The importance of English
These days there is strong emphasis on strict usage of mother tongue at all establishments run by respective State Governments in India. All official documents have to be printed in Kannada in Karnataka, Telugu in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil in Tamil Nadu & Malayalam in Kerala. While certain states have their preprinted official forms printed in their regional language/mother tongues, other states who have not yet started are strongly in favor of it. Usually this process is followed in Pre Printed data on utility bills like Electricity & Water and Name Boards of Buses to name a few.
Advantages of printing in regional language:-
When a vast majority of people speaking Kannada & Tamil belong to Karnataka & Tamil Nadu, it is only appropriate that forms are printed in a language which is understable to the majority.
1) A vast majority of people who speak their mother tongue, find it more convenient to read a form in their mother tongue
2) An uneducated or a semi educated person would find it more easy to read a form in his or her mother tongue than in English
Disadvantages of printing in regional language:-
1) For example a employee who was originally working in Andhra Pradesh, but has come on a temporary posting in Karnataka would not be able to read utility bills.
2) For example a Bangalorean, who has come on a temporary posting in Kerala, will not be able to read bus boards in Malayalam.
The right way of resolving this issue would be usage of a 2 language formula on all official forms. Forms should be printed in regional langauge and English, so that the forms are readable to all. Mahatma Gandhi probably foresaw this much earlier and that was the reason he was in favour of a 3 language formula, i.e. English, Hindi & Regional Language.
In India, huge mileage is taken out of imposition of regional languages and strict adherence to it by politicians inconveniencing the general public. Not many of us realize that while they talk of regionalism and importance of regional language, they get their children educated in the best of modern schools and that too outside India.
Please remember we are Indians first.
Regards
Satish
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