For the Sake of Languages...

During the British rule, the law-makers survived by dividing the people on the basis of religions. Now, 63 years after Independence, the law-makers, a.k.a the politicians of India divide the people on the basis of castes and language. Is it any wonder why some people still wonder if the British rule was a boon or bane to India?

The Shiv-Sena in Mumbai gets all worked up about a film where Mumbai is mentioned ‘Bombay’ a couple of times. Then there is the issue about only Marathi-speaking being allowed to be taxi-drivers. Now, there is the Tamil – Savior, M. Karunanidhi who has decided to help the glorious Tamil language by giving preference to people who had studied in a Tamil-medium school, in government offices. During the Tamil Sangam held recently, I could hardly hear a word of praise about Tamil or its glories. No, it was all about how heaven had sent an angel [the CM] to guard the prestige of Tamilans. God knows when some Malayali or Gujarati politician is going to start ‘promoting’ his State language…


To tell the truth, the recent decision of TN CM, which might seem to help Tamilans, to some, is disastrous to national unity and also many other Tamil-speaking people who had opted English as their medium in schools. Languages are important… for communication, and not for politics. Politics/governance has nothing to do with intellectual borders like religion, caste, language, etc. nor has it anything to do with physical ones [sex, race, color, etc.]. My point is, if people start looking at the welfare of only those who speak their language, then India most probably will cease to exist as a single nation. Instead, we would have18 separate and small countries [there are 18 official languages here]. Moreover, where’s the sense of nationalism in any of this?

It was the same problem with the LTTE in Sri Lanka and the country’s war against the terror group. The LTTE in Sri Lanka are considered in SL how the separatists are considered in India. But in TN, Prabhakaran is a hero and a martyr. Awfully enough, people in India seem to like the villains. The anti-hero characters appeal to their imaginations, I suppose.

When Indians cease to identify themselves with India as their motherland, then they cease to be Indians. And the primary object of any government is to forge unity and clear all discriminations, not divide and rule, like their ex-colonial counter-parts of the British Raj.