In May 1963, Anna had stressed in Parliament, I speak for English not because I am enamored of it, but because it is the most convenient tool, it is the most convenient medium which distributes advantages or disadvantages evenly. He added, If the British were to remain here and say, take it (English), then we will have to resist it. But now there is no question of imposition of English by the British. Instead, in independent India, the consequence of the imposition of Hindi as the official language will create a definite, permanent and sickening advantage to the Hindi-speaking States. Moreover, he wanted Nehrus three-part assurance to be incorporated in the Constitution, holding that a mere law passed by a majority vote in a Parliament heavily dominated by the Congress could just as easily be changed. Nor, at the other end of the spectrum, was there satisfaction that Hindi-speaking provinces were obliged indefinitely to receive and respond in English to correspondence from the Centre or other states. As Vajpayee put it, English will not be forced on Hindi provinces and added, We do not want to impose Hindi but we will not allow English to be imposed. (Rajya Sabha, 22/2/65). Later, he argued, If Tamil is used in Madras, Marathi in Bombay, Bengali in Calcutta, will English keep hanging on in New Delhi like Trishanku? (RS, 12/12/67). For the first fifteen years of the Republic, argument was heated in Parliament and the media but the streets were spared agitation and violence. Then, since the DMK felt that Hindi zealots were determined to use the fifteenth year of the Republic to ram through Hindi as the sole official language, they declared Republic Day, 1965 as a Day of Mourning. The Congress government in Madras cracked down on the DMK leadership. Arresting one and all, it opened the way to a student take-over of the movement, with two young men resorting to the hitherto unknown tactic of setting themselves on fire in protest. The situation was defused only by Indira Gandhi courageously rushing to the middle of the melee in Madras, much to the annoyance of Lal Bahadur Shastri, but with that one move, and the reassuring words she spoke to the Tamils, raging violence was ended and the debate brought back to the floor of the Houses of Parliament. When Parliament reconvened for the Budget session in February 1965, just as the riots were petering out in consequence of Indira Gandhis bold initiative, Vajpayee clarified that he was against forcing Hindi on any non-Hindi province and added, The decision to bring Indian languages is a revolutionary decision, but if it endangers the national unity the non-Hindi States may continue English. (Modi, please note). That set the stage for reflecting on further amending the 1963 Act to respond to continuing Tamil concerns. (Cooperative federalism at its best: will Modi please take note?) Government brought the required amendment to the House in December 1967, with Indira Gandhi intervening to warn, Language is becoming a wall dividing people from each other, a source of conflict. If this debate creates discord, then neither Hindi nor any other language will be promoted. (Modi, please also note!) Underlining that there are seven states that do not want Hindi to be imposed on them, she urged that the passage of this Bill [Official Languages (Amendment) Act, 1967] is necessary to remove all apprehensions from the minds of the people of the South and of the non-Hindi-speaking regions(LS, 5/12/67). Thus, was a compromise reached that has endured for the better part of four decades. To unravel that concord, as the Modi governments blunder in its first month in office indicated, is, indeed, to endanger the national unity. Moreover, it will not do for the Moditva Union government to concentrate on propagating Hindi alone. It will have to answer the question posed by Era Sezhiyan to Vajpayee in 1967 when Vajpayee argued that there were Hindi Prachar Sabhas in all South Indian states: Is there one Tamil Prachar Sabha in UP? Is there one Malayalam Prachar Sabha in Madhya Pradesh? Answer! Thanks Mani Shankar Aiyar TIMES NOW Headlines Today CNN-IBN NDTV The Times of India The Hindu
Posted on: Sat, 28 Jun 2014 17:00:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015