‘TRIVENI’
HAS SHED LIGHT ON MY PATH.
BLESSED BE HER NAME!
‘THE
TRIPLE STREAM’
l
Bi-Lingualism
After
a very careful study of the divergent points of view regarding the official
language of the Indian Union, it becomes increasingly clear that the only
satisfactory solution is to adopt both English and Hindi as the official
languages after the present time-limit of 1965. While sentiment is in favour of
an Indian language like Hindi, the practical needs of the country demand the
use of English for an indefinite period for some of the purposes which it has
served since the establishment of British rule in India about a hundred and
fifty years ago. For four or five generations, Indians of the higher classes
have studied the English language with some amount of devotion. The cultural,
background thus established has enabled them to re-vitalise the indigenous
literatures of the country and bring these into the main stream of world
literature. The choicest spirits in every part of the country have employed
English and their regional language with equal ease and brought about a
synthesis of cultures which is exceedingly valuable.
There
is really no marked difference of opinion on certain matters. There is general
agreement on the use of the fourteen languages mentioned in the Constitution as
the media of administration and education within the States. Efforts are
already being made to switch over from English to the regional language. There
is agreement also on the teaching of both Hindi and English in schools and
colleges allover India, commencing at the secondary stage. Some non-Hindi
States have made the study of Hindi compulsory, and the rest may be expected to
fall in line after a brief transition. The boys and girls who are now in the
first form of any school in India will acquire a working knowledge of both
Hindi and English by the time they finish their school career and branch off
into various lines of activity. But since Hindi is an Indian
language more closely allied to their mother-tongue than English, their
standard of attainment is likely to be higher in Hindi than in English.
A
knowledge of two languages other than their own will make it easy for the
citizens of future India to function with efficiency in any sphere in which
they may be called upon to render service. The process will be speeded up when
the schools in all Hindi-speaking States teach a South Indian language in
addition to English and Hindi. The three-language basis of our educational
system has to be accepted, though the actual working out of the details may
take some time and even vary from State to State. The movement of teachers
between North and South will make for friendliness and goodwill.
What
are the implications of bi-lingualism at the all-India and inter-State levels?
Bi-lingualism implies that each State of the Indian Union will have the option,
after 1965, to conduct its official correspondence with the Centre in English
or Hindi. Thus, there can be no objection to the Government of Bihar or Rajasthan
writing to Delhi in Hindi if it so chooses, or the Government of Madras or
Andhra Pradesh or Bengal employing English for the same purpose. As between the
States themselves, a convention can be established in regard to the use of
English or Hindi. In course of time the Secretariats at New Delhi and the State
capitals will be manned by officers and subordinate staff competent to wield
both languages. They will, in addition, be helped by a band of translators.
Bi-lingualism
also means that the proceedings of the Central Parliament as well as its
enactments will be in Hindi and English. So too the orders and communiques of
the Government of India. The members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha will
be free to speak in either of the official languages, Hindi and English and if
a member is unable to use either, it must be open to him to speak in his
mother-tongue and to seek the assistance of a fellow-member to translate his
speech into Hindi or English. Within a few years it will be found that though
two languages, both of them official, are employed, persons speaking one
language will be able to follow the speeches in the other.
A
further implication of bi-lingualism is that examinations for all-India
services will be held in English and Hindi and the candidates from every State
will choose either of these media. It will not be a matter for surprise if,
after the lapse of a few years, some of the candidates from the non-Hindi
speaking States should choose Hindi in preference to English. But freedom to choose
is all important.
Even
ardent advocates of Hindi admit that at present Hindi is not adequately
equipped for the important role of the official language of India. It has to be
tried, in the first instance, as the official language in the Hindi-speaking
States. Its vocabulary must be enriched, and its diction acquire a greater
measure of precision. This applies to all Indian languages. But these qualities
are required even more in the case of a language like Hindi which seeks to
replace English at the all-India level. A minimum period of twenty-five or
thirty years from now may be needed to develop Hindi as the sole all-India
official language. It will then become the duty of the leaders of the Nation to
take a decision on the momentous issue–Hindi and English, or Hindi
alone? In view of the conditions then prevailing, the non-Hindi speaking States
may be willing to accept Hindi as the sole official language of the Indian
Union, while English will continue to be taught compulsorily in our schools and
colleges for its cultural value, and particularly for the advanced study of
literature and for higher training in science and technology.
With
the emergence of new Universities and the re-organisation of the degree
courses, a fresh chapter opens in the history of Indian education. We seem to
be taking a step forward in our cultural life, when the Universities will play
their proper role as centres of learning and the passing of examinations will
be subordinated to the higher aim of equipping men and women for a life of
intense activity coupled with philosophic vision. A proper balancing of the
Sciences and the Humanities in our educational system has long been the dream
of idealists. An undue emphasis on science and technology led in recent years
to lop-sided development. The effort now is to supply a corrective and ensure
harmonious growth.
While
the new experiment has yet to be tried out, there is an ever-rising tide of
criticism from educational experts, particularly in the annual Convocation
addresses, directed against the work of the Universities. The complaint is
about the lowering of standards and the slackening of discipline. To a large
extent these evils are due to the enormous increase in the number of students
seeking admission and the consequent growth of colleges with inadequate
equipment. Secondary education has deteriorated and the products of our schools
are unable to profit by the teaching in the colleges. The sudden
change-over in the medium of instruction from the regional language to English
at the college level acts as a severe handicap. And many of the students have
to be coached for the examinations at high pressure, leaving very little time
for the development of a healthy outlook on life and its problems, so essential
for the man of culture. The neglect of English has been widely noticed as an
undesirable symptom, in as much as it has led to a regrettable indifference to
intellectual achievement as expressed through progressive movements of thought.
The
mass production of graduates with poor attainment can only lead to more
unemployment and discontent. It is therefore fortunate the new pre-University
class marks a stage at which the purely literary and academic courses can be
separated from the professional ones. Those who pursue the former will do so
with the main object of securing knowledge which is intrinsically valuable,
irrespective of material considerations. The pursuit of literature, philosophy
and science must be deemed a worthy one for its own sake. Those who finish the
degree course and take up research work at various Universities wilt form the
cream of Indian intellectuals; on their shoulders will rest the burden of
extending the frontiers of knowledge and co-operating with the savants
of other lands.
The
rest of our University graduates will either fill the administrative services
or occupy important positions in the public life of the country. All these must
set a high standard of rectitude and efficiency. It is with these aims that our
universities should function in the coming years. Insistence on quality is of
prime importance, and quality implies devotion to ideals and the ability to
serve as well as to assume leadership.
Scholar,
patriot and statesman, Maulana Azad was one of the greatest personalities of
his day. Few men in the East have commanded similar respect and attention. He
belonged to the intellectual aristocracy of India and was a nobleman in many
ways. In a momentous period in Indian history, he threw himself unreservedly
into the struggle for freedom and stood forth as a living symbol of
Hindu-Muslim co-operation in that great adventure.
It
was in the days of the Khilafat movement that the Maulana’s name was first
mentioned in the sphere of all-India politics. He was known as a first-rate
scholar in Persian and Arabic, a pious Muslim divine, and an able commentator
on the Holy Koran. He had no particular fascination for politics, and, but for
the crisis in our national life during the year succeeding the first World War,
he might have been content to leave the impress of his mind and spirit in the
realm of philosophy and mysticism. To him, as to the Poetess Sarojini Devi,
came the call through Mahatma Gandhi. And the call was obeyed, with results
which form a marvellous chapter in the story of human freedom.
Apart
from his contribution to the attainment of freedom, the Maulana was one of the
architects of New India in the decade after the 15th August 1947. Education and
scientific research claimed his special attention. It was under his auspices
that the Academies of Letters, Music and Drama, Sculpture and Painting were
inaugurated with a view to drawing together the votaries of Literature and the
Fine Arts from all over India. He was aware that the State could not direct or
control the sensitive spirits thus brought into friendly contact with each
other, but the State could at least provide the background and the atmosphere
in which they might meet and mingle and exchange confidences.
The
Maulana’s devotion was not confined to his particular Department in the
Government of India. This elder statesman was at his best as a counsellor when
intricate problems were discussed. In the Working Committee of the Congress and
in the meetings of the Central Cabinet, his guidance and sage counsel were
invaluable. Several of those privileged to work with him on these bodies have
borne testimony to the manner in which he could unravel many a tangled skein
and present the fundamentals of a position with consummate skill.
The
Maulana was engaged during his last days in the revision of the English
rendering of his autobiographical notes. When this precious document is brought
to light, a grateful nation will know more about the happenings behind the
scenes when great decisions were taken by the leaders, of whom the Maulana was
one of the tallest. Like the autobiographies of Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal
Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad, it will reveal the workings of a mind attuned to
lofty thoughts and eager to give of its best to fellow-men.
“Prince
of Headmasters.” That was how the scholar-statesman Srinivasa Sastri, himself a
famous Headmaster, spoke of Sampathgiri Rao on the occasion of Silver Jubilee
of the National High School, Basavangudi, Bangalore, some years ago. The school
later developed into a First Grade College and Sampathgiri Rao became its
Principal. At sixty, he retired but was re-entertained. He was looking forward
to a life of study and contemplation, without the obligation to attend to
routine duties. But, on the initiative of an esteemed friend, Sri R. R.
Diwakar, he was invited to take up the principalship of the Vikas Vidyalaya, a
Public School, at Ranchi in Bihar.
Sampathgiri
Rao accepted the new assignment about the same time that I gave up mine as
Chief Editor of Southern Languages Book Trust, Madras, for reasons of health.
From Madras I went to Bangalore to bid him ‘Good-Bye’ and to be present at some
of the functions organised in his honour. It was a rather hectic week just
before Sankranti (January 14). People of all ages and from different
walks of life vied with one another in expressing their deep affection for
Sampathgiri Rao. They were sad to miss his dear presence in Bangalore for a
time, but were happy that a person of such brilliance and charm was chosen to
be their cultural ambassador.
The
highlight of the week was the gathering of the Old Boys who presented an
Address to Sampathgiri Rao and had his portrait unveiled by Mr. Justice Nittoor
Srinivasa Rau of the Mysore High Court. Listening to Sri Srinivasa Rau’s
exquisite speech, I felt that readers of Triveni, with which Sampathgiri
Rao is so closely associated, would love to have a vivid glimpse of his
personality as sketched by a life-long friend. I therefore sought Sri Srinivasa
Rau’s kind permission to publish the bulk of his speech.
It
was in the brief interval between two periods of my prison-life, and while
Madras was being evacuated for fear of Japanese bombing, that I shifted Triveni
to Bangalore and prevailed upon Sampathgiri Rao to be the Associate Editor.
We published two numbers from the Journal’s new home, and before the third
could be commenced, I was taken to a detention camp in connection with the
August 1942 movement. Sampathgiri Rao had then to bear the entire
responsibility as de facto Editor. Under the guidance of elders like Sri
Masti Venkatesa Iyengar and Sri D. V. Gundappa, and with the active assistance
of Sri Srinivasa Rau and the late Raghunathaswamy Rao Sahib, Sampathgiri Rao
made a splendid job of it. Though Triveni was published from Masulipatam
after 1949, the Silver Jubilee was celebrated at Bangalore in 1954 by the group
of friends who sheltered it during a crisis.
Sampathgiri
Rao is dear beyond words to his many friends. May he win fresh laurels at
Ranchi and establish a great tradition like Dr. Arnold of
Rugby!
l February 24