CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIA - VOLUME IX
Tuesday, the 13th September 1949
Then there is the question of accepting Sanskrit as the national language.
If all the South Indian friends and others accept Sanskrit, I would have
no objection and would accept it. Of course, there is the apprehension
that Sanskrit is a difficult language, and it will take a long time to
learn it, but this is a different matter. The Hindi speaking areas are
in a majority, hence Hindi should be adopted as the national language.
But the effect of this should not be the extinction of the various provincial
languages and their literatures. Every provincial, language should be protected
and the Commission or the Committee formed in this connection should take
care of it.
In the end I would only say that those who advocate the use of Roman
script do not understand the very principles regarding the genesis of the
script. The Sound of the language, which is used to express it, is formed
into the script : When written in Roman script, Hindi is difficult to understand
and cannot be pronounced correctly. Hence, I say, the Roman script is totally
unacceptable : it is ugly and has no scientific basis. Hindi written in
Devanagri script is most scientific and should be accepted.]
The Honourable Shri N. V. Gadgil (Bombay: General): Mr. President, I
do not want to make a long speech. From what I heard yesterday and this
morning in this House and from what I see in the List consisting of 350
amendments, including one, to my discredit I should say, from me, I am
impelled to make an appeal to the House to rise to the occasion and end
this controversy.
Sir, the amendments range from the acceptance of Sanskrit as the national
language to the retention of English for at least one century more. In
this context, I do feel that the sense of responsibility with which we
have so far carried on the deliberations on far more important topics should
be appealed to.
As I analyse the proposition moved by my esteemed Friend Shri Gopalaswami
Ayyangar, I think that that is the best in the circumstances. It does not
mean that that is the right one under the circumstances. But let us not
aspire to solve all the problems simultaneously. Let us leave some of them
to the next generation to solve ten or fifteen years hence. What I find
is that certain broad principles or broad facts clearly emerge from this
proposition. No. I is that there is a fair measure of agreement on the
fact that Hindi should be the official language of the Union. I think a
declaration of that kind is an achievement. I find also the important fact
that the script should be Devanagri. I think to have one script for the
official language throughout the Union territory is also on achievement.
I further find, Sir, that there is a spirit of give-and-take in this
proposition in as much as an interim period of fifteen years is contemplated
during which those whose mother-tongue is not Hindi will have an opportunity
to pick up Hindi and get themselves familiarised with it.
After all, the only difference that I find from the various amendments
and the speeches relates to the numerals. It will be a sad tragedy if we
were tohang the unity and solidarity of this Country on the cross of numerals.
I therefore appeal to my Hindi friends with whom I agree in theory-but
being a practical man-somebody has credited me with being a politician-I
appeal to them to leave something to the next generation; Let the future
solve this question of numerals. I do not think. it is such an insurmountable
thing that it cannot be solved, given the necessary goodwill, but in the
present context where I find a good deal of emotion and passion and play
of personalities also, whatever efforts we may make now, instead of bringing
the parties together, they win result in something contrary. I therefore
appeal in particular to my esteemed Friend, Shri Purushottam Das Tandon
that like a big brother he must make a gesture. Hindi today admittedly
is a provincial language.
Mr. President :I request the speaker to make no personal
reference. It places the gentleman referred to in an awkward position.
The Honourable Shri N. V. Gadgil: I accept your ruling and (he reference
may be deleted from the proceedings. After all, Hindi is a provincial language.
There are languages in which literature is far more rich, and yet we have
accepted Hindi as the national language. That itself is a great achievement
for the Hindi people, and if you want to persuade others, the best way
is not with the strength of your voting numbers but by persuasion, by tactfully
handling the situation; if in the course of the next ten or fifteen years
the Hindi people were to approach the non-Hindi people through the, various
means of propaganda, I have not the slightest doubt that those people who
have taken to English in the course of the last century and a half, will
not fail to take to Hindi.
After all, there is not a single Indian who, if he is asked whether
he would have English or any of the Indian languages, will vote for English,
instead of any one of the Indian languages including his own mother-tongue.
So, let the Hindi people go about their task with hope and faith just as
they have done in the past and win over the rest by propaganda, not in
an aggressive manner but in a persuasive manner. The proposition that has
been moved itself provides the procedure whereby what they desire can be
achieved, in a much better way than exists today.
In the course of the last three years we have not taken any important
decision by going into the lobby. Let us not depart from that record. Let
the world know that on all important questions, those which constitute
the foundations of the Constitution, the decisions here were taken unanimously.
If the decision today is taken unanimously, it will not leave any feeling
of bitterness; but, as I said, if the Hindi people who constitute a majority
in the country and also perhaps in this House, make that gesture, I think
the judgment of history will be to their credit. I do not want to take
up the time of the House further, but I do hope that what I have suggested
will be acceptable to the House.
Shri T. A. Ramalingam Chettiar (Madras: General) : Mr. President, Sir,
this is a very difficult question for us from the South to solve. It probably
means life and death for the South. unless it is going to be handled in
the way in which it ought to be done. Well, Sir, for us coming from the
South to go back and face our people with any decision you are going to
make here, you will see what it will mean. I have been told by friends
of the North that if they were to yield on the question of numerals, they
will be twitted by their voters and that they will find their life difficult
when they go for elections. What will it be like when we, giving up our
own languages, adopt the language of the North, go back to our provinces
and face our electorates ? They do not seem to care for out position. Sir
I have great admiration for the Hindi people for their great patriotism
and the perseverance and the pesistence with whichthey are enforcing their
decisions, but at the same time they will have to realise that we too may
have some patriotism like that, we may have some patriotism and love for
our language, for our literature and things like that.
After all, where do we stand ? We have got languages which are better
cultivated and which have greater literature than Hindi in our areas. If
we are going to accept Hindi, it is not on account of the excellence of
the language, it is not on account of its being the richest language or
on account of its being, as it has been claimed for Sanskrit, the mother
of other languages and things like that. It is not that at all. It is merely
on account of the existence of a large number of people speaking Hindi,
not even a majority of the population of the country, but only among the
languages which are spoken in India, Hindi claims probably the largest
number of people. It is only on that basis that they are claiming that
Hindi should be accepted as the official language of the whole country.
Well, Sir, being
practical, we do not claim that our languages which are better cultivated,
which have got better literature, which are ancient, which have been there
for millenniums, should be adopted.
Mr. President : May I make a request to the Members that we should not
compare the literatures of different languages. I do not know whether any
Member here knows the literature of the different languages that are prevalent
in the country and when any Member says that his own language and literature
is richer than that of this language or that language, he propounds a proposition
which cannot be accepted, and the thing is not carried any further by that
kind of argument. Let us confine ourselves to propositions which are ordinarily
an generally acceptable and not enter into controversies which can be avoided.
Prof. N. G. Ranga (Madras : General): How is it possible to make out
your case unless you compare one with the other.
Mr. President : You may make up your mind but do not say so.
Prof. N. G. Ranga : I do not think it is reasonable.
Shri T. A. Ranialingam Chettiar : Anyhow, I was saying that the claim
of Hindi is not based on its literature, its antiquity or anything like
that. Well, Sir, such being the position, I want the Hindi speaking brethren
sitting here to consider whether they I are justified in making the claim
for everything they want and putting us, coming from the South, in the
false position which we will occupy if we are going to accept all their
claims. That is the things which I want them to consider and consider deeply.
Sir, on account of the realities of the situation, as I said, we have
accepted Hindi in Nagari script as the official language. I however said
that you cannot use the word national language, because Hindi is no more
national to us than, English or any other language. We have got our own
languages which are national languages and for which we have got the same
love as the Hindi speaking people have got for their language. We have
agreed to Accept Hindi and the Nagari character as the official language.
and script because, as I said, that language claims a larger number of
people speaking it than any other language in India. If, for that reason
alone, you are going to say that you ought to change over tomorrow, if
you are to claim that it ought to be adopted As the official language today
or tomorrow. I think it would not be accepted by the people. It would lead
not only to frustration and disappointment"-'but something worse.
I may say that the South is feeling frustrated. If there is the feeling
of having obtained liberty, freedom and all that, there is very little
of it felt inthe South. Sir, coming here to the capital in the northern-most
part of the country, and feeling ourselves as strangers in this laud, we
do not feel that we are a nation to whom the whole thing belongs, and that
the whole country is ours. Unless steps are taken to make the people in
the South feel that they have something to do with the country, and that
there is some sort of unity in the country, I do not think the South is
going to be satisfied at all. There will be a bitter feeling left behind.
To what it may lead, it is not easy to say at present.
I have been saying that one of the most important questions is the question
of the capital of India. The question is a very important one. People laugh
at it sometimes; they do not know the seriousness of the matter. When a
man has to come two thousand miles and do his things here, he naturally
feels that he is not in his own land. He feels as if it is a strange country
to which he has come. In the social life of Delhi, how many Madrasis have
got a share, I ask the question. I have been here for the last two or three
years; I know very few people in Delhi or U.P. That is the state of affairs.
Unless things are made easier for the South, unless the capital is taken
to a place, which will common ground for all people, which would not be
claimed by the U.P. or the Punjab as their territory, the Southerners will
feel that they are going to a strange land. It has
been said the other day that the Madrasis are holding positions. Does
it show that there is any nationalism here ? Why should not Madrasis hold
position if the Punjabis and people from the U.P. are not able to fill
up those positions ? After all, if you claim that you have made progress
within the last two years, is it not those people who are now at the helm
of affairs that have contributed to that'? Sir, such things are not going
to lead to unity.
This question of language is much more important than even the question
of capital, the question of offices and things like that, If you are going
to impose. anything and leave a feeling that you are going to impose it
on other people, whether it is a real imposition or not, whether as a matter
of fact, as somebody said, it is the natural course to which we have come
and we could not avoid it, even if it is so, if there is this feeling that
there is this imposition, of the North over the South, it will lead to
very bitter results. I do not want to say anything by way of telling my
friends in the North that things will go wrong, But at the same time, I
think it is necessary for them to realise that, after all when we want
to five together and form a united nation, there should be mutual adjustment
and no question of forcing things on people who may or may not want it.
After all, what is it that we have asked for ? We asked for time for
preparation. That is the first thing that we wanted. It was agreed to by
the leaders on the other side. They said that they will allow fifteen years
for preparation. What does the draft say? The draft goes back upon it.
In the clause it says, for fifteen years English will continue, In, the
second clause, it says there will be appointed a Commission or a Committee
after five years and the Committee will recommend for what purposes Hindi
can be introduced and the President may issue orders- accordingly. What
does it mean ? At least with reference to these matters with reference
to which order will be issued, the term of fifteen years has been cut down
to five. Then you say, after ten years, you are going to appoint another
Commission and that Commission is to report and on that report, orders
will be passed. What does this mean ? You are only saying that you are
allowing fifteen years; but at the end of five years, and at the end of
ten years, you are going to introduce Hindi with the natural result that
we who are not able to take our part in the administration, in the Government,
in the legislature and elsewhere will not be in a position to take our
share because we are not prepared by that time. Itis only giving a hope
in the first portion of the section and taking away that hope and giving
us mere stones in the latter portion of the draft.
I do not know who is responsible for the draft. I have no doubt that
Mr. Gopalaswami Ayyangar has come out to propose it. But, I for instance
cannot at all accept it unless the fifteen years period is made real and
not merely chimerical by the introduction of these Committees and Commissions
and changes which are expected after the fifth year and the tenth year.
That is the main thing with which we in the South will be concerned.
The South is the only part of the country probably which does not feel
that it is going to come into line with the other provinces soon, especially
my part of the country where Tamil is the language spoken. We have been
priding ourseleves that we have had nothing to do with Sanskrit. We do
not claim that Tamil is derived from Sanskrit, or is based on Sanskrit
in any way. We have been trying to keep our vocabulary as pure as possible
without the admixture of Sanskrit. Now, we have, to go back upon all that.
We have to take words from Sanskrit; we have to change our whole course
of action. What it means to the people who have been brought tip in their
own language, who have been priding themselves that their language has
been independent of Sanskrit, and that that is the only language which
can stand against Sanskrit, you have to consider. In that position, we
are to prepare
ourselves first with reluctance to give up our old position and take
to a study of Hindi or Sanskrit. You will have first to educate the people,
I mean make them reconcile themselves to the new order of things. Then,
they will have to take to the study of Hindi, to enable them to take their
place here among those whose mother tongue is Hindi.
Not only that, you are permanently handicapping us. Those whose mother
tongue is Hindi they learn only Hindi. But, we in the South, we have got
to study not only Hindi but also our own mother tongue; we-cannot give
up our mother tongue. There is also the regional language; we have to study
that. Permanently, for ever, you are handicapping us by this arrangement.
You in the North will have to realise what sacrifice we are making.
After all, what do we ask for in return ? We say, do not complicate
matters by having not only the script, but also the numerals. The numerals
are being used for purposes of accounts, for purposes of statistics and
other things. You want to take away not only the language and the script,
but also the numerals. You say that our accounts will have to be kept hereafter
in the Hindi numerals if you are going to produce them before the Income-tax
authorities. Sir, we have been habituated to these numerals for ever so
long a time. After all, the question of numerals is not a question which
concerns the South alone. It is a matter of convenience and it is a matter
on which people both in India and outside are concerned; statistics have
to go outside, Things have to be put in the accounts and sciences in a
particular numeral. If you are going to say you have to adopt Hindi numeral,
what are you going to do for other purpose? If you are to study anything
from outside whether science, banking or anything else, everything will
appear in other books only in the international numerals.
After all what is the objection to international numerals ? It is only
on the ground that we ought to have 100 per cent. Hindi, because you have
agreed to adopt the Hindi language in the Hindi script, you better adopt
the Hindi numerals also. You do not care what results from that. After
an, the whole world is adopting international numerals. Why should you
fight shy because you want to dominate the whole of India ?it is much more
the spirit that actuates the people that is so difficult to meet. It is
not even the things that are said-we have given up our language in favour
of Hindi-but the way in which the Hindi speaking people treat us and the
way in which they want to demand things that is more galling than anything
which actually is done or is going to be done. That is the way in which
it is said of course you ought to accept'. That is the thing that exasperates
us. I appeal to the North Indian people not to take up that attitude, to
have a feeling that we are all living together in a common country, we
have to create a nation-there is no such thing now-and that unless there
is give and take, unless they are also prepared to adjust themselves and
not demand every. body to adjust according to their dictates. It is only
then that India can proceed and ran be successful and form a united nation.
Otherwise I shudder to think what may be the future for us. There ought
to be accommodation. I need not say that history has taught us that if
there is trouble the outlying places will always try to take advantage
of the trouble. We have the example of Burma and other countries. Supposing
tomorrow there is some difficulty here, what will be the position? Unless
you weld the nation and you make everybody feel that they have got a share
in the country and it is their country, unless you do that, if you go on
keeping the spirit of domination of one part over the other, I am sure
the result is not going to be for the progress or for the safety of the
country. Sir, with these words I appeal again to the Hindi speaking people
to give up their attitude of domination and of dictation and to adjust
themselves.
Shri Satis Chandra Samanta (West Bengal : General) : Mr. President,
Sir, I have
moved amendments Nos. 223 and 278. In 223, I have proposed that Bengali
should be taken as the official or national language of India. As regards
language, children-learn language even in the laps of their mother and
the language they talk is called the mother-tongue. Everybody loves his
mother-tongue. Now we are in need of an official language, a national language
for the administration of our country. So, there should be no controversy
about the mother-tongues and languages used in different regions and so
I have no grudge against any of the languages but I respectfully submit
to put the case of Bengali before this august House for their favourable
Consideration.
Bengali is a rich language; it has a long history; it has an ancient
and a brilliant literature; it has its philology and the like. So it will
not be out of place to put the case of Bengali for the acceptance of House.
I know most of my friends are bent upon taking up a language which will
be more intelligible to the people of India. I would say that only intelligibility
to the largest number should not be the criterion, other things also should
be taken into consideration. We are taking a language to be our official
language or a national language and we should expect which it that we should
try to make it one of the international languages. So if we have that point
in mind viz., that we should make out national language an international
language,-then we must see which of the languages of India has some place
at least in the international world. I would submit that Bengali is taught
in foreign Universities such as Oxford, Warsaw where Ravindrology is taught
in Harvard in the U.S.A. It has also been recognised in language institution
in Paris, Munich, Moscow and in Rome. So I submit that Bengali has some
international connections. The vocabulary of Bengali should now be taken
into consideration.
There is the question of scientific terminology, Shri P. C. Ray, Jagadanda
Roy, of Santi Niketan the late Principal G. C. Bose of Banga Basi College
Ramendra Sundar Trivedi and others tried their best and coined scientific
terminologies in Bengali. There is a monthly magazine known as Gyan Vigyandevoted
to the development of such scientific and technical terms. The Bengali
language has all these things.
Over and above these, I would beg of you to consider the case of our
revered poet Guru Dev, Shri Rabindranath Tagore. It was he who established
the Viswabharathi and in that institution, he has made arrangements for
the teaching of Bengali and all the other languages of India and even for
some languages of other countries. Rabindranath's name is well-known to
one and all not only in India, but all the world over. There is not a single
man or woman here in this House who does not know this name. Rabindranath's
lyrics and songs are learnt and sung by all. They have been translated
into the various languages of the world and they have been treasured by
all of them. In Calcutta University almost all the Indian languages are
taught even in Post-Graduate classes.
Another thing I would draw your attention to, is this. We are now a
free nation and in our freedom's struggle, we were all inspired by that
great song Bande Mataram; for this Mantram thousands have made sacrifice.
For Bande Mataram thousands have sacrificed their property and all. This
song inspired one and all in India and this Mantra was given to us by Bankim
Chandra Chatterjee in his Ananda Math". So I would invite your hearts and
mind to this fact, when you are going to select your national and official
language.
Sir, I have no quarrel with any one, language I would beg of you to
see that Bengali contains Arabic, Turkish and Persian words right from
1200 A. D. Later on it has drawn on from Portugeese, French, English languages.
Though originally Bengali was Prakrit, and therefore it contains a lot
of Sanskrit words, it has grown by drawing from all these other language
also. I would beg I would beg of you to consider this also when you are
selecting the official and national language.
Time-honoured customs, culture, literature--all these are there in Bengali.
I would also add that Bengali has advanced in another direction also.
It has got Bengali typewriting machine. The Bengali typewriting machine
has been made by Shri Suresh Chandra Mazumdar of Ananda Bazar an honourable
Friend of mine of this august House. There has been Bengali shorthand from
1915. So official work can easily be carried on in this language. It will
be quite suitable for such work in India.
Sir, a lot of controversy has been going on and I do not want to enter
into any of them. I put forward before you the case of Bengali and I may
say that for my part I am ready to accept the language which will be accepted
by the overwhelming majority of this House. But it should not be less than
three-fourth of the House, because if it is less, then there will be controversy
and the people will not accept that language heartily. It is true that
those people who will have to learn the national language will be put to
some difficulty. We Indians have suffered so much and sacrified so much
for attaining freedom for our country. Can you not suffer a bit for the
national language of our land We should, and everybody should, be prepared
to make that little sacrifice. The responsibility lies on us. We should
select that language which will be acceptable to all and for which they
will be prepared to make a little sacrifice. Sanskrit has been mentioned.
Hindi has been mentioned. I am not going to say anything against them,
because every language should be respected. I would request friends here
not to get into controversies but to put their cases safely and justly
so that the language selected may be acceptable to all of us. With these
words, Sir, I commend my proposition for acceptance of the House.
Shri Algu Rai Shastri (United Provinces : General) : *[Mr. President,
with your permission, Sir, I beg to move a small amendment to the amendment
---------------------------------------------------------------------
*[ ] Translation of Hindustani speech.
moved by Shri Gopalaswami Ayyanger and request the House kindly to accept
the same. My
amendment runs thus
“That in amendment No. 65 above for the proposed new Part XIV-A, the
following be :substituted :
‘New Part XIV-A 301(1) The official language of the Union shall be Hindi
in Devanagari script.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) of this article,
it shall be open to the government of the Union to use English for the
purpose for which it has been in use all these years. during a transition
period extending over fifteen years at the most.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Government of the Union to encourage
the progressive use of Hindi in Devanagari script in Government affairs
in such a manner that after the end of the said transition period of 15
years Hindi may replace English completely’.”
You will find that the amendment moved by Shri Gopalaswami Ayyangar
is so lengthy that it constitutes a volume in itself. We are going to frame
a Constitution and a Constitution should embody only fundamental principles.
Article 99, as originally drafted by the Drafting Committee, briefly stated
that the language of the Parliament shall be Hindi or English. The question
was dealt therein in a very few words. But the amendment moved by Shri
Gopalaswami Ayyangar contains many extraneous matters. When I read in the
original article drafted by the Drafting Committee for the first time these
few words contained in it, that the language used in Parliament shall be
Hindi or English, it made me think that the whole question of language
had been put in clear and definite terms.
English of course had become indispensable to us only for the reason
that our country had been under the yoke of British imperialism for the
last two centuries and the alien ruler’ imposed his language on us during
that period, This imposed language dominated every aspect of the life of
our country and became supreme of course in central administration. Even
today it appears to be occupying a very
prominent position. Till recently English held a dominating position
in our country.
When we started the movement for our freedom, we had an ideal before
us. What was that ideal? What was the objective for which we launched the
struggle for freedom?’ We wanted complete freedom from the British domination,
we wanted swaraj (self government). We had visualised a picture of ‘Swaraj’.
This word ‘Swaraj’ is a Sanskrit word and it has become current in Hindi
also in its original, sense. It has a very comprehensive meaning. It means
‘self’ that is one’s individuality, personality are all included in this
word. Politically it implies that we are one nation and one country.
We have a common and ancient history. We have a common language having
a rich literature of its own. This Vedic Sanskrit-the ancient form of our
language-was for long in dominant use in our country. But a language never
remains stationary. Our language also underwent some changes. But this
was what happened in the case of all other languages. Thus the ancient
form of the English language which is being so much extolled here every
day was not the same as that is today. I have just read a book from which
I find that in olden days the word ‘King’ was spelt as ‘Kynge’ and was
pronounced in a different way. The ancient style of English was also very
much different from the modern style. There were only a limited number
of words in English. Some specimens of that English can be found in what
Karl Marx wrote about the Industrial Revolution in Britain. An historian
has depicted the deplorable condition of the villages in England when the
lands of the peasants were acquired in order to promote the trade of wool
in foreign countries and farms for rearing sheep were established on them.
an event on which the famous book”Deserted Village” was written. Some extracts
from the history have been, taken by Karl Marx in order to give a picture
of their conditions and these ex-tracts are to found in his famous book
“Das Kapital”.. The language in which the condition of their English village
is depicted provides us with a beautiful specimen of English used in those
days.
The language current in those days bears no relation to the modern English.
There is a wide difference between the style of ancient English and that
adopted Ruskin, Dickens, Shakespeare, and Milton. It is thus plain that
language never remains static. It is changing and developing. Similarly
the language which we are going to make the national language of the land
has descended from the very Vedic Sanskrit which was at one time a living
language and was for centuries occupying a place of honour in our country.
We had been aspiring to recapture our fundamental and real self. The
rose plant of our national life had so long remained buried deep under
the ice of subjugation. Its leaves had withered, its flowers were dry and
dead. Only one of its stems-I mean language-had some life left in it. But
even in the darkest hour we knew that spring would return, we were sure
that the ice of Subjugation will melt and our rosy life would bloom again,
and we knew that the plant of our life would send forth beautiful rose
flowers of its own. Our country had remained for centuries under foreign
rule. Our rich and fertile plans were invaded by foreigners many a time;
ultimately we lost our freedom and became slaves of the foreigners. We
have always been making an effort to throw off the yoke of foreign rule.
The national movement for freedom was but an aspect of this perennial effort
of our people.
The movement for liberating ourselves which our people have carried
on had a long history. The last phase of our armed efforts for liberation
was the battle that we were forced to fight against the British Imperialist
in 1857. The movement of 1857, known as the mutiny, was but an expression
of that striving of our people for freedom. While the Objectives Resolution
was being discussed in this House I had said that that movement of 1857
had been fertilised by the blood of such martyrs as the Rani of Jhansi
and Bahadur Shah, the
Begums of the Nawab of Oudh and Tippu Sultan, Tantia Tope and Nana Farnavis.
Ultimately the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi had made it possible for
us to witness that dawn of freedom in which we had assembled to pay our
homage to the great departed and sin,, the songs of our freedom. Now that
we have attained sivaraj it should be possible for our ‘swa’ (self) to
manifest itself. It is a matter of deep regret that there are some people
here today who say that we have no language of Our own and that in fact
we have nothing in common and that we have to create and develop all these
things anew. But I would like to tell them that we do possess a language
that is common to us, that is understood by a large number of people of
this country. At least that is my experience.
In 1942 while returning from Bombay I had to rush straight to the Frontier
Province. Khan brothers arc not here amongst us and I may add that their
absence is a source of agony to our hearts. But I had on that occasion
the pleasure of meeting, the Khan brothers in a camp on the bank of river
Sarab. What do you think was the language in which I carried on my conversations
and talks with the common volunteers in that camp ? It was not Pushto.
It was in no circumstances English. Will it surprise you what I tell you
that it was simple Hindi-the Hindi in which I am at present addressing
the House-that I talked with the volunteers and I found that they understood
my Hindi quite well. Previously in 1928, I had accompanied Lal Lajpat Raito
Madras; I may inform you that there also I had talked to the people in
Hindi, for- the very simple reason that I am not accustomed to speak in
English. Is it necessary for me to say that all those with whom I had occasion
to talk understood my Hindi well and it may surprise some of my friends
to learn that people there also talked in Hindi with me ?
During the Congress session of Cocanada, the annual session of the Hindi
Sahitya Sammelan was also held there under the Presidentship of the late
Shri Jamanalal Bajaj. I had there the occasion to hear a recitation of
Hindi poem by some local girls. Perhaps a better recitation than that cannot
be given even by the people of northern India.
What I mean to convey is that Hindi is understood in every province
and we are pledged to make is our national language. It was Mahatmaji who
gave birth and inspiration to this idea. We wanted that we should be free
and that the English should go away from our land. We had hoped that with
the departure of the English people their language would also disappear
from this land and that we would be able to use our language in place of
English. We had not learnt English voluntarily. It was introduced here
under the scheme prepared by Lord Macaulay. The alien rulers wanted cheap
‘clerks and to this end English was taught us. Those who learnt this language
at the initial stage of its introduction came in close contact with the
administration and the government and this, as was natural created a love
in them for English.
We had thought that with the arrival of freedom, our dress, our language,
will regain their lost position and that freedom in its wake would bring
new ideas, sentiments and inspiration to us. The dawn of independence has
actually brought all this with it :
One who loves his language, dress and diet will never fall into the
subjection of others. There was a natural longing in the people’s mind
to bring the national language to its own in free India.
The question may be asked as to what is our national language. There
is no doubt that Sanskrit is the mother of all the languages spoken in
India. An of them are derived from Sanskrit; for their vocabulary they
have drawn upon Sanskrit which is an inexhaustible source of words. But
Sanskrit, the mother of the current Indian languages, cannot be enthroned
today on the pedestal of the national language. Its eldest and the seniormost
daughter alone can today be the national language. There are many other
people, Sir, in this country, but God has bestowed upon you the ability
to adorn
this high office and we earnestly wish you to be the first President
of the Indian Republic. Who doesnot aspire for this office? But everybody
has not the merit to occupy this august office. If we want that the President
of the first Constituent Assembly of India should be the first President
of the Indian Republic, does that mean that we are making any exaggerated
claims or that we are giving vent to avarice ?]
Mr. President: *[The Honourable member is talking beside the, point.]
Shri Algu Rai Shastri: *[Discussion as to what should be our. national
language, implies our acceptance, of the fact that English cannot be our
national language. Now the question arises as to which one of the languages
current in the country can be made the national language of our State.
Hindi alone has acquired an inter-provincial status. A majority of the
people of the country speak Hindi.
———————————————————————
* [ ] Translation of Hindustani speech.
Some non-Hindi speaking friends have claimed that their literature is
richer than ours. I may concede that claim, but can they honestly say that
the number of the people speaking their language is greater than that of
those who speak Hindi. If the answer be in the negative, I would like to
ask them, which course wouldbe more proper whether to replace English by
a language and a script that is spoken and written by a majority of the
people or by some other language? Hindi has rivalry with English alone.
It has no rivalry with Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Canarese or Pushto or any
other language. The English Government has gone, II. English Governor-General
and Governors have gone. Now an Indian Governor-General and Governors have
been appointed In this context it is but fit that an Indian language should
also take the place of English here.
Having due consideration for all the relevant factors relating to a
language, I mean simplicity and intelligibility, etc., etc. Hindi alone
can be. the national language of our State. The supporters of Hindi have
no quarrel or hostility with any one. They support Hindi only because Hindi
alone can claim to be the’ most popular and widely spoken language in India.
I fail to see why any one should feel in his heart that the Hindi speaking
people want to impose Hindi on non-Hindi people ? There is no question
of imposition. It is the House or the Drafting Committee that have suggested
that Hindi shall be the Official language of the State and the Parliament.
If this is taken to be imposition, it is not from us rather it is from
the House or the Drafting ,Committee.
Other Indian languages have not acquired an all-India position, they
are confined to their own regions. May be that some of them are spoken
by a few people outside their regions also, but no other language has acquired
an all India importance, Hindi is spoken in U.P., Bihar C.P., Madhya Bharat,
Rajputana and Peshawar. It is understood in almost every province. A language
that is so widely spoken mut be made the national-language of the Indian
Union.
The credit for making Hindi the official language of the Union does
not go to us the Hindi speaking people, but in fact it goes to others,
who though they cannot speak Hindi fluently, have no command and control
over Hindi and have not had any long practice in its use yet admit that
Hindi is simple and intelligible.
It may not be out of place if I mention a few of the merits of Hindi
script. One of my Friends here has suggested that we should adopt Roman-script.
He is a learned man, who can doubt the learning of my honourable Friend,
Shri Anthony ? But we should consider every aspect of this script. There
are two kinds of script one the shorthand script and the other ordinary
or longhand script. It is necessary in the longhand script that a word
be written exactly in the way it is pronounced so that there may not be
any mistake about its correct pronunciation. That is. the most characteristic
feature of the ordinary or longhand script. But in a shorthand script different
devices are
adopted to represent the greatest number of words with the minimum number
of signs.
We begin the primary education of our children with our script etc.
If we say but use it to represent the sound of it would be an unscientific
method and we will be imparting a wrong training to our children, if we
adopt this method. A B C D etc. are the alphabets of the Roman script.
We use A & B to represent the sound of Similarly the letter C is used
to represent the sound of This is not at all scientific. Rather it is an
atrocious script. This is a very sericus defeat in the Roman script.The
Pitman’s shorthand system has also adopted, as the reporters here are well
aware, a script based on phonetic system of the Hindi script. Pitman adopted
the phonetic arrangement of the letters for formulating his system. The
shorthand reporters have found that arrangement to be very easy and have
adopted it.
Therefore, the controversy regarding the script should end. So far as
script is concerned, Roman or any other script can bear no comparison to
the Hindi script. The Hindi script stands far superior to any other script.
As I have already said the letters of a script should have a definite and
intelligible phonetic basis.
From this point of view the Urdu script also is found to have the same
defect that is found in Roman script. There the pronunciation of letter
and the sound they represent are quite different. The letter ‘Alif’ is
used to represent the sound of ; we pronounce ‘Lam’ but this letter represents
the sound of. If we have to write ‘Lokat” we will use the letters ‘Lam’,
‘Wav’, ‘Kaf’, ‘Alif’ and ‘Tey’. The pronunciation of letters, in Urdu have
no relation to the sound for which they are used. In a longhand script
this should not be the case : of course in a shorthand script we may do
so.
On the other hand the script and the alphabets of Hindi ire not only
simple but can also be learnt with very great ease. The pronunciation of
its vowels is simple and scientific. The fact is that they can be pronounced
with natural ease and they are also pronounced very clearly. Thus the vowel
occurs as the first vowel of the Hindi alphabet and possesses a simple
sound unlike the vowels of the other scripts. It stands for one single
sound and not for any other. The other vowels also have the same scientific
character, and are all scientifically arranged. Moreover the Hindi alphabets
are divided into certain groups according to the order of their pronunciation.
We have thus the classification that the vowel and the ‘ consonant group
and are pronounced from the throat, while the vowel the consonant group
and are palatal in pronunciation. In this manner the other consonants and
vowels are also arranged according to the part of the vocal organs through
which they are pronounced. Again the different letters and the groups have
also been assigned to different deities–some to ‘Indra’ and some to ‘Varuna’
and so on.
It is plain, therefore, that no student can have any difficulty in mastering
this language which is entirely scientific in character. I believe that
any student can very well pick up–any, even master-its alphabets within
a few weeks. I believe that the scholarly and distinguished lawyer members
of the Drafting Committee also had an appreciation of this fact, for they
also have in their draft provided for Hindi in Devanagari script as the
official language of the Union. I add that even if only Hindi is referred
to in the Draft, it would imply the use of Devanagari script as well. Just
as we also imply the use of the Roman script when we refer to the English
language.
Under that Draft English shall continue to be our official language
for the next fifteen years. None of us can deny that the use of that language
is essential for carrying on our work and that we cannot totally remove
it earlier. All of us, therefore, agree that we shall keep English for
our administrative and official purposes for the next fifteen years. But
it is my belief that within this period of fifteen years, all the Government
officials would be in a position
to have a very good and sound knowledge of Hindi. I do not doubt in
the least that they can do so with the greatest possible case and convenience.
The period of 15 years is not a small one. Hindi also is not a difficult
language to learn. In any case it is not such as cannot be picked up by
our Government officials within this period.I am reinforced in my belief
by the consideration that the members of the I.C.S. used to pick up several
Indian languages within the period of two years of their training. It cannot,
therefore, be doubled that these very people would be able to learn Hindi
very well within this period of fifteen-years. I know that they are men
of ability. I also know that they have all the facilities and opportunities
for learning Hindi. I know that they are officials of ail Independent Government
and are men of learning and light. It is, therefore, my conviction that
these people can have a very sound knowledge of Hindi within this period.
English is not a language which is the language of the people of any
part of our country. Besides it is not the official language of any of
these regions. So far this language had been that of the ruling class of
the alien Government. It was, in other words, a language of their offices
and people working in those offices for the benefit of the alien rulers.
But this foreign language was mastered by our administrators and civilians
through great labours. I put it, therefore, to you that if they could master
of foreign language-the language which did not have its origin in this
country, a language which had been brought to this country by foreigners
and which had been imposed on this country by those foreigners as the official
language for their own advantage and benefit–could be mastered by those
of us who wanted to go in for administrative services, I put it to you,
can it be said that these very people would not be able to put forth sufficient
efforts to master Hindi which is a language of their own country? When
you could go through such hard toil and labour for mastering English, I
believe, you will have to put forth much less’ labour to learn Hindi which
is much simpler than English and can, therefore, be learnt with much greater
ease than that foreign language.
Even our children would not find any difficulty in learning this language.
In this connection I cannot forget that many of the existing administrators
would be retiring sooner or later. Those who would be filling their places
can very easily learn the Hindi Language within the period of fifteen years
which has been provided for in the Draft.
I would like in this connection to state that if we have to make Hindi
our national language and to develop it for all our purposes; it is essential
that every man of learning in this country should acquire a thorough knowledge
of Hindi. This does not imply that Hindi would be, in any way, taking the
place of the regional languages. If would not do so. Its evolution however
is essential. English is a language that had been evolving from the very
beginning. It has also been for centuries the national language of another
country and that country has imposed it on other countries as well for
its own benefit; but our children who have had to learn it under compulsion,
have become denationalised. Their ideas and sentiments have-been more or
less anglicised and they have begun to approach the problems of fife from
an alien point of view. If is plain, therefore, that English cannot be
our national language. Besides we have not to remain tied down to the Dominion
of Britain for all time to come. it is, therefore our duty to consider
that after the advent’ of freedom, it is essential for our dignity and
self-respect that we should have a national language. We know fully well
the good and the evil that English education. It Is an order that the people
of this country may proudly claim Hindi as their national language and
Devanagari as their national script that it is necessary that Hindi also
should evolve. We should not be governed by narrow or selfish considerations
and
if we approach the problem of national language with that broad vision.
we would succeded. But if we do not do so, instead of making any progress
our country will go down in disaster.In this connection I would like to
refer to the example of Estonia and Lithuania which had made a demand for
their independence after the last Great War. Their main reason for demand
of their freedom was that under the alien rulers attempts had been made
completely to suppress their language and that they had to carry on an
intensive struggle and undergo any amount of sufferings for protecting
and maintaining the existence of their own language These petty States
are not bigger than the district of Gorakhpur in our province. These people
had protected and defended their language against the attempts of the Germans
to suppress them. If they could do so, it is our duty also to do the same.
I would like to make it clear that all of us here want the development
and promotion of the regional languages, for all of them are very dear
to Hindi Several of these regional languages are very sweet and very well
developed. Naturally I cannot and do not lay any claim to the superiority
of Hindi as compared to any of the regional languages. But from the inter-provincial
point of view, I can say that Hindi has a better claim for adoption as
the national language, because it is not a language of any one province
alone. If is the language of many provinces. I concede that there have
been great poets in other languages as well and I would not like to institute
any comparison between them and the poets of Hindi, such as Kabir and Tulsi.
It is not necessary for me to go into this kind of comparison. I do concede
that the Tamil Veda of Shri Tiruvalluvar of the Deccan is is _great a composition-probably
greater-than that of Kabir. I do not dispute, therefore, that great literature
exists in other languages as well.
But I submit in all humility that the number of people speaking Telugu
or Tamil is very much less than that of the people speaking and understanding
Hindi. So far as I am concerned, the question whether a regional language
has a great literature or not, is quite irrelevant to the decision of the
question of the official language of India. We have to choose one language
I-or this purpose and if we were to follow the principles of democracy
and the rule of majority decision, we will have to accept Hindi, far from
all points of views—, it is an undisputed fact that the number of people
speaking Hindi is greater than the number of people speaking other languages.
Besides it is a very simple as well as a developed language.
I cannot resist the temptation of citing a few passages from the works
of the great Hindi poet, Surdas, in order to give you an idea of the high
level of development reached by Hindi.
“Piyabinu nagini kaladi raat, Kabahunk yamini hoti Jitnahiya, Dansi
ulati hai jaat, Mantra na footat yantra nahi lagat, Ayu sirani iaat, Soor
Shyam bin bikut bit-aldni, Muri muri lahiri khaat.”
“Alas, my darling is away, The snake like night curls and curls, The
fangs of lightning pierce my heart, Incantations or amulets-nothing avoilt,
While my life is ebbing away, The separation of ShYatn says Stir, ‘Keeps
the lady leve in paroxysi?is at pain.’ I would like any one here to give
me a parallel passage from the literature of any other language. I may
add that the Hindi literature is full of numerous: gems one better than
the other. Thus I may cite a passage ‘from Tulsidas which is as follows
:-
“Arun parag jalaj ari neeke Shashi hi bhoosh ahi lobh ami ke.” “The
tender and delicate Lotus Its basom red with passion Rises in a waving,Serpentine
motionTo kiss the moon or sucking nectar.”
The reference. is to Ram applying- Vermillion with his hand to the moonlike
face of Sita, his betrothed.]
Mr. President: *[I would like the Member to remember that this is a
Constituent Assembly and not a poets’ gathering.]
Shri Algu Rai Shastri : *[Sir, I was just giving an illustration in
order to refute the suggestion that the Hindi language is
undeveloped and does ‘not have any literature worth the name. This assertion
has been made here and I felt it necessary that something should be cited
to refute it and to show that Hindi has a great and extensive literature.
But I would like to submit, Sir, that we are not demanding the adoption
of Hindi as the national language on account of its literature. but because
it is a language of the people and specially it is a language which, in
comparison to other languages is spoken by a larger number of people and
that it is a language whose area and sphere are very wide. It is for an
these reasons that we fire adopting it as the official language and the
fact is that it is not we who are adopting it. it is history that is compelling
us to adopt it. Every one of us has to accept it as the official language,
simply because every one of us desires to replace the foreign language
by a language of our own country. The adoption of Hindi is unavoidable
in order to remove English from its present position of official language
of the Union.
When we have no other option but to adopt Hindi in this manner, I would
submit that there should be no dispute about its script, for it has already
its script-a script in which the ‘Rigveda’ was written-a script in which
‘Hanuman Chalisa’ is written-the script in which all the books from the
Rigveda down to the Hanuman Chalisa of Tulsidas have, been written, is
called the Devanagari script. I doubt whether we can, even if we search
the whole world, discover a script as beautiful, as scientific as the Devanagari
is. The script of our national language is Devanagari. and the numerals
are an integral part of that script. The meaning of many. Hindi couplets
would be lost if the numerals were changed. Thus Tulsidas has said:
Jaise ghatat nu ank nav (‘)Nav (‘) ke likhat pahad.”
This numeral (9) is of the Devanagari script. Again Tulsidas says
“Jag te Rahoo chatis has (36)Ram Charon che teen ( 63 )Tulsi dekhoo
vichari keyaHai yeh matou pravin.”
“Tulsidas says that a person should have an attitude of detachment forwards
the world just as the numerals 3 and 6 appear to be in the figure 36. while
he should have an attachment to the feet of Ram just as the figure 6 and
3 have in the figure 63, for to do so in the best wisdom according to Tulsi.”Naturally
these passages would lose all meaning if the form of numerals is changed.
I, therefore, submit, Sir, that the numerals are even today in use in
Devanagari just as they were to be found in the Sanskrit Rigveda and Yajurveda.
1, therefore, fail to understand the basis of this discussion about numerals
here. It is insinuated against us that we are quarreling over a Very minor
matter and that our insistence upon the Devanagari from of Hindi numerals
is, as a matter of fact, extremely unreasonable and unjustifiable. But
I would like to submit very humbly that the matter which may appear to
you to be very minor, may ultimately have very dangerous implications.
A person may be able to take two seers of milk, but no one would like to
take a small head of a fly with it, for, he can never digest that. In the
same manner, I would submit, Sir that we are unable to accept violence
being done to the form of the numerals, and what is more important we see
no reason why an(] for whom we should do violence to them.
It is being argued by some people that the change sought to be made
is very minor, because a number of the numerals, more particularly (1),
are similar in form. But, in this connection, Sir, I would like you to
visualise the situation that is likely to arise. in our province, if we
agree to the adoption of international form of numerals. We have constituted
in our province Village Panchayats’ and ‘Village, Assemblies’. For each
group of 5 Village Assemblies or Councils we have established a ‘Panchayat
Court’. All these are now working there. Our province has a population
of 60 millions and is, therefore, in no way smaller than England–rather
it is bigger than the latter. In that province, we have established these,
Panchayats for the
villages and these bodies have been authorised to, levy taxes. They
will have to maintain accounts and keep records and registers. Just think
of how they would be maintaining their accounts. I am sure, they cannot
but use the Hindi method of accounting that is to say-they, would write
Rs. 1-4-3 in the following manner :
In it the vertical line stands for the quarter of a rupee. Now the form
of I in English is, as a matter of fact, used for indicating 1/4 of a rupee
in the Hindi method of accounting. But the same symbol if drawn outside
the bracket like symbol, its value is taken to be one pice.
We have thus been developing our numerals in this country. Is it your
intention now to throw away all these improvements that we have made through
our history for no reason or rhyme ? It has been argued here, Sir, that
the use of Devanagari numerals would cause any amount of dislocation in
industry and chaos in our army. But I fail to understand, the kind of difficulties
that would arise in the industrial sphere. We can easily avoid any difficulty
by specifying the design of the machinery that we seek to import from foreign
countries. This is what happens usually in trade and commerce. Even the
ordinary traders send their designs and the ‘Sarics’ and other articles
manufactured according to these designs are imported from foreign countries.
Moreover, Sir, will we always continue to import all our machinery from
foreign countries ? I believe that sooner or later, we will be casting
them here and in that case it would be quite easy for us to use our own
numerals. I may add that our numerals are a matter of great fortune to
us. We are peopleof a great culture. Our history is glorious and grand.
It does not befit us to humiliate ourselves and go down on all fours before
the foreigners. I am am confident that we can manufacture all the articles
we need and I am confident that our country has the potential capacity
to do so.
I may now say a few words, Sir, to those who feel that they would have
considerable difficulties in learning Hindi. I would like to assure them
that they would find Hindi to be a very easy language to learn, once they
make an attempt to learn it. I admit that in view of the extensive use
of English for all the official purposes and in all the branches of administration,
it would not be possible for us to replace it at once by Hindi and if an
attempt was made to do so, there would be considerable administrative dislocation.
I can, no doubt, speak Hindi with much greater ease and facility than
many of my other friends. We have, therefore, to give some time to such
friends to acquaint themselves very well with the Hindi language, so that
they may be able to express themselves in idiomatic Hindi and may be able
to think in it as well as to weep and sing in it. I recognise that only
that language can be natural to any person in which he can sing out his
joys and weep out his sorrows., I concede that time is needed by such friends
to have felicity in the use of Hindi. A specified period has to be provided
for them and I submit, Sir, that the period of fifteen years is more than
adequate. It is my belief that we can replace English by Hindi, within
this period, provided we make a sincere attempt to do so. Of course, if
we do not seek to do so, the position would be otherwise. But if we really
make an effort, there should be no difficulty in replacing English by Hindi
within this period.
I have therefore, in the second part of my amendment proposed that during
this period of transition, every attempt should be made to put Hindi in
place of English wherever it can be done. I visualise this process to be
similar to that of erecting a new house in place of an old one. It is plain
that the first has to be removed and the second has to be erected, and
we have provided a period of fifteen years for effecting this change and
it is my belief that this, work can be completed with very great ease during
that period.
But who shall be responsible for effecting this change ? Obviously the
Government, and I have,
therefore, put in the second part of my amendment that it shall be the
duty of the Government to take steps to effect this change. But in the
draft that has been put before us, such details as the formation of a Committee
or the appointment of a Commission have been included in regard to this
matter. As we read this article, Sir, we find that the Drafting Committee
has added a new clause, there was previously only one clause. In this manner
the Committee want to go into minor details and they do not want to leave
any possible matter for the decision of the Parliament or the Government
to come.
We, have, Sir, provided for adult franchise in our Constitution and
representatives elected on that basis shall be composing the future Parliament
and I believe they shall be making their own arrangement for the entire
country in their own manner. But it is really funny that we would not like
to leave even such matters for their decision as the salaries to be paid
to our Civilians the number of people to be employed, the facilities to
be granted to them and such other matters. Probably it is feared that persons
of no education may be elected to the Parliament and such persons may cause
any amount of dislocation and chaos. We,. in our anxiety, have included
provisions with regard to the judiciary, to the type of the houses that
are to be occupied by them, the salaries that are to be paid to them and
the work that is to be done by them.
The same tendency appear to me behind this draft regarding language.
There would be a Commission. there would be a Committee. All Acts, bye-laws,regulations
in all provinces shall be in English. All these matters are found in this
draft,–notwithstanding the fact that Hindi is already in use in many provinces
and is in use without any difficulty and with all the possible success
with which a language can be used for official purposes. But you are bent
upon putting in such provisions in spite of all these facts.
I admit that it is almost an impudence on my part to seek to improve
the amendment which Shri Gopalaswami Ayyangar, who is a great thinker,
a scholar, an expert, and an aged and experienced person, has moved. But
I submit, Sir, would not the purpose be served if we leave to the future
Government to make such arrangements as may enable Hindi to take the place
of English within the period of fifteen years and to become the official
language of this country ? The Government is today in the hands of the
representatives of the people and I submit, it is time that the language
of the people should also be the language of the State and that language
of the people is Hindi, simply because it is understood in almost all provinces.
Some friends have mixed up Hindustani, Urdu and such other matters with
the question of Hindi. I do not understand how a couplet of Nazir who was
a great poet of Agra should be considered ‘something outside the Hindi
literature. . I may cite it here.
“Abra tha chaya huva aur fasal thi barsat ki, Thi zamin pahne huve vardi
hari banat ki.” “It was the season of rains and the sky was cloudy. All
around the earth was covered with green verdure.”
I would submit, Sir, that this is a Hindi verse composed by him and
that it is one of the Hindi styles or dialects. Again-
“Rab ka shukar ada kar bhai Jisne hamari gaye banai.”
“Oh brother render thanks to God who has created the cow for us”‘ is
a couplet which all of us read in a book written by some Moulvi Sahib of
Meerut. Are we to consider it as something not belonging to the Hindi literature?
I do not think so. It is but natural that to a Moulvi or a Moulana such
words would very naturally occur. But we have assimilated all these words
in our language and I am sure, these words would remain there. All these
constituted a style of Hindi and are not beyond the purview of the Hindi
language.
No doubt, some people claim Urdu to be a language. But Urdu is not a
regional language, nor is it a language used or spoken in any region, or
by any particular community. All of us use Urdu words. I was educated under
a Noulvi. He
used to teach us :
“Fakat tafavat hai nam hi ka, Darasal sab aik hi hai yaro, Ja ab safi
ke mouj mai hai, Usi ka jalva hubab men hai, Kabili kurb nahi be-adabon
ki sohabat, Door rahe unse dil jinko tera pas nahi.”
“The only difference or dispute is in respect to names. In substance
the reality is one. The same God whose light is visible in the clear waters
of the Ocean, is to be perceived in the bubbles. One. should not, even,
for a moment, remain in the company of the disrespectful and it is desirable
that our heart should be away from those who do not have the love of God
in their hearts.”
I submit, Sir, that these great thoughts cannot be exiled from our language.Shri
Algu Rai Shastri : *[So, Sir, all these words are of the Hindi language
and we cannot exclude them from it. My submission is that the words of
other languages which have become cur-rent in- Hindi must be considered
to be part and parcel of the Hindi language. I would go further and assert
that that language alone should be termed Hindi which has this tendency
of including all such words.
Before I conclude, Sir, I would like to say a few words about the content
of the Hindi language. There is a great dispute about the real character
of Hindi. But I would submit in this connection that Hindi is Hindi and
no other definition of this language can be given. Just as I may describe
myself by saying what I am, similarly Hindi is described by saving that
Hindi is Hindi. Really I fail to understand what other definition can be
given. Bhojpuri, Maithili, Khadi Boli and Brij Bhasha are two forms of
Hindi. Thus the following passage of Brij Bhasha is part of Hindi literature.
“Ankhiya Hari darshan ki piasi”
‘Myeyes wishfully long for the sight of God.”
Similarly the following passage in Maithili
“Sar binu sarsij, sarsij binu sar
Ki sarsij binu soore”.
“The Lotus with the Lake and the Lake without the Lotus have no significance.”
Similarly,
“Rab ka shukra ada kar bhai Jisne hamari Gaye banai”
of Meerut is also Hindi. I do not think any one can prevent Moulana
Hifzur Rahman from speaking the type of Hindi he pleases, for, there can
be no dispute about its true nature since it can be taken down in Devanagari
Script and it can be understood by quite a good number of people in this
country.
The dispute regarding numerals I submit, Sir, is without any substance.
The fact is that the numerals are but an integral part of the Devanagari
script and cannot be distinguished from it and we should, therefore, accept
Devanagari numerals. Such matters as the appointment of a Commission formation
of a Committee for replacing English by Hindi within the period of fifteen
years, should be left to the future Government for being decided in the
manner it pleases.
With these words, I submit my amendment to you. I concede, Sir, that
within this period of fifteen years, English should continue to be used.
It is illy conviction, that in our Constitution there should be an article
declaring Hindi in the Devanagari script as our official language and that
it should make provision that within the transitional period of fifteen
years, English should continue to be in use but that after the expiry of
that period, Hindi should completely replace English and within this period
of fifteen years, it should be the duty of the Government to find out ways
and means through which English can be completely replaced by Hindi.
I may add, Sir, that I have no ill-will towards English. I believe there
would be English in our Universities even after the expiry of that period
and that our students would be acquiring the knowledge of different languages.
But I believe, Sir, that the signatures on our treaties etc. shall be in
Hindi. Our national language shall be Hindi and our script shall be Devanagari
which we have got from the Rigveda’ and whose words have been borrowed
from that great ocean of learning. It has been fertilized by waters from
that sourcethe source which has given-life and light to the world-the source
whose literature, philosophy and codes are
invaluable treasures of the entire world.
With these words, Sir, I conclude my observations and I thank you, Sir,
for having been kind enough to give me so much time for expressing my views.)
The Honourable Dr.Syama Prasad Mookerjee (West Bengal: General) Mr.
President, Sir, we are considering a matter which is of vital importance,
not to the people belonging to one or other of the provinces of India,
but to the entire millions of India’s population. In fact, Sir,the decision
that we are about to take,even if we ignore for the time being the points
of difference, vital though they may appear. to some, the decision that
we are about to take is something which has never been attempted in the
history of India for the last thousands of years. Let us therefore at the
very outset realise that we have been able to achieve something which our
ancestors did not achieve.
Some Members have spoken not doubt out of the warmth of their feeling
and have tried to emphasise upon the points of difference. I shall say
a few words on the points of difference a little later. But I would like
the House to rise to the height of the occasion and flatter itself that
it is making a real contribution to the national unity of our Motherland
of which we and those who come after us may be legitimately proud.
India has been a country of many languages. If we dig into the, past,
we will find that it has not been possible for anybody to force the acceptance
of one language by all people in this country. Some of my Friends spoke
eloquently that a day ‘might come when India shall have one language and
one language only. Frankly speaking, I do not share that view and when
I say so, I am not ignoring the essential need for creating that national
unity of India which must be the foundation stone in our future reconstruction.
That unity must be achieved by allowing those elements in the national
life of our country, which are today vital, to function and function in
dignity, in harmony and in self-respect. Today it stands to the glory of
India that we have so many languages from the north to the south, from
the west to the cast. each one of which in its own way, has made contributions
which have made what Indian life and civilisation are today.
If it is claimed by anyone that by passing an article in the Constitution
of India, one language is going to be accepted by all, by a process of
coercion, I say. Sir, that that will not be possible to achieve. (Hear,
hear) Unity in diversity is India’s key-note and must be achieved by a
process of understanding and consent, and for that a proper atmosphere
has to be created. If I belonged to a province where Hindi is the spoken
language, I would have felt proud today of the agreement to which practically
all the members of this House have voluntarily submitted themselves by
accepting Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of free India.
That is a solid achievement which, I hope, those friends of mine who come
from the Hindi-speaking provinces should appreciate.
I am not talking about the relative claims of other languages. Left
to myself, I would certainly have preferred Sanskrit. People laugh at Sanskrit
today perhaps because they think it is not practicable to use it for so
many purposes which a modem State has to fill. I do not want’ to take your
time by dwelling on the claim of Sanskrit. I am not fully competent to
do so. but most certainly that is a language which still is the storehouse.
shall I say the unlimited and illimitable storehouse, from which all knowledge
and wisdom are drawn, not so much perhaps by the present generation of
the Indian people but by others who have preceded us ‘and by all true lovers
of learningand scholarship throughout the civilised world. That is Our
language, the mother-language of India. We do wish, not for paying lip
sympathy or homage to its genius, but in our own national interests so
that we may re-discover ourselves and know the wealth and treasure that
we accumulated in the past and are capable of achieving in future,–we
do wish that Sanskrit will
reoccupy an honoured place in the national educationl system of India.
I am not-similarly advocating the claims of other languages. You will
not call it provincial if I say that I am proud of my own language. It
is a language which has not remained as a mere language of the people of
Bengal alone. It was the language enriched by many noble writers for centuries
past-the language of Vande Mataram. It was our national poet Rabindra Nath
Tagore who raised the status and dignity of India when he had his great
thoughts and contributions in Bengali recognised it the bar of world opinion.
(Hear, hear). That is your language. It is the language of India, (Hear,
hear). I am sure that the languages of my friends from the South and the
West. of which they are so proud, have also great records and must be protected
and safeguarded in ample measure. All must feel that nothing has been done
in the Constitution which may result in the destruction or liquidation
or weakening of any one of these languages.
Why do we accept Hindi ? Not that it is necessarily the best of Indian
languages. It is for the main reason that that is the one language which
is understood by the largest single majority in this country today. If
14 crores of people out of 32 today understand a particular language, and
it is also capable of progressive development, we say, let us accept that
language for the purposes of the whole of India, but do it in such a way
that in the interim period it may not result in the deterioration of our
official conduct of business or administration and at no time retard true
advancement of India and her other great languages. We accept that proposition,
and the scheme which Mr. Gopalaswami Ayyangar has placed before you includes
certain principles which we consider, taken as a whole, meet this view-point
and will be not in the interests of the people coming from the south of
India, but in the interests of the people of India as a whole. (Hear, hear).
You Have got sonic time, fifteen years, within which English will have
to be replaced. How is it to be replaced? It will have to be replaced progressively.
We will have to decide realistically whether for certain special purposes
English should still be continued to be used in India. As sonic of my friend,,
have already stated. we might have rid India of British rule-we had reasons
for doing so-but that is no reason why you should get rid of the English
language. We know fully well the good and the evil that English education
has done to us. But let us judge the future use of English dispassionately
and from the point of view of our country’s needs. After all, it is on
account of that language that the have been able to achieve many things;
apart from the role that English has played in unifying India politically.
and thus in our attaining political freedom, it opened to us the civilisation
of large parts of the world. It opened to us knowledge, specially in the
realm of science ant] technology which it would have been difficult to
achieve otherwise. Today we are proud of what our scientists and our technical
experts have done.
I say. Sir, we would be suffering from a sense of inferiority complex
if we examine the role that the English language should play in this country
from any narrow standpoint. There is no question of the English language
being used today for political purposes or for dominating any system of
national education. It will be for us, the representatives of the people
of free India, to decide as to how progressively we will use Hindi and
other Indian languages. how progressively we will get rid of the English
languages if we feel that forall time to come for certain purposes, we
will allow English language to be used or taught we need not be ashamed
of ourselves. There are certain matters which we have the courage to speak
out, not in individual or sectional interest but where we feel that such
a step is to be taken in the interests of the country as a whole.
Sir, with regard to regional languages, I am now happy that the amendment
proposes to include in the
body of the Constitution itself a list of the principal regional languages
of India. I hope we will include Sanskrit also. I shall speak here with
frankness. Why is it that many people belonging to non-Hindi speaking provinces
have become a bit nervous about Hindi ? If the protagonists of Hindi will
pardon me for saying so, had they not been perhaps so aggressive in their
demands and enforcement of Hindi, they would have got whatever they wanted,
perhaps more than ‘what they expected, by spontaneous and willing co-operation
of the entire population of India. But, unfortunately, a fear has been
expressed, and in some areas that fear has been translated into action,
where people speaking other languages, not inferior to Hindi by any means,
have not been allowed the same facilities which even the much-detested
foreign regime did not dare to deprive them of.
I would beg of those who represent the Hindi speaking provinces in this
Constituent Assembly to remember that while we accept Hindi, they in their
turn, take upon themselves a tremendous responsibility. I was glad to find
that some weeks ago at a meeting of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, a resolution
was passed that in these Hindi speaking provinces, there will be compulsory
arrangements for the study of one or more of the other Indian languages.
(An honourable Member : A pious resolution ). Let that not remain a pious
resolution. It will depend upon leaders like Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant,
Babu Purshottam Das Tandon, Babu Shri Krishna Sinha, and Pandit Ravi Shankar
Shukla to see to it that within the next few months, arrangements are made,
if necessary by statute, for the due recognition in their areas of other
important regional languages, specially if there are people speaking those
languages residing in those areas. I shall watch with interest and see
how these facilities are given and the resolution unanimously passed under
the leadership_ of Babu Purushottam Das Tandon is carried into effect in
provinces like Bihar and the U.P.
Sir, a lot of talk is going on about what is meant by Hindi. There cannot
be any artificial political forces or forces created by statutory provisions
dictating as to how a language is to be shaped. A language will be shaped
in natural course of events, in spite of current controversies, in spite
of individuals, however big or however eminent for the time being they
may be. It is the people’s will that creates changes; they come naturally
and often imperceptibly. It is not a resolution of the Constituent Assembly
which will decide the supremacy of a language. If you want that Hindi is
to really occupy an All-India position and not merely replace English for
certain official purposes, you make Hindi worthy of that position and allow
it to Absorb by natural process words and idioms not only from Sanskrit
but also from other sister languages of India. Do not obstruct the growth
of Hindi. I can speak Hindi in my own Bengali way. Mahatma Gandhi spoke
Hindi in his own way. Sardar Patel speakes Hindi in his own Gujarati way.
If my friends from the U.P. or Bihar come and say’ that theirs is the standard
Hindi which ‘they have laid down and any one who cannot speak this language
will be tabooed, it will be a bad thing not only for Hindi, but it will
be a bad thing for the country. I am glad, therefore, that provision has
been incorporated in the draft article suggesting as to how this language
should develop in this country.
I do hope an Academy of Languages will be established by the Government
of India and perhaps similar academies will be established in other regional
areasin India where a systematic study of Hindi ‘and other Indian languages
will take Place, where comparative literatures will be studied and publications
in Devanagari script of selected books in all Indian languages will be
organised; where the more important task of finding out terms and terminology
specially for commercial, industrial, scientific and technical purposes
will be dispassionately undertaken. Let us not be narrow-minded in this
respect. I played my humble part
in giving to my mother-tongue its due place in my University, a work
which was started by my revered father nearly sixty years ago and it was
left to me to bring that work into fruition fifteen years ago. Calcutta
gave ungrudging recognition to all languages in India. We selected our
terms and terminology from the point of view of our future advance and
not narrow sentiments. If: today it is said that all technical terms and
terminology are to be used in Hindi, you may do so in the provinces where
Hindi is being spoken. What will happen to Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra
and Madras ? Will they also use their own technical terms in their State
languages ? If that is so, what will become about the inter-change of opinion
and inter-change of educational facilities between one State and another?
What will happen to those who go to foreign countries for their future
education ? These are questions I would ask you to ponder over. Let us
not be carried away by mere sentiment. I am certainly proud of certain
sentiments. I am anxious that there should be a language which gradually
will become not only the spoken language of the entire population of India,
but a language in which the official business of the Government of India
will be carried, and will be capable of being used by all. We have agreed
it will be Hindi. At the same time, it has to be adjusted and re-adjusted
at every step in such a way that our national interests may not suffer
and not injure the interests of the State languages also. If you proceed
in that fashion I have not the slightest doubt that we will not have to
wait for fifteen years ; more readily, it will be possible for people of
all the provinces to agree to and implement our decision.
Lastly, I shall say a few words about the numerals. Much has been made
about the numerals. We are having a minor war on numerals. But, this suggestion
which has been made is not in the parochial interest of the people who
come from South India. That is a point which must be understood by every
section of this House. The continuance, until otherwise decided, of the
international numerals, which really have come back to the land of their
birth in a somewhat modified form, is vitally necessary in our own interests,
at least for many years to come. Later on, if, on the recommendation of
the Commission, the President feels that a change is to be made, that change
may be made. You have got your statistics; you have got your scientific
work to be done You have your commercial undertakings, banks, accounts,
audit. You have so many other things in respect of which the use of international
numerals is necessary.
,Some of my friends ask me, if you are taking the entire Hindi language,
and when some of the numerals more or less similar, why not accept a few
more? It is not a question of learning three or four numerals. I believe
every one will know the Hindi numerals, which may be also used right from
the beginning. Hindi numerals will also be learnt by all. But the question
is regarding their use for purposes for which you consider they cannot
be properly used.
Some of my Hindi-speaking friends have asked, why compel us to use the
international numerals? We are not banning the use of Hindi numerals in
Bihar, Central Provinces or the U.P. where Hindi will be the State language.
Obviously Hindi numerals will have a large part to play. Where is the harm
if you learn the international numerals also and use them for all-India
official purposes ? Rather, it will be to your benefit, specially for your
higher educational curriculum. I would ask Babu Purshottam Das Tandon,
and appeal to him that in this matter he must rise, equal to the occasion.
It is not a matter which need be carried by a majority of votes. Even if
some of there. feel against the all-India use and recognition of the international
numerals in addition to Hindi numerals, even if he feels that this is not
fair and just, or is not to his liking, for the very fact that Hindi which
is the language of his own province is being accepted by the entire people
of India,
tie should have the statesmanship to get up and say that in spite of
his personal feelings, he accepts the compromise and approves the resolution.
We have passed many important resolutions in this House during the past
years. We have faced many crises together. It will be making a childish
affair if on a matter connected with numerals, the Constituent Assembly
of free India commanded by one political party divides. We shall be making
a laughing stock of ourselves and the whole of India and we would be strengthening
the hands of our enemies. Let us emphasise not on the differences but on
the substantial achievement of our common aim. Let us tell the whole world
that we have done so without rancour and with unanimity. Let us not look
at the matter from a political angle.
It pains to find that in some areas, acceptance of international numerals
may become a first class political issue. It depends on the leaders of
those provinces to take courage in both hands, get up here and say that
they have accepted this compromise for the good of India and that they
are going to stand together. If the leaders say so, I have not the slightest
doubt that the people also will accept it. We have not banned the circulation
of Hindi or Devanagari numerals in any province where the State legislature
so decides or even for allIndia purposes. All that we have recommended
is the acceptance of a formula which we feel will be fair and just to all.
I hope that before the debate concludes it will be possible for the representatives
of the different view-points to meet together and come forward before the
House with the declaration that the proposition of Mr. N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar
is going to be unanimously accepted.
Mr. President: The House stands adjourned till 4 O’clock.
The Assembly then adjourned for Lunch till Four of the Clock in the
afternoon. The Assembly re-assembled after Lunch at Four P.m., Mr. President
(the Honourable Dr. Rajendra Prasad), in the Chair.
Mr. President: We shall now continue the discussion. Mr. Chacko.
Shri P. T. Chacko (United State of Travancore & Cochin) : Sir, my
position is that English should continue to be used for a period to be
fixed and the question of a national language should be left to the future
Parliament. A national language has to evolve itself and is not to be created
artificially. The national language for a great country like India should
have certain minimum requirements. It should be capable of expressing all
the needs of modern civilisation. To be capable of meetings all modern
demands, it should have a lore of scientific literature. Language as the
vehicle of thought determines to a large extent our mental makeup. The
capacity for thought, and for thought development, to a great degree is
limited by the thinker’s language of expression. Each language has a vocabulary,
a method of construction and a scheme of thought process distinctly all
its own.
A person who knows only a primitive language cannot, of course, think
in the same lines as one who speaks a well-developed language. The national
language of a great country like India should also be great. Some of our
languages in India am really rich in literature. But, Sir, I do not think
that any of our languages contain a good scientific literature. It would
be almost impossible to teach Chemistry, Physics and such other sciences
in any of our languages in India. A language cannot be artificially moulded
for ready use. It has to develop itself and that takes time. The adoption
of a language from the languages which we are having in India will most
probably,, retard our national progress. It may prevent our higher studies.
It may prevent scientific researches which we need. Therefore, I believe
we will have to wait till the time when a language in India develops itself
and matures to that stage when we can make it our official language and
our national language.
To replace an international language like English, very expressive,
rich ill vocabulary, easy and simple in construction, and one which is
recommended to be the
international auxiliary language, is almost impossible. Probably Shakespeare
decided the national language of England once for all, and for Italy probably
Dante decided it. Like that, some literary genius will in future, according
to me, decide the national language for India.
A national language can be, decided upon only by mutual agreement. It
cannot be done by taking votes; that is what I believe. No language can
be imposed upon an unwilling people. No nation has ever succeeded in imposing
the language of the majority upon the minority. In the day of Czarist Russia,
speaking Lithuanian language was absolutely forbidden and the penalty for
breaking this law’ was very severe, sometimes amounting to death. Nevertheless,
when after two centuries, Lithuania declared itself independent, it was
found that about 93 per cent. of the people still spoke the Lithuanian
language Likewise, in Spain, the Catalan language was prohibited in 1923,
but after a strenuous struggle which ensued in 1932, the State had to recognise
that language.
On the other hand, we know what happened in Britain. Even now there
are about six spoken languages in the British Isles. English evolved itself
as a national language and the people willingly recognised it. The result
was that Welsh in Wales and Gaelic in Scotland slowly were abandoned by
the people. Likewise we will also have, to wait for some time till a language
emerges from among the languages which exist in India. We will have to
wait till it matures and reaches that position when we can make it our
lingua franca.
Before deciding upon the official language, to me it appears that we
have to decide one or two very important questions. Firstly Sir, the question
iswhether we should have one language or more languages as our official
language. In Switzerland, for example, there are four languages spoken
by the people. In schools the medium of instruction is that language which
is spoken by the people in the locality where the school is located. In
higher classes a second national language is compulsory and later on a
third language. All the four languages are recognised as official languages.
In pre-war Czechoslovakia, though there were about twelve languages,
besides some dialects spoken by the people, two languages were recognised
as official. In public offices the language of the region in which the
office was situated was used. In many other countries ‘also more than.
one language is recognised as official language.
Therefore it is a question to be decided whether we should have one
single language as the official language of India or we should have more
than one-for example Bengalee, Tamil, Hindi and even English. If we decide
on one national language, we will again have to decide whether we should
allow the Union Government to use any other language than the official
language. In the U.S.S.R., for example, in European Russia itself there
are about 76 languages spoken besides innumerable dialects and only one
language is the official language of the U.S. S.R. But in offices the language
of the region is also officially used. Where many languages are spoken
and there are many other dialects also the question is to decide whether
we should permit the Union to use only the official language or other languages
also in public offices situated in particular regions.
I wish to point out that in Eire even now the English language is used
for all official purposes. During the days of the Irish struggle for independence
they were almost resisting the use of English. In 1893 a Gailic League
was formed which played a most predominant part in the Irish struggle for
freedom. In their schools now Irish is taught as a compulsory language.
Though the Irish people want Irish to be their only official language yet
they find it very difficult to replace English by Irish.
We are all almost agreed that English should continue for a period of
fifteen years. So this is not an urgent question, though it is a very important
question. It is a sound principle in democracy to know the wishes of the
people
and to respect the wishes of the people when there is doubt among the
representatives themselves as regards the decision which may be taken by
them. Though it is an important question, since it is not an urgent question
I would request that we take time to go back to the people to get a mandate
from the people and for that we should leave the question to be decided
by the future Parliament.
Why should we worry ourselves with the problem when we are faced with
several very urgent problems which affect the life of the millions of people
of the country ? When people who valiantly fought for the freedom of the
country are dying for want of food and shelter, when trade and commerce
is becoming duller day by day, when unemployment is rampant, especially
in the South, when in the North we are having the Kashmir problem and in
the South the menace of the Communist hooliganism–even today I got a telegram
from my country that the son of a Congress worker who devoted twenty years
in the service of the country was stabbed by a communist on Sunday last-and
when the future of the very nation itself is hanging on the solution we
might find for the food problem I ask why should this august Body waste
its time over this question, the solution of which we intend to implement
only after fifteen years, according to the agreement almost reached by
every one in the House.
After having seen a sort of fanaticism in action in the matter of a
comparatively smaller question of the numerals and after having heard a
section of the people of this House speak as if all that mattered in life
was the Devanagari system of numerals, I feel that it would be better for
us to leave the decision onthis question to soberer men. We can hope that
our posterity will be more tolerant and wiser and hence they may be able
to find an agreed solution for this problem. Our intolerance has already
divided India. Let it not divide it again. Instead of imposing a language
on posterity I believe it will be better for us if we leave this problem
to be decided by posterity themselves.
Shri B. Das (Orissa: General) : Sir, this question of Hindi as the,
lingua franca has caused us a lot of misgivings. I will ‘not be true to
myself , my conscience and my God if I do not express my feelings. I will
not be true to my great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who is in Heaven, if I
do not express truly and correctly the apprehensions that I have come to
entertain during the last three weeks, and which have been aggravated more
and more by the dominating attitude of my friends from U.P. and C.P.
As we want a lingua franca I do accept Hindi as the official language,
but that does not mean that we have no apprehensions, we have no suspicions
or that we have no fears. My Friend Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerji this morning
indicated some of the fears and suspicions that non-Hindi speaking provinces
including those in the South do harbour. This morning when Pandit Lakshmi
Kanta Maitra was speaking I was almost persuaded to accept Sanskrit as
the official language of the State, so that everybody will start with an
even keel in that mother of all languages. There will then be no rivalry
between the sons and daughters of the leaders of U.P. and C.P. that are
present here and them sons and daughters of leaders of Orissa or Madras.
They will all learn Sanskrit.
The fears and suspicions that we harbour today were harboured by us
till a couple of years ago, when the officialdom was manned by the Britishers
and the civil service examinations were conducted in London. Naturally,
the Englishmen preponderated in service. Now that the civil services and
other examinations are being held in Delhi, naturally hereafter the Hindi-speaking
provinces (I am not talking of the immediate future but of fifteen years
hence) the people of the Hindi-speaking provinces such as U.P. and C.P.
will preponderate in the civil and other services of our country.
What shall be the standard or ideal of education and examination in
Hindi language ? I do not know much of Hindi. I know a little of what is
called Hindustani
which the ordinary people use, that inferior Hindustani in which official
folks talk to the servants and ordinary workmen. That much Hindustani I.
know. According to my investigation Hindi is the only language in the world
which requires its verbs to have different inflections according to the
gender.
An honourable Member: What about German?
Shri B. Das : I am sorry I tried to learn German but with the advent
of first war I gave it up. However, in my old age, I am not prepared to
start speaking Hindi-all the time labouring under the dread that I might
make a mistake, in the proper gender of the verbs I used and the nervousness
that I may not be laughed at by Hindi-speaking ladies and gentlemen over
mistakes, I have made.
But that is not the problem. Our children will have to learn a language
so like the German where they will have to see that they do not make mistakes
in their sentences by using wrong verbs. That is a misgiving, yet I am
willing to overlook it. But I am not willing to reconcile myself to the
position that for the next fifteen, twenty or thirty years the sons of
the Hindi-speaking people, whether they belong to U.P. or to the C.P.,
will preponderate in the all-India services.
I have watched during the last twenty-One years the spread of Rashtrabhasha
Hindi throughout the country. I do say, that very little has been done
totrain up Hindi speakers : excepting for the efforts of my Friends Mr.
Satyanarayana and Shrimati Durgabai there, very little has been done, so
that those who are today capable of a smattering of Hindi reading in Orissa
or Madras, can they hope to compete with the Hindi-speaking people or can
they compose music or songs like my Friend Pandit Balkrishna Sharma or
write beautiful stories like my Friend Shrimati Kamala Chaudhri ? That
may not count for my generation but it will count in later generations
and affect them.
We know we must have a lingua franca. We accept Hindi. Why is it that
the leaders of U.P. and C.P. are so intolerant ? I found leader after leader
coming from those benches and talking in Hindi knowing that they are not
appealing to the Members of U.P. or C.P. or even in Bihar. They are raising
their voices to speak to the people of South India and even to the people
of Orissa like me or to the Members from Bengal who talk just a smattering
of Hindi. Everybody knows that the Bengali is a little bit conservative
: he seldom learns an Indian language gracefully although he masters the
English language. Sir, I do hope that when the next speakers rise from
the benches of U.P., C.P. or Bihar let them address in English those Members
of South India and those like me who cannot understand Hindi so very well.
If they are so fond of their mother tongue, let them reserve it for other
occasions. Let their arguments show that they have spirit of tolerance,
that they want to concede and that they are not in that aggressive mood
of, “You must have Hindi as lingua ,franca, we care a rap what happens
to you, your sons or grandsons”.
We are not going to allow that sort of attitude in speakers from U.P.
or C.P. That way you will not make us co-operate in future or even now.
Sir, that is what is agitating me and if I speak out my mind I do so in
obedience to the dictates of my conscience.
Shri H.J. Khandekar (C.P. & Berar : General) : I would like to tell
the honourable Member that C.P. is not a purely Hindi-speaking Province;
it speaks Marathi as well as Hindi.
Shri B.Das: All right, Sir. I accept my Friend’s correction. It is the
Jubbulpore district which I have in mind which gave birth to the, President
of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan, my Friend Seth Govind Das.
Sir, I have said already that we are human beings and the problems of
loaves and fishes affect us as much as the problems of higher national
ideology. Let the leaders of U.P. that will speak hereafter tell us how
they are solving that problem so that they do not get an overriding weightage
on the other Provinces like Orissa, Assam, Bengal, or the Southern Provinces
and States like Madras, part of Bombay,
Mysore and Travancore. That is a problem they will have to solve.