Rohan Choudhary*
Language is the prime binding factor
among people across communities, besides religion. However, it goes without saying
that language has also always been a source of conflict among communities. When
we think about federalism, we generally think about power sharing between
the Centre and the States, and the idea of relationship between federalism and
language may seem absurd to a layman. However, in our multi-linguistic country,
the combination of language and federalism holds a significant importance, and
more so in recent times.
The Vague Idea of Federalism
Our idea of federalism is
strictly concentrated on key instruments of the state such as the division of
power between the Centre & the States, revenue sharing, division of
judiciary etc. This concept of
federalism originated in western countries where the population was already
linguistically homogeneous, and has served well in countries with linguistic
homogeneity, but the case is not the same with a multilingual country like
India.
The Constitutional
Provisions
At the time of independence it was thought
by the forefathers of our constitution that with passage of time India will
become a bilingual country. For that reason Article 345 provided for Hindi as
official language, with English being the additional language. Despite that
ample provisions for protection of the linguistic minority were provided by the
constitution, from giving the state government the power to choose their
official language to the inclusion of the eighth schedule of the constitution.
Hence, by giving ample protection to linguistic minorities and by retaining
English as an additional official language, the constitution makers managed to
avoid a major linguistic conflict.
Incorporation of Linguistic
Federalism
India’s multi linguistic problem was a
reason for skepticism among many, holding the view that the nascent India will
be divided again on the lines of language. However, despite that India has
remained united, even at the time when in our neighbourhood, the state of
Bangladesh was carved out of Pakistan on linguistic basis. Although, at the time
of independence the constitution makers demarcated the state boundaries on
historical and political consideration, but soon this proved to be fatal.
Within months, public uproar arose in Madras
to demarcate a separate sate for Telugu speakers, which led to formation of Andhra
Pradesh, the first state to be demarcated on linguistic basis. The formation of
Andhra Pradesh started a Domino effect, that led to formation of state after
state on linguistic basis. Hence, it could be inferred although the forefathers
of our constitution provided ample room for linguistic minorities to thrive,
but the proper concept of Linguistic Federalism originated at a later stage,
and as such it wasn’t envisioned by the forefathers of our constitution. Ever
Since then India has thrived on the Idea of “Unity in Diversity”
The Hindi Imperialism
Since independence there has been a
constant tussle between the Indo-Aryan group of languages and the Dravidian
group of languages. The latter group constantly calling out the former for
imposing ‘Hindi Imperialism’ upon them. There is no denying the fact that Hindi
is the most widely spoken language of our country, and for that reason the
political agenda has always been decided by the politicians of the Hindi
Heartland. The trend has catapulted more so evident since 2014, with the NDA’s
voter base being concentrated majorly in the ‘Hindi Heartland’ states. It’s
not to anyone’s surprise that the present government has constantly promoted
the vision of “One Nation, One Language”, with Hindi being the frontrunner.
Lessons from Canada- Can we
adopt the policy of Official Multilingualism ?
India has borrowed the concept of
federalism from Canada, despite that we haven’t fully embraced the idea of a
multi-lingual federation like Canada has done. Canada follows the ‘Principle of
Multilingualism’ according to which everyone is entitled to seek services in
the language of their choice, for that reason Canada has accorded the
status of official language to both English and French, which awards equal
status and protection to both the languages. Moreover, all the official work of
the government is done in both French and English. However, the problem here
lies in the fact that India has not two, but a plethora of widely spoken
regional languages.
The Road Ahead- Curbing the
Majoritarianism
The present regime’s insistence to promote Hindi as
the prime language of our country has diluted the concept of ‘Linguistic
Federalism’. Although, a policy of Multilingualism as that of Canada sounds
tempting, but it is to be considered in the light of the unique case that India
presents. The means to serve Indian needs must be
unique to its character, and can’t be imitated from another state. The flawed idea among many, that homogeneity of language makes
people more united has never stood the test of time, as evident from the
formation of Bangladesh or the linguistic civil war that shattered Sri Lanka at
the turn of the century. The only outcome of pushing Hindi on non natives is
the harm that it causes to the concept of Linguistic Federalism. It goes
without saying that Linguistic Federalism has acted as a bedrock for
maintaining unity and harmony in our heterogeneous state, that has always embraced the idea of ‘Unity in Diversity’.
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