Why we cannot afford to neglect English
English is a truly global language that has conquered around seventy percent of the entire world. It is growing from strength to strength and its importance can never be questioned.
In fact, it is no more a foreign language. It is absolutely stupid to argue that it is a foreign language and only Hindi is our sole important language and so on. The Hindi fanatics would like to see ab entire India, speak only Hindi, and forget all other languages, like Bengali, or Gujarathi or Marathi or Tamil and all other State languages.
This is like saying that we can live only with our father, and forget our mother for ever. One's mother tongue is so dear to any human being. He or she can only understand the entire world, and realize what is true affections, emotions and feelings, only when he or she is able to talk in the mother tongue. For a person from West Bengal, for instance, Bengali is so sacred and between themselves they actually converse in Bengali, though to some extent, Hindi is common, though it is not spoken as much as it is in Mumbai.
Similarly, the Kannadigas like to speak only in Kannada. Telugu is an ancient language, and people of both Telegana and Seemandhara speak mostly only in this language, though in Hyderabad, Hindi is common to some extent.
So, it is ridiculous to argue that Hindi is the only solution. The narrow-mindedness of the Hindi wallahs has lead to a huge number of problems, and has lead to the systematic neglect of English.
The recent agitation of the Hindi wallahs to completely do away with English in the Civil Services Examination, will only strengthen the position of Hindi, giving these people a very unfair advantage. Those whose mother tongue is not Hindi, will be put to a maximum disadvantage.
However, there is always a silver lining to every cloud. Even in the core of the Hindi belt, the English medium schools are so famous and thousands of students do study in this medium. However, even here, the way English is taught as a language and as a medium of instruction, is very poor in standard and has had disastrous consequences for the standard of English, as Hindi or the regional language medium dominates the study of any subject.
Only the elite English medium schools teach English in the right manner and the students of these schools make it to the IIMS and the IITs. They have a very high level of English, thanks to the training they receive in their schools.
English is conquering the entire world like never before. We cm ill afford to neglect it. Even in areas like Business Process Engineering, where India has a big competitive advantage because of the huge number of people who know English, particularly spoken English. However, it is estimated that by 2020, the number of people who can speak, read and write English, in China, yes, China, will become five times that of India.
There is a grave danger that the entire industry will be moved to China, and we will stand to lose thousands of jobs. Similarly, Germany, which was so much opposed to English, is now opening up, and those who speak English in that country, are simply huge in number.
Russia, which was supposed to have its own language, is now changing, and the spread of English is now much more than ever before. Even the fastidious French people, who were totally opposed to English, are now learning the language.
Each of the aforesaid countries, have English as the medium of instruction, and are fierce competitors for taking hundreds of students from India, for higher education. Even in Spain, the main language of instruction is English.
All these facts are not known to our Hindi wallahs, who insist on that language as if it is the only way to Nirvana. For example, they fail to understand that Engineering or Medicine, for instance, cannot be taught in that language.
The politicians, who always fish in troubled waters, happily hap it up, when it comes to exploiting the Hindi sentiments. They quietly send their own children to the best of English medium schools and colleges, both in India and abroad. They mint money through corruption, organize huge rallies where they keep mouthing the Hindi mantra, as it is the only route to Nirvana.
The bitter truth is that they are spoiling the chances of an entire generation to learn a superb international language, that will continuously dominate the global landscape for all years to come.
Indians have proved superb lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, and technocrats and even philosophers and none of them have become world famous through Hindi. They have always spoken English, have written exclusively in that language and have conquered the world.
For example, the late Prof C K Prahalad was considered one of the world's best Strategic Management experts, just seven years ago, before his death. His radically different ideas make the entire world sit up and take notice, because, only because, he wrote in English. If he had written in Hindi, only the Hindi wallahs would have understood it, with disastrous results.
Prof C K Prahalad was based in the USA, where only English is spoken. He became world famous and several companies in the USA paid him per hour, some of the heaviest amounts in the entire corporate history.
This is the more familiar story. Without a minimum standards of English, we will not be promoting the cause of literacy in any way. We will not be able to make the world a better place to live for hundreds of thousands of students in their careers and in their lives. We will never be able to operate as a Nation, as the Hindi fanatics will try to steal the show and impose the language on anyone at will.
There is a grave danger that Hindi will grow at the expense of English. There will be a situation when millions will be forced to sign in Hindi, or undertake entire correspondence only in Hindi. This is already happening in many Central Government offices and banks.
It is absolutely stupid to argue that only those who speak in Hindi are Nationalists. This is the most absurd argument that any civilized person can talk. Yet, the Hindi wallahs always claim that those who cannot speak in Hindi, are not National, in their view.
No Nation will be strong when one language dominates other languages. No nation can be strong when several mother tongues are neglected and only one language dominates the entire world. It is a rather stupid argument that English will undermine Hindi.
Yes, Hindi is the most widely spoken language. The Hindi films, for instance, do have a big following throughout the country. It is wise to learn the language, and even in Tamil Nadu, people have started speaking the language. Yet, those who not want to speak in the language should not be compelled to do so.
Just like no one can force some one to learn English, no one can force one to learn Hindi. However, Hindi is emerging at the best and sole link language. There cannot be any doubt here. Let there be one day when every Indian can at least speak to each other in Hindi.
But after this stage of the spoken Hindi, there should be a big full stop. English should ( that it will l naturally dominate is another story) dominate every Higher education course, in any subject. Up to graduation, one can learn in Hindi or any other language.
After this stage, it should be only English, all the way. Unless we understand this basic equation, we will not be doing any service to the future generation.
We already have a small minority, which is very comfortably settled abroad. With qualifications from the IIITs, or NITs or the IIMs or a combination of these two, or sometimes three, we have had a situation where the persons are very well settled abroad.
Their sons and daughters are never going to come back to India, and just about understand something in their mother tongues, whether it is Hindi or Tamil or any other language.
For the rest of Indians, English should be taught properly, even at the graduate level in all engineering colleges and in the schools. This is not happening at all.
We cannot neglect English at all. No amount of preaching will do. In practice, English should be taught with the best of people and in the best of situations. Only there is a mind set change, can the real improvements take place.
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