Decolonizing Minds, Ushering Nationalism

Commentary

MOHAN LAL GUPTA

Slavery of Bharat for the last 1000 years could not wipe off the basic roots of the Hindu civilization. However, the existing two generations of India have fallen prey to the Western thoughts, way of life, language and culture. Its repercussions are very evident.

The time has come when Indians all over the world should learn more about their languages in pure form, true culture and spiritual heritage which were rich and far superior to any other culture that ever existed. It is only through the true knowledge of the past that we can analyze the reasons for the present day degradation of the Indian society and then offer the correct path to bring back India to former glory.

Needless to say that as long as the educated and professional people behave and act like ill-informed, it would be a sure sign of the downfall of India’s languages and culture. And that is where India’s problems are.

We are what we speak or write--so goes a linguistic axiom. The spoken and written Hindi, the official National Language of India, is approaching third century but it is commonly now a hodge podge mixture of Urdu and English. Now-a-days it has become extremely difficult to hear or read a sentence in pure Hindi, directly descended from Sanskrit, in the true cultural tradition of India.

Hindi came under attack from Urdu in the last 100 years, which made many Urdu words prevalent in Hindi language. For the last about two decades, Hindi has come under attack from English language as well. The print and broadcasting media, instead of stopping the attack of English has helped the foreign language to attack Hindi and other Indian languages also. Indians instead of opposing the attack of the languages of their past masters on their own languages, specially Hindi, have acquiesced and become indifferent to the attack. They have, sometimes inadvertently and unintentionally, adopted words from those languages, in Hindi and other Indian languages. In the guise of global trade, multinationals, foreign cultures and languages are bent on destroying our original Indian culture.

The situation has come when print media has started printing difficult English words as it is in Nagri script for Hindi sentences, ignoring the effects on the psyche of Indian masses and without caring whether less Western-educated people would understand the language or not.

I am not against Urdu, English and globalization, but cannot accept foreign languages and thoughts at the cost of our self respect and self existence. They cannot be allowed to destroy our languages, our culture and the fundamentals of our way of life. It is most important and sacred duty of every Indian to fight against all these onslaughts on our languages, Dharma, shastras and culture.

BBC Hindi Service and Voice of America Hindi Service also use lots of Urdu words in their Hindi programs and these are heard by millions all over the world. Some announcers speak Hindi in a manner to suggest that somebody is forcing them to speak Hindi; their preference is for Urdu and English. Hindi correspondents and writers earn their livelihood and fame through Hindi, but their first love is for Urdu and English and mentally they still seem to be serving their ex-masters. [Even some of the best known Urdu writers such as Krishan Chander and Ram Lal Fikr Taunsvi got more fame and money through their books printed in Hindi, still some think nothing about giving due importance to Hindi].

If you object to the use of Urdu and English words in Hindi, the most common reply is that it is more common and fashionable and these words have become part of Hindi and other Indian languages. We are using the prevalent Hindi language which the print and broadcasting media themselves have made popular. The other reason given is that when the small rivulets merge with big rivers they carry minerals with it, similarly foreign Urdu and English words act like minerals and enrich the Hindi language.

In Toronto, there is one ethnic program called Geetmala, which is meant to be a Hindi program but there is no Hindi at all in the program. The whole program is in English and Urdu. There is not even a single sentence in Hindi. Some times a sentence starts in Urdu and half way converts into English or vice versa. Same is the situation with most of the other broadcasting media. And they call it a Hindi program!

In Toronto, ethnic programs are broadcast in more than 100 different languages of the world. If one hears programs in other languages for hours, one would not find a single word of English in their programs. Probably all other languages of the world do not need as much minerals--and filth--as Hindi needs from other languages!

Urdu has its roots in Persian, a foreign language and the court language of the invaders and alien rulers of India. if allowed to remain so will continue to perpetuate an alien culture. Similarly, English language is also the language of the ex-rulers of India. These languages are associated with slavery of India. By using the Persianized Urdu, and English words, Indians carry the impression, subconsciously, that once they were slaves and still are not mentally free.

In all the media without exception, some Urdu words are used in Hindi programs and print media, for example such words as Tahat and Matahat are very commonly used, the correct word for which is Adhin or Antargat. The word means to be ‘under something’ or ‘under somebody.’ One wonders if all the people involved in the media are mentally slave or they want India to go under foreign rule again! The other most common word used is Mudda which means Vishay or subject, and the subject is that media people have to change themselves. Hindi words, derived from Sanskrit are common in most other Indian languages as they are also derived from Sanskrit.

[It was reported that when Jawaharlal Nehru first visited the Soviet Union and started speaking in ‘Hindi’ the Soviets were flabbergasted as they had Hindi interpreters, unfamiliar with Urdu used by Nehru. Soon Nehru realized and switched over to real Hindi for better conversation whenever the situation arose for him to speak in the National Language of India].

According to the University of Washington, Seattle data of mid 1996, amongst the principal languages of the world, Hindi is in the second place and English fourth. Hindi is the mother tongue of 348 million people and total of 457 million people understand and use this language. English is the mother tongue of 330 million, 487 million understand and use this language and many more just understand it. So the total number of people with some knowledge of the National Language is vast.

There is no need of using Urdu and English words in Hindi when already appropriate words exists in Hindi language. Hindi is quite rich language by itself with a vast treasure house of literature on every subject under the sun; it does not need the crutches, the support and the ‘minerals’ and filth of other languages, especially the languages of its past rulers. If Hindi still needs ‘outside’ words, it can go to Sanskrit and other Indian or even other major languages of the world. With Sanskrit, the advantage is that Hindi will retain India’s cultural tradition, heritage and the ethos--so very important for the much needed cultural renaissance and the true perception of the glory that was India. English, no doubt, is almost the world language, [thanks also to the modern-day domination of the only Superpower, the United States], but there are equally rich languages such as Spanish, French and German that have not adopted so many words of other languages to enrich themselves as Hindi has been forced to adopt by its ex-masters and some present-day users with slavish mentality. Broadcast and print media has helped to spread the wrong kind of Hindi.

I have no quarrel with other languages, my opposition is only to mixing, contaminating or polluting another language, like Hindi, by indiscriminate smuggling of foreign words that seem, sound and look odd.

The use of Persianized Urdu and English words, in particular, cause this pollution of Hindi. As pollution affects the ecology, environment, health of the living organism, similarly, pollution of a language creates inferiority complex among its people and also puts brakes on its growth. The words in any language are associated with their religion and culture, psyche and history and the whole ethos. To adopt foreign words from a single language beyond certain limit is to step into a new cultural, social and even political domain, which affects and cuts a lot of relationship with one’s past, both individual and collective.

Indian people should make up their mind and have determination to remove the filth from their language; it is possible to make Hindi pollution free by the turn of the century; it is just like getting the political freedom of a country. Hindi needs to be freed from the shackles and slavery of Persianized Urdu and English.

When a film is made in any language, it carries the credits/cast in the same language. Hindi films are exception. They, usually, carry their cast in English. Normally, religious films carry cast in Hindi language, but looking at the recent Jai Veer Hanuman serial, it seems this trend is also changing. Film industry has adopted casting/credits in English even for Hindi religious films. Is it for the Film Certification Board or for what? If the films carry English subtitles, then it can carry the cast in English along with the main Hindi language, at the bottom of the screen for the benefit of non-Hindi reading people.

In India, contrary to general impression, there are hardly five percent people who know English. Despite this fact all the products manufactured in India carry labels in English and more than 90 percent products have no Hindi at all on their labels, despite the fact that the Indian Constitution has Hindi as the Official National Language of India; English was only meant to continue for a few years. Vested interests willed and worked for other gains forgetting the culture, history and traditions of that great country of Vedic origin.

In Canada, it is difficult to sell a product if the 50 percent of label is not printed in French language. Even the exporters for selling their products in Canada have to print French on the labels, otherwise it cannot be sold in Canada. That is national pride, lacking in India. All the products manufactured in India should carry Hindi in at least 50 percent of the label space and all the imported products should carry Hindi on at least 25 percent of the label. No product should be allowed to be sold in India without Hindi label. This is not Hindi chauvinism, as some may say, but genuine national pride and this is not against any other language of India, several of them are very rich.

Indians and Hindi lovers can do a lot of things for the purification of Hindi. Whenever English and Urdu words are used in Hindi, they should show their displeasure by writing to or phoning program broadcasters, editors and writers. They should stop buying Hindi newspapers and magazines which use lots of Urdu and English words and pollute the language. We must take up this matter with film makers, manufacturers and others. These are the ways to assert our nationalism, national pride and love of Indian culture.

People should put pressure on the Government to also make rules accordingly and enforce implementation of the same. They may include strict steps to make the manufacturers or film makers etc follow the guidelines and display genuine regard for the national language and culture.

In free India for national pride National Language in pure form, Indian culture and ancient heritage have to get their rightful place so that all Indians could hold their heads high in the comity of nations, everywhere.

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