English, in colonized territories of British empire started a different kind of reign long after Biritish left the regions. The domineering psychological impact of the language has to date ingrained on our minds that it is the key to prosperity and modernity. Which, ironically became true only because we invigorated it with our belief in the myth. The fact that the Germans, the French, and the people from other European countries, geographically closer to UK don’t care for English was a revelation to me as we were always under impression that English is a globally adopted language. Many colonized countries post independence tried to shrug off the influence of English. While the language opened trading and cultural interests from the other world, in exchange it also stood as a serious challenge to the national languages.
Something similar happened in India with Hindi alongside the existing English supremacy. India being a unique country with too many diverse languages and dialects, post independence some thought it was a good idea to give Hindi, (with many more states to its credit using it officially) a representative status. This would also counter the spread of English, a foreign language and a dismal reminder of our subservient days. In actual, the compulsion of Hindi made other states see it as their foe.
‘Hindi hamari rashtrabhasha hai’, I remember reading this line in childhood for sure and then was taken aback that this textbook learning was untrue. We have 22 national languages and Hindi is just one of them. Even today the lie stands uncorrected to all. After independence, even though Hindi failed in getting enough support as the only national language in our Constitution, the then government imposed it on ignorant masses with help of regional political leaders. Hindi became non-optional subject in schools except for vernacular mediums. On television and on radio, Hindi content got prime slots. Hindi movies were broadcasted on Sundays while regional ones were slotted for Saturdays.
We were amused to hear how southern states shrewdly and successfully resisted the Hindi invasion. In southern India, the entertainment industry and many other businesses could cash on their culture and yield good results as the native language dependency did not shrink. Migration influx was relatively low and central political parties had to collaborate with the regional parties to have their presence in the states. Yes, the language cultivation always aimed at and boiled down on catching the local political nerve and controlling it from the centre. Hindi influence in North-Eastern states seemed restricted too but that was because center didn’t seem to care for them that much.
In Hindi accepting Indian states, the ever growing ruthless competition with migrants to secure jobs made natives grumpy and insecure. The migration boosted economy but locals felt they did not get a fair or primary share they believed they were entitled to. Many were pushed back to relocate to smaller cities as the cost of living in prime areas went out of their reach. This affected demography again making locals and their say insignificant with withering numbers. No longer a mainstream, native languages became dispensable and lost their position as a decisive entity in economy designing around them.
There has been collateral benefits of learning Hindi, especially at individual level. It has been a useful tool and helped an insight into a different culture, spread joy with its rich literature, and broadened our world as usually learning does. Language, just like religion and a whatsapp group were actually meant to unite people but have become main reasons to divide them. Especially in hugely vibrant India the conflict has created quite a turbulence as it became a matter of identity crisis.
The whole point of being Indian is acknowledging and celebrating its rich diversity. I feel that now we need to reverse the effect of Hindi and reinstate local culture and language by using Hindi. Yep, as bizarre as it may sound.
The thing is, a language is not really always an ally of the regime as we seem to think. While British introduced English in our syllabus for easy governance, they also had to face political leaders who proficiently used the same language to show them a mirror, and put their atrocities on record for generations to see.
Somewhat a similar reverse effect has started with Digital era. It has mainly started with entertainment business. With access to deep corners of the world on our fingertips with internet, the accessibility has raised curiosity for varied living styles and culture like never before.
Today, English is cross pollinating Kdramas, Cdramas, and Jdramas to the corners of the world. Kpop has hooked youngsters of all countries big time loosening the western countries’ long-standing grip on pop music. Indian films too is enticing world audience. People of different nationalities have turned it into their jobs to explore the Indian entertainment world and share their take on it on social platforms. This primarily happened due to digital revolution but english subs have a big role in making the content globally viral. The interest of global audience starts with entertainment industry but does not end there. The fascination then starts exploring various avenues like cultural aspects, food, lifestyle, travel et al. The whole world is getting curious about those remote shores and the way to be explored is enabling with subtitles to translate the content. The best deal about this is that the subtitles do not overshadow the magic of original speech.
I wish a likewise cross pollination of cultures in India too at national level. Ranting over past or unlearning Hindi isn’t smart thing to do. Even if the reach of Hindi began with unjust means, it should now be used in reviving local languages. There are nearly 10 states with Hindi as their official language which is a huge market. Instead of limiting our vision to homeland patrons, we need to package our culture, art, food and sub them to these states. We know what national success means with movies like Sairat and Bahubali. They effortlessly spoke to the viewers from all corners in India with their rustic mass appealing content. But others need a little more help. While we are discovering faraway lands to sell our content, we shouldn’t miss our neighbourhood. And the neighbourhood to our neighbourhood. Out states need to go beyond cursory familiarity with each other. Not only for strong inter-state bondings but for great market prospects that are so achievable.
Born Again 