition:
- Heritage of Words: Language is described as a heritage of words, with a live, ephemeral, and dynamic quality.
- Metaphorical Significance: Hindi is metaphorically termed as both “Om” and “Earth,” symbolizing its deep-rooted significance.
| Claims Made by Rashtrabhashawadis |
Aim/Objective |
| Language Purity |
Make Hindi more Sanskritic; Remove Persian and Arabic influences. |
| Urdu-Hindi Separation |
Establish Hindi as distinct from Urdu; Project them as separate and antagonistic languages. |
| Official Language Promotion |
Establish Hindi as the sole official language; Minimize the use of regional languages. |
| Purist Language Standards |
Set strict standards for Hindi; Resist linguistic diversity and regional dialect influences. |
| Nationalistic Language Identity |
Tie Hindi closely to a nationalistic identity; Position it as a symbol of a culturally pure nation. |
Constitutional Status of Hindi:
- Official Language (Article 343):
- The Constitution of India designates Hindi as one of the official languages of the country. It, along with English, is used for official communication at the central government level.
- Directive for Development (Article 351):
- Article 351 emphasizes the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language and to develop it so that it serves as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.
- Special Provisions for Hindi States (Article 345):
- States with Hindi as their official language receive special provisions under Article 345 to regulate the use of Hindi in official matters within the state.
Government Schemes on Hindi Language:
- Rajbhasha Vibhag Scheme: Aimed at promoting the use of Hindi in government offices and public institutions. It includes initiatives for organizing Hindi workshops, promoting Hindi correspondence, and ensuring official documents are primarily in Hindi.
- Hindi Teaching Programs: Schemes dedicated to enhancing Hindi education, especially in non-Hindi speaking states. This involves the development of Hindi teaching modules, training programs for Hindi teachers, and incentives for schools promoting Hindi language skills.
- Hindi Literature Promotion Fund: A fund to support the publication, translation, and promotion of Hindi literature. This scheme encourages the dissemination of Hindi literary works globally and fosters cultural exchange.
Analysis:
- Historical Forces Shaping Hindi: Colonial connections and national awakening historically shaped modern Hindi, showing its openness to new influences and challenges.
- Separation of Languages: The article traces the separation of Hindi and Urdu, once part of Hindustani, into two distinct and antagonistic languages during a historical campaign.
Key Data:
- Chronology of British Expansion: Hindi, as Khari Boli, embraced Bengal’s leadership as a late entrant to the modern world during British expansion in India.
- Contributions from Other Languages: Hindi literature is enriched by individuals from languages like Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Marathi, exemplifying its cosmopolitan vision.
Way Forward:
- Global Collaboration: Encourage collaboration among countries to preserve language diversity. For instance, platforms like UNESCO could facilitate international agreements on language preservation, promoting the sharing of linguistic resources and knowledge.
- Innovation-Friendly Policies: Encourage policies that foster innovation and balance the interests of diverse language speakers, promoting a competitive and sustainable linguistic ecosystem.
- Digital Literacy: Initiatives like “Digital Language Literacy” courses, equipping individuals with the skills to navigate and comprehend the evolving nature of language in digital spaces.
In essence, the article explores the magical essence of language, the contested position of Hindi, challenges to its openness, and advocates for a future that embraces linguistic diversity and dynamicity.
| Quotes for mains value addition
“हिंदी हमारी पहचान, भाषा हमारी शान।” (Hindi Hamari Pehchaan, Bhasha Hamari Shaan) – “Hindi is our identity, our language is our pride.”
“हिंदी भाषा का महत्व उसकी सामाजिक, सांस्कृतिक और राष्ट्रीय एकता में है।” (Hindi Bhasha ka Mahatva Uski Samajik, Sanskritik aur Rashtriya Ekta Mein Hai) – “The importance of the Hindi language lies in its social, cultural, and national unity.”
“हिंदी हैं हम, वतन हैं हिन्दोस्तान हमारा।” (Hindi Hain Hum, Vatan Hai Hindostan Hamara) – “We are Hindi speakers, and our homeland is Hindostan.” |
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Bhashini Initiaitive
Mains level: Promoting education in vernacular languages
Bhashini, a small team at the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), is currently building a WhatsApp-based chatbot that relies on information generated by ChatGPT to return appropriate responses to queries.
What is Bhashini Initiative?
- ‘Bhashini,’ one of these initiatives, is a local language translation mission that aims to break the barrier between various Indian tongues by using available technology.
- This government platform aims to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available in the public domain to be used by – Indian MSMEs, startups and individual innovators.
- This will help developers to offer all Indians easy access to the internet and digital services in their native languages.
How does it work?
- The project is available on this website: https://www.bhashini.gov.in/en/.
- It is aimed to build and develop an ecosystem where various stakeholders can unite to maintain an ‘ever-evolving repository of data, training and benchmark datasets, open models, tools and technologies.’
- This online platform also has a separate ‘Bhashadaan’ section which allows individuals to contribute to multiple crowdsourcing initiatives and it is also accessible via respective Android and iOS apps.
- The contribution can be done in four ways — Suno India, Likho India, Bolo India and Dekho India – where users have to type what they hear or have to validate texts transcribed by others.
Importance of Bhashini
- Bhashini hopes of breaking the massive Indian language barrier and wants developers to offer Indians digital services in their local languages.
- The project not only has a massive size and magnitude but also has several benefits.
- India has a chance to create a roadmap to allow internet access for local languages.
- Moreover, this is important considering the increased availability of smartphones and cheaper data rates are allowing the internet to penetrate the remote and rural areas of the country.
Key initiatives in this regard
- The National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) was announced in the 2021-22 budget by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- The reason behind introducing this mission was a survey that concluded that 53% of Indians who don’t access the internet have said that they would start using the web if it had content available in their native languages.
- This is where Bhashini comes in with the sole purpose of developing a national digital public platform for languages to provide universal access to content.
- This is expected to improve the delivery of digital content in all Indian languages.
- Finally, it will help in creating a knowledge-based society where information is freely and readily available which will make the ecosystem and citizens “Atmanirbhar.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Official language, Eighth schedule
Mains level: Hindi imposition row
Context
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on English in a recent campaign rally, the controversy over medical education in Hindi and the parliamentary report on promoting Hindi, will give new life to Hindi vs non-Hindi debate.
The status of Hindi language in India
- The 2011 linguistic census: Accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
- Widely spoken language: Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue. The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 97 lakh (8%) less than one-fifth of Hindi’s count. In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country.
- Hindi as second language: Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population.
- What is the Eighth Schedule?
- The Eighth Schedule contains a list of languages in the country. Initially, there were 14 languages in the schedule, but now there are 22 languages.
- There is no description of the sort of languages that are included or will be included in the Eighth Schedule.
- Constitutional position of Eighth Schedule
There are only two references to these languages in the text of the Constitution.
(i) Article 344(1):
- It provides for the formation of a Commission by the President, which should have a chairman and members representing these scheduled languages.
- The purpose of the Commission is to make recommendations for the progressive use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union and for restricting the use of English.
(ii) Article 351:
- It says it is the Union government’s duty to promote the spread of Hindi so that it becomes “a medium of expression for all elements of the composite culture of India”.
- It also aims to assimilate elements of forms and expressions from Hindustani and languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
What are challenges for promotion of Hindi Language?
- Higher knowledge is not available in Hindi: The challenge of Hindi is that inhabiting the world of Hindi is seen as closing off access to the frontiers of knowledge, not just in science but in civic knowledge, like higher echelons of law.
- Perceived as inferior language: It is also treated as a marker of parochialism and inferior status.
- Hindi as language of Identity not as knowledge: The problem may be less acute with other languages like Tamil, Kannada or Bengali, but it exists. The anomaly of the India experiment is not diversity: It is the claim that the language of self, identity and culture be different from the language of knowledge, privilege and access. This is the experiment India is conducting on a large scale. Is it a sustainable one?
- Cultural assertion through language: It is the untapped resentment of a Hindi culture that often is made conscious of its own second-class status in global hierarchies. Millions of vernacular speakers feel disenfranchised in the worlds of knowledge and prestige.
- Poor translation mechanism: Our translation missions are so meagre that except for literature, they do not grow the language by translating knowledge into it. So, the division of the function of languages has also become a division of persons, between those whose fluency in English is greater than their fluency in a vernacular, and those who might know English but struggle with it.
- English transition is not easy in mid high school: There was also a generation that was taught in a vernacular language very well. They found it easy to switch to English later. Now the education system does not prepare you for either trajectory, not at least on a mass scale, leaving the Hindi speaker relatively stranded.
What should be the way forward?
- Hindi should be used for knowledge sharing and communication: The discussion of the language issue ought to be pedagogical rather than political. It will be, for instance, important for doctors to have English to easily access a continually evolving world of research; just translating a few textbooks into vernaculars will not solve the challenge. But it is equally true that the ability to communicate fluently in vernacular languages will be a great asset.
- Higher Education in Hindi should be made available: It is also possibly true that for those who did not get an English education, continuing vernacular education should be a medium of expanding their opportunities.
- Government has to do its homework: Our education system will have to do the homework to make any language strategy work fully. The skepticism of teaching medicine or engineering in the vernaculars (and not just Hindi) is that our knowledge eco system is not prepared for it; the skepticism of English is that it has left so many people behind.
Conclusion
- The genius of India is that it has, historically, not locked itself into binaries over language choice. With creative pedagogies, we can reclaim that heritage. But raising the political pitch on language serves neither the cause of knowledge or national unity.
Mains Question
Q. Why government indulges in promotion of Hindi? Does it right in Indian context to promote only one language nationally?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Official language , Eight schedule
Mains level: Read the attached story
The 11th volume of the Report of the Official Language Committee headed by Home Minister submitted to President has triggered angry reactions from the CMs of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, who have described the Report as an attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking states.
About the Official Language Panel (for Hindi)
- The Committee of Parliament on Official Language was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963.
- Section 4 of the Act says there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament.
- It should have the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses.
Terms of reference of the committee
- The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister, and has, in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Act, 30 members — 20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha.
- The job of the Committee is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes, and to make recommendations to increase the use of Hindi in official communications.
History of its establishment
- With the active promotion of Hindi being mandated by Article 351 of the Constitution, the Official Language Committee was set up to review and promote the use of Hindi in official communications.
- The first Report of the Committee was submitted in 1987.
Issues with the committee
- The name of the Committee is a little misleading.
- This is because unlike the other Parliamentary panels, the Committee on Official Language is constituted by the Home Ministry.
- It does not submit its report to Parliament like other Committees of Parliament.
- The contents of the report submitted are not in the public domain.
- The panel has the largest representation from the ruling majority party. This has made states more furious.
What has the Shah panel recommended in its latest (2021) report?
- Medium of instruction: The panel has made around 100 recommendations, including that Hindi should be the medium of instruction in IITs, IIMs, and central universities in the Hindi-speaking states.
- Administrative communication: The language used for communication in the administration should be Hindi, and efforts should be made to teach the curriculum in Hindi, but the latter is not mandatory.
- Hindi translation of HC verdicts: High Courts in other states, where proceedings are recorded in English or a regional language can make available translations in Hindi, because verdicts of High Court of other states are often cited in judgments.
- Mandate for govt. officials: The panel wants state governments to warn officials that their reluctance to use Hindi would reflect in their Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR).
Why are these recommendations under criticism?
The crux of the recommendations is being ‘perceived’ that-
- There is a deliberate attempt to reduce the usage of the English language in official communication and to increase the usage of Hindi.
- Knowledge of Hindi would be compulsory in a number of government jobs.
Is this the first time that such recommendations have been made?
- The makers of the Constitution had decided that both Hindi and English should be used as official languages for the first 15 years of the Republic.
- But in the wake of intense anti-Hindi agitations in the south, the Centre announced that English would continue to be used even after 1965.
- On January 18, 1968, Parliament passed the Official Language Resolution to build a comprehensive program to increase the use of Hindi for official purposes by the Union of India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: National language debate
Union Home Minister has appealed to guardians to speak to children in their mother tongue to enable them to learn Hindi without much effort, on the Hindi Divas.
What did HM say on Hindi?
- He said it was time that inferiority complex around Indian languages, instilled by the British, was overthrown from people’s conscience with the help of regional languages and Hindi.
- He also said that Hindi was not a competitor but a “friend” of all the other regional languages in the country and they were mutually dependent on each other for their growth.
- He said there was a concerted disinformation campaign to pit Hindi against other languages such as Marathi and Tamil, and underlined the need to strengthen local languages with Hindi.
Debate over Hindi
- Between September 12 and 14, 1949, that the Constituent Assembly debated the status of India’s languages.
- Among the issues that were discussed were the use of the term ‘national language’ instead of ‘official’ language.
- Hindi author Seth Govind Das, who represented the Central Provinces and Berar, argued for ‘one language and one script’ and suggested that Hindi should replace English at the earliest.
What is the status of Hindi?
- Finally, the Constituent Assembly adopted what was known as “Munshi-Ayyangar Formula.”
- According to this, Hindi in the Devnagari script would be the official language of the Union.
Official, not national
- English would continue to be used for all official purposes for the next 15 years, to enable a smooth transition for non-Hindi speaking states.
- The deadline was 26 January 1965.
- Under Article 343 of the Constitution, the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
- The international form of Indian numerals will be used for official purposes.
Why has language become a sensitive issue?
- Self-identification: A strong identification with one’s regional language and an underlying fear of homogenisation is at the heart of the national language question in India. An individual conceptualises and communicates his thoughts in a language, enabling him to be an active part of society.
- Language defines primary group: People identify with one another based on language, thus giving them a primary group. A nation is the largest primary group that once can address.
- Learning abilities at stake: The dangers of imposing a language are manifold. It can affect the learning ability of non-native speakers thereby affecting their self-confidence.
- Threats to endangered languages: It can also endanger other languages and dialects and reduce diversity.
- Threats to diversity: National integration cannot come at the cost of people’s linguistic identities. Language is integral to culture and therefore privileging Hindi over all other languages spoken in India takes away from its diversity.
- Promises made by Constituent Assembly: Then PM Pt. Nehru had promised that Hindi would only serve as a linking language and it would not be imposed on non-Hindi speaking states as long as they were against it.
Benefits of having a national language
- Wide range of speakers: Hindi is still the most widely spoken language in the country with an estimated 258 million people declaring that Hindi is their native language and millions more comfortable with Hindi.
- Language as a unifying language: A complete usage of Hindi language whilst respecting the various native languages would also ensure better coordination and cooperation among all the states and act as a strong unifying factor and eliminate all regional differences.
- Reputation at international fora: When countries like Germany, Japan, France, Italy etc. use their respective language as a medium of communication even during International forums not only has the reputation of those countries have greatly enhanced but also those languages have gained a huge reputation worldwide.
Issues with Hindi
- Inherent opposition to Hindi: The Constituent Assembly was bitterly divided on the question, with members from States that did not speak Hindi initially opposing the declaration of Hindi as a national language.
- Fear of imposition: Opponents were against English being done away with, fearing that it may lead to Hindi domination in regions that did not speak the language.
- Symbol of identity politics: The approach towards linguistic policy seems to be driven more by the politics of identity than values of aspiration or accommodation.
- Favour for majoritarianism: The primary argument in favour of Hindi has been reduced to assertions of slim majoritarianism.
- Few speakers, still dominant: Even then, there are concerns about the claim based on mere numerical strength, as only 25 per cent of Indians seem to recognise Hindi as their mother tongue (Census 2011).
- Demographic barriers: Today nearly 35% of people are migrating daily for work. In such a situation, we have to conceptualise a new form of language identity for our states.
- Economic barriers: Any idea of one link language, whether Hindi or English, will be economically disastrous for India. It will slow down migration and reduce the ease of capital flow.
- Multiple dialects: Only five states in India have Hindi as their’ native language’. However, in those states, too, the dialects of Hindi are associated with locals and their communities.
Why Hindi cannot be the national language?
- Multiple dialects: Hindi has largely been influenced by Persian — and then English, among other languages. Also, when the languages were enumerated, Hindi subsumed Bhojpuri, which is spoken by a little over five crore people.
- Inefficacy of Sanskrit: There were demands to make Sanskrit the official language, while some argued in favour of ‘Hindustani’.
- Issue over Script: There were differences of opinion over the script too. When opinion veered towards accepting Hindi, proponents of the language wanted the ‘Devanagari’ script to be adopted both for words and numerals.
Why this issue needs a rational consideration?
- Linguistic chauvinism: Various policies on language have been framed both by the central and state governments that have been termed as forms of linguistic chauvinism. Ex. Obsession for Marathi in Mumbai
- Secular fabric under threat: The states’ fear of the central government’s ideology of monopolising faith, education, and language will adversely affect the Indian political system, which is based on pluralism and accommodation.
- Monolingualism can prove disastrous: If there is a mechanical and monolithic idea of unity followed by any entity, such an entity generally generates great hostility beyond its immediate borders. In neighbouring Bangladesh – then East Pakistan – the language movement against the imposition of Urdu on Bengali speakers was a key driver of Pakistan splitting into two nations.
Way forward
- Language as a skill: Language should be looked at as an important skill to operate in a world which is more connected today than at any other point in time.
- Language not a cultural burden: A united nation has to have space for diversity. India is united in its diversity. Diversity is a great philosophical idea and should never be seen as a cultural burden.
- Linguistic heritage needs priority: This is not to contend that our linguistic heritage should be neglected or trivialised. Our metropolises must be recognized as multilingual entities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Official language , Eight schedule
Mains level: Hindi imposition debate
Remarks by a Hindi actor to the effect that Hindi is the national language of India has sparked controversy recently over the status of the language under the Constitution.
What is the status of Hindi?
- Under Article 343 of the Constitution, the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.
- The international form of Indian numerals will be used for official purposes.
The debate
- Inherent opposition to Hindi: The Constituent Assembly was bitterly divided on the question, with members from States that did not speak Hindi initially opposing the declaration of Hindi as a national language.
- Colonial footprints of English: Proponents of Hindi were insistent that English was the language of enslavement and that it should be eliminated as early as possible.
- Fear of Hindi imposition: Opponents were against English being done away with, fearing that it may lead to Hindi domination in regions that did not speak the language.
- Inefficacy of Sanskrit: There were demands to make Sanskrit the official language, while some argued in favour of ‘Hindustani’.
- Issue over Script: There were differences of opinion over the script too. When opinion veered towards accepting Hindi, proponents of the language wanted the ‘Devanagari’ script to be adopted both for words and numerals.
Major outcome: No national language
- It was decided that the Constitution will only speak of an ‘official language’.
- And that English would continue to be used for a period of 15 years.
- The Constitution said that after 15 years, Parliament may by law decide on the use of English and the use of the Devanagari form of numbers for specified purposes.
What is the Eighth Schedule?
- The Eighth Schedule contains a list of languages in the country. Initially, there were 14 languages in the schedule, but now there are 22 languages.
- There is no description of the sort of languages that are included or will be included in the Eighth Schedule.
Constitutional position of Eighth Schedule
There are only two references to these languages in the text of the Constitution.
(i) Article 344(1):
- It provides for the formation of a Commission by the President, which should have a Chairman and members representing these scheduled languages.
- The purpose of the Commission is to make recommendations for the progressive use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union and for restricting the use of English.
(ii) Article 351:
- It says it is the Union government’s duty to promote the spread of Hindi so that it becomes “a medium of expression for all elements of the composite culture of India”.
- It also aims to assimilate elements of forms and expressions from Hindustani and languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.
What were the 1965 protests about?
- The Official Languages Act, 1963 was passed in anticipation of the expiry of the 15-year period during which the Constitution originally allowed the use of English for official purposes.
- Its operative section provided for the continuing use of English, notwithstanding the expiry of the 15-year period.
- Jawaharlal Nehru had given an assurance in 1959 that English would remain in official use and as the language of communication between the Centre and the States.
- The Official Languages Act, 1963, did not explicitly incorporate this assurance, causing apprehensions in some States as the January 1965 deadline neared.
- At that time, PM Lal Bahadur Shastri reiterated the government’s commitment to move towards making Hindi the official language for all purposes.
TN loops in the agitation
- In Tamil Nadu, then known as Madras, the prospect of the use of Hindi as the medium of examination came due to recruitment examination of union.
- It created an apprehension that Hindi would be imposed in such a way that the future employment prospects of those who do not speak Hindi will be bleak.
Creating an exception for Tamil Nadu
- With the Congress government in the State taking the view that the people had nothing to fear about, protests broke out in January 1965.
- It took a violent turn after more and more student activists joined the protest, and continued even after key Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders were arrested.
- More than 60 people died in police firing and other incidents as the protests went on for days.
- The agitation died down later, but by then the Congress at the Centre realised the sensitivity of the language issue among Tamil-speaking people.
- When the Official Language Rules were framed in 1976, it was made clear that the Rules apply to the whole of India, except Tamil Nadu.
What is the three-language formula?
- Since the 1960s, the Centre’s education policy documents speak of teaching three languages — Hindi, English and one regional language in Hindi-speaking States, and Hindi, English and the official regional language in other States.
- In practice, however, only some States teach both their predominant language and Hindi, besides English.
- In States where Hindi is the official language, a third language is rarely taught as a compulsory subject.
- Tamil Nadu has been steadfastly opposing the three-language formula and sticks to teaching Tamil and English.
- It argues that those who need to know Hindi can learn on their own.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Languages in the Eighth Schedule
Mains level: Paper 2- Eighth Schedule
Context
Language sensitivity has been a feature of selfhood in the case of every Indian language.
Sensitivity to language
- From ancient times, a sensitivity to language difference has almost been the core of Dravidic self-hood.
- A similar sensitivity existed among the speakers of Prakrits in ancient times.
- It was in one of the Prakrits that Mahavir had presented his teachings in the sixth century BCE.
- Eighteen centuries later, Acharya Hemachandra, a major Jain scholar, poet, mathematician and philosopher, produced his Desinamamala, a treatise on the importance of Prakrit words used in Gujarat of his times as against those from Sanskrit.
- Mahatma Gandhi, who defined the idea of selfhood for India in Hind Swaraj (1909), chose to write this iconic book in Gujarati.
Constitutional provision
- The official language used for communication between the States shall be the language that has been in use at the time of adoption of the Constitution.
- The move from English to Hindi can take place only if, ‘two or more states agree’ for the shift.
- Article 344 (4) provides for a ‘Committee consisting of thirty members’, ‘twenty’ from the Parliament and ‘ten’ from State assemblies, for safeguarding language-related provisions.
The distribution between two ministries
- The functions and the scope of the committee, as laid down by the Constitution, are further clarified by the practice of distribution of language as a subject between two Ministries, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry and the Home Ministry.
- The scope of the HRD Ministry extends to education and the promotion of cultural expression.
- The Home Ministry’s scope extends to safeguarding relations of the States with the ‘union’, protecting the linguistic rights of language minorities and the promotion of Hindi.
- The last of these, the Constitution states, has to be ‘without interference with other languages.
Data on language decline
- In 2011, Hindi speakers accounted for 43.63% of the total population, with a total of 52.83 crore speakers.
- In 1971, the number was 20.27 crore, accounting for 36.99% of the total population.
- Between 2001 and 2011, the growth in proportion of the population was 2.6%.
- The next most spoken language, Bangla, had negative growth.
- It was spoken by 8.30% of Indians in 1991, 8.11% in 2001 and by 8.03% in 2011.
- Telugu, which slid from 7.87% in 1991, to 7.19% in 2001 and 6.70% in 2011, has a similar story to tell.
- Tamil recorded 6.32% of the total population in 1991, 5.91% in 2001 and 5.70% in 2011.
- The only major language to show decadal growth (though small) was Gujarati.
- And the only small yet scheduled language to show good growth was Sanskrit.
Reasons for Hindi’s growth
- The 52.83 crore speakers of Hindi (as recorded in 2011) included not just the speaker of ‘Hindi’ but also those of more than 50 other languages.
- Bhojpuri and most languages of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand have also been pushed into the Hindi package.
- Had the Census not included these other languages under Hindi, the strength of Hindi speakers would have gone down to about 39 crore, — just a little under 32% of the total population in 2011 — and would have looked not too different from those of other scheduled languages.
- The data for English speakers is far more truthful. Census 2011 reports a total of 3,88,793 Indians as English speakers (2,59,678 men and 1,29,115 women).
Hindi in comparison to other languages in the Eighth schedule
- Among the languages included in the Eighth Schedule, Hindi falls within the younger lot of languages.
- On the other hand, Tamil, Kannada, Kashmiri, Marathi, Oriya, Sindhi, Nepali and Assamiya have a much longer/older history.
- As a language of knowledge too, Tamil, Kannada, Bangla and Marathi (with their abundance of encyclopaedias and historical literature), quite easily outshine Hindi.
Conclusion
A language evolves slowly and cannot be forced to grow by issuing ordinances.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Scheduled languages
Mains level: Hindi imposition row
Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah suggested that states should communicate with each other in Hindi rather than English, while stressing that Hindi should not be an alternative to local languages.
This again sparked the debate of “Hindi imposition”.
How widely is Hindi spoken in India?
- The 2011 linguistic census accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
- Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue.
- The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 97 lakh (8%) — less than one-fifth of Hindi’s count (Chart 2).
- In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country.
- Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population.
Has it always been this widespread?
- Hindi has been India’s predominant mother tongue over the decades, its share in the population rising in every succeeding census.
- In 1971, 37% Indians had reported Hindi as their mother tongue, a share that has grown over the next four censuses to 38.7%, 39.2%, 41% and 43.6% at last count (Chart 1).
- This begs the question as to which mother tongues have declined as Hindi’s share has risen.
- A number of mother tongues other than Hindi have faced a decline in terms of share, although the dip has been marginal in many cases.
- For example, Bengali’s share in the population declined by just 0.14 percentage points from 1971 (8.17%) to 2011 (8.03%).
- In comparison, Malayalam (1.12 percentage points) and Urdu (1.03 points) had higher declines among the mother tongues with at least 1 crore speakers in 2011.
- Punjabi’s share, on the other hand, rose from 2.57% to 2.74%.
- At the other end of the scale (among the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution) were Malayalam, whose numbers rose by under 59% in four decades, and Assamese, rising just over 71% (Chart 3).
What explains Hindi’s high numbers?
- One obvious explanation is that Hindi is the predominant language in some of India’s most populous states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
- Another reason is that a number of languages are bracketed under Hindi by census enumerators.
- In 2011, there were 1,383 mother tongues reported by people, and hundreds were knocked out.
- These mother tongues were then grouped into languages.
- You will find that under Hindi, they have listed nearly 65 mother tongues.
- Among them is Bhojpuri, and 5 crore people have reported Bhojpuri as their mother tongue, but the census has decided that Bhojpuri is Hindi.
- If one were to knock out the other languages merged with Hindi, the total figure goes down to 38 crore.
And how widely is English spoken?
- Although English, alongside Hindi, is one of the two official languages of the central government, it is not among the 22 languages in the 8th Schedule; it is one of the 99 non-scheduled languages.
- In terms of mother tongue, India had just 2.6 lakh English speakers in 2011 — a tiny fraction of the 121 crore people counted in that census.
- That does not reflect the extent to which English is spoken.
- It was the second language of 8.3 crore respondents in 2011, second only to Hindi’s 13.9 crore.
- If third language is added, then English was spoken — as mother tongue, second language or third language — by over 10% of the population in 2011, behind only Hindi’s 57%.
- It is still not a scheduled language in India, when it should be.
Where is English most prevalent?
- As mother tongue, Maharashtra accounted for over 1 lakh of the 2.6 lakh English speakers.
- As second language, English is preferred over Hindi in parts of the Northeast.
- Among the 17.6 lakh with Manipuri (an 8th Schedule language) as their mother tongue in 2011, 4.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 1.8 lakh for Hindi.
- Among the non-scheduled languages spoken in the Northeast, Khasi, predominant in Meghalaya, was the mother tongue of 14.3 lakh, of whom 2.4 lakh declared their second language as English, and 54,000 as Hindi.
- The trends were similar for Mizo, and for various languages spoken in Nagaland, including Ao, Angami and Rengma.
- Beyond the Northeastern languages, among 68 lakh with Kashmiri as their mother tongue, 2.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 2.2 lakh who declared Hindi.
Back2Basics: Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution
- The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
- At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
- This language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
- The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
- In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
- As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the 22 languages.
‘Classical’ languages in India
Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
How are they classified?
According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
- The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
- The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms o
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Article 348
Mains level: Official language of Judiciary
A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court has asked a convict to speak only in English as that was the language in the higher judiciary referring to Article 348 of the Constitution which mandates that the language of the High Court would be English.
What is Article 348?
- It provides for languages to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts, Bills, etc
- Article 348 (1) provides that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High court shall be in English Language until Parliament by law otherwise provides.
- Under Article 348 (2), the Governor of the State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorize the use of the Hindi language or any other language used for any official purpose of the State.
- It states that in the proceedings of the High Court having its principal seat in that State provided that decrees, judgments or orders passed by such High Courts shall be in English.
When is use of other languages permitted?
- Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, provides that the use of Hindi or official language of a State in addition to the English language may be authorized.
- This has to be done with the consent of the President of India, by the Governor of the State for purpose of judgments etc. made by the High Court for that State.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Eight Schedule Languages
Mains level: Not Much
Various organizations have initiated a Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala and received an overwhelming response.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Consider the following languages:
- Gujarati
- Kannada
- Telugu
Which of the above has/have been declared as ‘Classical Language / Languages’ by the Government?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Who all speak Tulu in India now and what is its history?
- Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in two coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
- As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 Tulu-speaking people in India. Some scholars suggest Tulu is among the earliest Dravidian languages with a history of 2000 years.
- Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), in his book, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages, called Tulu “one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family”.
So what exactly is the demand by Tulu speakers?
- The Tulu speakers, mainly in Karnataka and Kerala, have been requesting the governments to give it official language status and include it in the eighth schedule to the Constitution.
- Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri are the 22 languages presently in the eighth schedule.
Tulu art, culture and cinema
- Tulu has a rich oral literature tradition with folk-song forms like paddana, and traditional folk theatre yakshagana.
- Tulu also has an active tradition of cinema with around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year.
- Tulu films are being screened every day in Mangaluru and Udupi in at least one theatre.
What is the present status of Tulu?
- According to Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy president Dayananda G Kathalsar,
- People who speak Tulu are confined to the above-mentioned regions of Karnataka and Kerala, informally known as Tulu Nadu.
- At present, Tulu is not an official language in the country.
- Efforts are being made to include Tulu in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
- If included in the eighth schedule, Tulu would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.
Back2Basics: Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution
- The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
- At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
- This language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
- The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
- In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
- As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the 22 languages.
‘Classical’ languages in India
Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
How are they classified?
According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:
- High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
- A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
- The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
- The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Issue with legal language
Context
- Recently, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court regarding the use of legal language.
- Reacting to the plea, the Supreme Court has asked the Ministry of Law and Justice and Bar Council to respond.
Wha the PIL is about?
- The PIL (Subhash Vijayran vs Union of India) wants the legislature and executive to use plain English in drafting laws, the Bar Council to introduce plain English in law curricula and the Supreme Court to only allow concise and precise pleadings.
- He begins the synopsis to the writ petition in the following way. “The writing of most lawyers is: (1) wordy, (2) unclear, (3) pompous and (4) dull.
Way forward
- When asking the Ministry of Law and Justice and Bar Council to respond, the Chief Justice of India referred to Anthony Burgess’s book (1964) Language Made Plain.
- George Orwell set out six principles, which could be used while drafting.
- Copy editors routinely use these principles, but not the judiciary.
- The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy produced a manual on plain language drafting in 2017.
Conclusion
The Ministry of Law and Justice make use of the opportunity provided by the PIC to come up with the set of principles to make the legal language easier for all.
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Eight Schedule
Mains level: Paper 2- Eighth Schedule and related issues
The article discusses the issues with excessive attention given to Hindi and how the neglect of another language could lead to the loss of language and the way of life associated with it as well.
Debate in Constituent Assembly and issues in the adoption of Hindi
- The issue of adopting a national language could not be resolved when the Constituent Assembly began drafting India’s Constitution.
- Members from the Hindi-speaking provinces who moved a number of pro-Hindi amendments and argued for adopting Hindi as the sole national language.
- Widespread resistance to the imposition of Hindi led to the passage of the Official Languages Act of 1963, which provided for the continued use of English for all official purposes.
- Hindi became the sole working language of the Union government by 1965 with the State governments free to function in the language of their choice.
- The constitutional directive for the Union government to encourage the spread of Hindi was retained within Central government entities in non-Hindi-speaking States.
Issues with the Eighth Schedule
- According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each.
- The Constitution lists 22 languages and protects them in the eighth schedule.
- Many languages are kept out of this schedule even if they deserve to be included.
- This includes Tulu which is spoken by over 1.8 million people and has inscriptions dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
- While Hindi, a much younger Indo-Aryan language, has been gaining prominence since before independence.
- When a refined language loses its status in literary and daily interactions, the way of life associated with it also vanishes.
- The Census found that while Hindi is the fastest growing language, the number of speakers of other languages has dropped.
Way forward
- While discussing Hindi and its use, let us also focus on the merit of other Indian languages.
- Instead of focusing on one national language, we should learn a language beyond the mother tongue and get to know a different way of life too.
Conclusion
If we don’t protect and promote other well-evolved or endangered and indigenous languages, our future generations may end up never understanding their ‘real’ roots and culture
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Reorganisation of States
Mains level: Paper 2- Federalism in India
The article analyses the challenges federalism in India faces and the important role played by the division of states based on the languages.
Three conceptions of nationalism in India
- Following three conceptions of nationalism were prevalent in India before independence.
- The first, the idea that a community with a strongly unified culture must have a single state of its own.
- The second saw the nation as defined by a common culture whose adherents must have a state of their own.
- But this common culture was not ethno-religious.
- It conceives common culture in terms of a strong idea of unity that marginalises or excludes other particular identities.
- A third nationalism accepts that communities nourished by distinct, territorially concentrated regional cultures have the capacity to design states of their own as also educational, legal, economic, and other institutions.
- This may be called a coalescent nationalism consistent with a fairly strong linguistic federalism.
- The central state associated with it is not multi-national.
- At best, it is a multi-national state without labels, one that does not call itself so; a self-effacing multi-national state.
Suspicion of linguistic identities
- After Partition, the Indian ruling class began to view with suspicion the political expression of even linguistic identities.
- It was feared that federation structured along ethno-linguistic lines might tempt politicians to mobilise permanently on the basis of language.
- The second fear was about an increase in the likelihood of inter-ethnic violence, encourage separatism and eventually lead to India’s break up.
- Thus, when the Constitution came into force in 1950, India adopted unitary, civic nationalism as its official ideology.
Formation of states on linguistic basis and its implications
- A unitary mindset shaped by the experience of a centralised colonial state was resurrected.
- The second tier of government was justified in functional terms, not on ethical grounds of the recognition of group cultures.
- Following the Committee’s recommendations, States were reorganised in 1956.
- India slowly became a coalescent nation-state, moving from the ‘holding together’ variety to what is called the ‘coming together’ form of (linguistic) federalism.
- This meant that regional parties were stronger than earlier in their own regions and at the centre.
- This let to more durable centre because it was grounded more on the consent and participation of regional groups that, at another level, were also self-governing.
- Indian federalism also attempted to remove its rigidities by incorporating asymmetries in the relation between the Centre and different States.
- Treating all States as equals required the acknowledgement of their specific needs and according them differential treatment.
Conclusion
Coalescent nationalism has served India well, benefiting several groups in India. True, it has not worked as well in India’s border areas such as the North-east and Kashmir. But their problems can only be resolved by deepening not abandoning coalescent nationalism.
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
Prelims level: Tulu language and its region in India.
Mains level: Paper 2-Official languages of the union and the states.
Context
With numerous languages in the country, placing all deserving languages on an equal footing will promote social inclusion and national solidarity.
Figures and facts
- According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each.
- It also has 122 languages that are spoken by at least 10,000 people each.
- It also has 1,599 languages, most of which are dialects.
- These are restricted to specific regions and many of them are on the verge of extinction.
- Article 29 provides every citizens of India with a distinct culture, language, and script, the right to conserve the same.
- It is the responsibility of both the state and the citizens of this distinct language, script or culture to preserve the same.
Eighth schedule and Tulu language
- Sanskrit has 24,821 speakers and it is in the Eighth Schedule according to the 2011 Census.
- However, many languages with sizeable speakers are not in the schedule.
- Bhili/Bhilodi has 1,04,13,637 speakers. Garo has 11,45,323 speakers, Ho has 14,31,344 speakers.
- Tulu is a Dravidian language whose speakers are concentrated in two coastal districts of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district of Kerala.
- The Tulu language speakers are larger in numbers than Sanskrit and Manipuri which included in the Eighth Schedule.
- The cities of Mangaluru, Udupi, and Kasaragod are the epicenter of Tulu culture.
What are the benefits of being on the Eighth Schedule
- Tulu would get recognition from Sahitya Academy.
- The book in Tulu would get translated into other recognised Indian languages.
- The MP’s and MLA’s could speak in Tulu in the Parliament and Assemblies.
- Candidates could write all-India competitive examination like the Civil Services exam in Tulu.
Yuelu Proclamation
- It was made by UNESCO at Changsha, The People’s Republic of China, in 2018.
- It says the protection and promotion of linguistic diversity help to improve social inclusion and partnerships.
- It helps reduce the gender and social inequality between different native speakers.
- It guarantee the rights for native speakers of endangered, minority, indigenous languages, as well as non-official languages and dialects to receive education, enhance the social inclusion level and social decision-making ability by encouraging them to participate in a series of actions to promote cultural diversity, endangered language protection, and the protection of intangible cultural heritage.
Conclusion
- Tulu, along with other deserving languages, should be included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution in order to substantially materialise the promise of equality of status and opportunity mentioned in the Preamble.
