Understanding the Indian psyche will solve our language problem!

There is one issue never dies out in India. Just when I thought that it was settled — not by any serious thinking by our netas — but by the collective wisdom of our people, the controversy has resurfaced. By sheer coincidence events have indicated the solution that no policy maker can devise in his head. I refer to the language issue.

The Union Human Resources minister Kapil Sibal — a man whom I respect and expect much from, announced that he is working on a 3-language formula as a ‘solution to the language problem.’ This formula involves students learning English, Hindi and a regional language implying one’s mother tongue. I am not sure if someone in say, UP will have to learn only 2 languages under this formula. Nehru had suggested that students in the north should learn any one southern language but he received no support. I wonder if Sibal has any such ideas.

However I have always maintained that it is the people in the natural course of daily life who can and have found a way out of this predicament. I have always admired the Indian spirit of adventure and enterprise that has resisted every attempt to repress them. Indians will do anything — migrate to any country on earth, take up any job under any conditions in order to survive and prosper. To an Indian, language is a tool to get going, exploit opportunities, stave off hunger and a leverage to prosperity.

For someone to talk of promoting a language as a tool of national integration — which is the argument for Hindi — is to assume that the average Indian has satisfied the ‘lower order’ needs in Maslow’s hierarchy. It also assumes that those who do not speak Hindi are not fully ‘integrated.’ I do not wish to get into details of the language debate here. Suffice it to say that not just the common man, but the highly educated elite will learn any language if it can help them climb the ladder to a better life. Don’t believe it ? Read the following extract from a news item:

Bridging the cultural gap, the IIM way
Rohit Bhan
Tuesday, October 06, 2009 (Ahmedabad)
China is now inspiring B-schools, as its dialects are centre stage in a new course at IIM Ahmedabad. It’s a 26-session course on Chinese business culture. Murlidhar, a student at IIM Ahmedabad, says, ”No matter where we go: the United States, Singapore, or Hong Kong, there are definitely going to be people from China. So to bridge the cultural gap in the near and short term, we are taking this course. Also, in the long term I see business opportunity could be explored there.”

It’s there for all to see — Indians will take to any language as long as it helps them to get ahead in life.

One more interesting aspect emerges from this news item. I have often been told that Tamil is a difficult language. It is another matter that a Tamilian may find Hindi equally difficult by the same logic. But I make a more important point….the people who say Tamil is ‘difficult’ will find that Chinese is far more difficult but will learn it any way because they know on which side their read is buttered. Ultimately many issues in India are bread and butter issues that surface in other garbs.

A final suggestion — how about some cross cultural training for us on understanding cultures of Indian states other than our own, the mannerisms and how to behave when we are in other Indian states? Anyone listening?