Sunday, June 12, 2011

Language…its just a medium !!

Lately I was reading few blogs and felt very strange about how can person educated like us can involve in such arguments, if not fight. Debate topic was, which languages should be preferred, all comments in English… interesting… why? Why not in Tamil or Hindi or Marathi? Is it because channel W has forced us to use English? No, it is because it is the common language between us. Person knows if he writes in Tamil or in Marathi, very less people will be there to read it. So what is the conclusion?
Language is just a medium of expression.
If we start dividing ourselves on basis of languages, as already done by our great politicians, then sooner or later it affects our progress and will make us conservative. This can be understood by some examples.
Suppose we had refused to learn English (of course it was forced on us). Was it possible that we be the leading country to outsource from west? What happens if leader from south meets a leader from north without English? I am not supporting English but this is what the truth is. It will be very difficult for Mr. Prime Minister to talk to Mr. President of US in Panjabi.
I remember once I was in Chennai station and a girl came to me and said something in Tamil. I have learnt few words in Tamil but only few words didn’t help me understand what she was trying to say. Now if I would have showed love for my mother tongue Hindi, she would have for Tamil, then there was no way we could communicate. Fortunately she knew English and wanted me to help her to pull out her luggage which was stuck in the wagon. It’s easy to understand that we are now friends.
People in Maharashtra live in fear if they don’t know Marathi (I don’t think I need to explain why?). Even I have learnt it. People think that their language will lose identity, but if you stop communicating, you will lose your own identity.  Suppose two people meet each other, one Marathi, one Tamil. Tamil refuses to learn Marathi and vice versa. What happened? No harm to Marathi, No harm to Tamil, Bonding is at lost.   
Nobody is forcing anything, no one can, and it is our right to freedom. But, if one protests for Hindi, then why not for English? Both are our official languages. Here if I say our, it means our country not state. People killed each other because they were going it to declare Hindi as a National language. Thank God they didn’t fight for tiger is being our national animal, peacock being national bird and Jan-gan-man being national anthem (it’s in Bengali, if one is unaware). 
How we make friends? How we make community? How states are bound? How counties are bound? It all starts with communication. Language solves the issue, it itself should not be any issue. There should always be a common way of expression for bonding and this, in anyway will not harm your own language, cause when I pray, I pray in my language…and God listens…