Nationalism, Culture and English

There are many factors that are causing great loss to our country. The English language is not even the least of them. On the contrary, the widespread knowledge of English places us at an advantage. The ever increasing number of people, who wish to learn the language or teach it to their children, do so by opting for it with their hard earned money. So when Rajnath Singh, the national president of the BJP, opines that English is bad for India, the immediate reaction is laughter if not derision. 

Singh is reported to have said: “The English language has caused a great loss to the country. We are losing our language, our culture as there are hardly any people who read Sanskrit now….We have started forgetting our religion and culture these days.”(Times of India)

Languages run through their course in history. They evolve. They move from relevant to obsolete and vice versa. Some languages like Latin and Sanskrit are to be preserved for their classics, for study and research, but not to be imposed for modern communications as spoken languages. English is not considered only as the language of Britain but has become the international lingua franca. It has not only lived beyond colonialism but grown to embrace the terminology of modern science, jurisprudence, business and technology. It has a rich and varied vocabulary, and has borrowed liberally from other languages including those from India. In fact we can even claim that we have our own Indian English. Our modern Indian English writers have won world-wide acclaim, international recognition, and awards including the Man Booker Prize for fiction several times. Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Anita Desai and Kiran Desai are just a few names that dot the shelves of English literature. Moreover, the better our knowledge of English, the better will be our opportunities in the globalized education, business and industry.

And why do we blame any language for our national ills and loss? It is the politicians, the bigots, the fundamentalists and fanatics who are to be blamed first and foremost. It is they who incite and excite the people for their own narrow ends, to divide and rule. If our country is not prospering as much as it should have been, it is because of several factors which we gloss over while bringing religion and language to the fore. Why are we swimming, or rather drowning, in a sea of corruption? Why are there so many scandals in almost every field, not just politics but sports, industry, hospitals, schools, colleges, universities, media and even the defense establishment? Even our religious institutions are not always above board. Why are the crimes increasing by the day? Why have rapes become so frequent? Who is responsible for the communal riots and the caste wars that take place every now and then? What ails our systems? Any particular language? English?

The questions asked above require answers and solutions. Our politicians evade these by raising emotional issues based on religion, caste, culture and language. The British ruled over India but could not conquer our culture. It is not so weak that the English language can destroy it. Let us preserve the good values deeply ingrained in our culture but let oppressive customs and divisive traditions be discarded. Let the English language open us to the world, and let a gentle breeze from across our national borders blow away the cobwebs that restrict us in many ways. 

The English language, the postal system and the railways were in fact some of the factors responsible for building up the Indian freedom struggle. Leaders from the north and south, east and west of India could meet and exchange views. They were as much inspired by the political philosophies and revolutions of the western world as they were by the profound values of our own civilization and culture. It is offensive to our national ethos for anyone to state that we can so easily be swept off our feet. Obviously such individuals and leaders do not understand the India which they want to rule.

I would like to conclude on a positive, personal note. I like to speak Konkani, my mother tongue, but love to read and speak English. It is through English that I have learnt so much about my country India. The Discovery of India, by Jawaharlal Nehru, taught me the idea of a great India with a breathtaking variety of cultures and languages, each unique and yet linked to the other. An Idealist view of Life, by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, gave me an understanding of Hinduism as a way of life. Talks on the Gita, by Vinobha Bhave, deepened my understanding further. The English translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s Gitanjali made me more interested in the great Bengali doyen of literature. And Prakash Thali’s English translation of Pundalik Naik’s Konkani short story, entitled The Electric Dawn in the November 1985 issue of Goa Today magazine, made me want to read the author more. These were some of the books that made me understand and appreciate the Indian culture better. And all of them were in English.

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 28.07.2013   

Peeping into the Past

I have vivid memories of the years 1989 to 1991, when so much changed all over the world and we felt we were going to have a new order in the world. President George Bush spoke about the new world order after the decline and collapse of communism in the Soviet empire and East Europe. But what he meant and what we yearned for were not one and the same. We wanted a peaceful world where all nations would coexist in harmony, no more being caught in the cold war friction of a bi-polar world. We were hoping that there would be no more need for nuclear weapons; the neutron bombs that were designed to kill life without destroying buildings; the short range and long range missiles that could be used in a third world war between USA and USSR, their aligned countries, and engulfing the entire world.

The collapse of the USSR was followed by the significant breaking of the Berlin Wall. The  East and the West would meet and mingle in a free world. And our joy knew no bounds when Nelson Mandela, the prisoner of the century, stepped out of the prison of apartheid after twenty-seven long years. Wasn’t it the time to celebrate freedom?  

Twenty-three years later Mandela is now on his death bed a week before his ninety-fifth birthday on 18^th July. He has accomplished his mission of freeing South Africa from official apartheid and will continue to be an inspiration for generations to come.

Coming back to George Bush, his idea of the new world order obviously meant that the USA would from then on be at the centre of the world. But the world is too vast and humanity too diverse for universal hegemony. Human beings want to be free from immediate control as well as remote control. Diversity is heavenly; uniformity is hell, controlled or otherwise. Whether it were Alexander the Great of ancient Greece or the emperors of the great Roman empire or our own Ashoka the Great, the seeds of decline grew with the ambition for expansion. 

The dreams of peace after the end of cold war never came true: entered chemical weapons, germ warfare, and terrorists’ bombs. Terrorism became the new world disorder of the day, not confined to declared war zones but targeting civilian habitations, anywhere, any day, anytime.  The worst part of it is that religious fundamentalism is taking the place of ideological antagonism. Terrorism may have started as a violent manifestation of political aspirations, but now it is growing on the basis of misunderstood religion. Peace and goodwill which are the natural fruits of true religion are giving way to intolerance and hatred propagated by religious bigotry. It becomes easy for the perverted and power hungry politicians to loot and rule, and to trigger mass hysteria by camouflaging a hidden agenda in the garb of religion, false religion I mean. The wolf which comes in the garb of a lamb is an apt image to describe this phenomenon. Simple people easily fall for these fakes only to realize much later that they’ve been taken for a ride.

Conflict has always been a part and parcel of human history, including religious conflict. But we must realize that while other conflicts are confined to geography and natural resources, the religious conflicts are increasing and crossing national boundaries. A global dimension, and therefore global solidarity, is increasingly applied to religious conflicts.

Religious intolerance is increasingly becoming the order of the day in our own country. It becomes easy for politicians to polarize the people on religious basis, creating fear psychosis and then playing on them, instigating violence, calling for solidarity with the hope of maintaining a monolithic vote bank. But the people should realize that suspicion and hatred can never bring peace and prosperity. The germs of hatred will forever create insecurity and division. The victors of one period of time will become the vanquished of another period. Revenge, not law and justice, will be the national order of the day.

It is important not to bring a sectarian approach to our national discourse. As the 2014 elections approach, we expect more histrionics and more shrill voices to rise. It is important that political leaders and parties should not respond to those diverting people’s attention with petty issues by doing likewise. Demagogues must be responded to not by other demagogues, but by sober, logical and moderate leaders. We still remember how Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was described in humiliating terms during the 2009 elections by the then opposition leader. But the sober people of India proved that they could not be swayed by derogatory speeches, and opted for dignified silence.

A peep into the history of India and the world can indeed be illuminating.

 

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 14.07.2013  

Lessons from Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand is a hilly region while Goa is a coastal state with hills aplenty. Before delving in similarities which draw our attention to possibilities of devastation in the Goan terrain, I must bow my head in silence to the thousands of Indians who lost their precious lives in the “Himalayan tsunami” last month, including those from the defense forces who died on duty performing rescue operations. I must also express my human solidarity with those who have suffered pain and tremendous loss of life and property. And I must share with my fellow citizens the apprehensions of future devastations if we do not learn to respect nature and live in harmony with our natural environment.

It was nature’s fury at its worst. But did the work of human beings aggravate the situation? Experts from ecological sciences and other fields have generally agreed that human interference with works of nature has taken its toll manifested in the scale of destruction. The warnings of environmentalists were not taken seriously, and even the recommendations of officially appointed commissions not implemented. The Ministry of Environment and Forests had notified in December, 2012 the watershed area near the Bhagirathi as an eco-sensitive zone under the Environment Protection Act, 1986. Construction activities were to be banned and land use conversion curtailed in this area. But the Government of Uttarakhand opposed this notification on the ground that it would affect development and progress, and even had a resolution passed in the Assembly to this effect. 

We find similar arguments in Goa when it comes to eco-sensitive zones. Our governments, past and present, do not propose resolutions in the Assembly but delay the process of implementation ad infinitum. The Regional Plan 2021 with eco-sensitive zones in place is in limbo, only announcements of revision followed by postponements on some pretext or the other by a 16-month old government that is supposed to be fast moving. Our governments in Goa do not oppose ecological concerns but strategically delay. Environmental protection delayed is protection denied, like the proverbial justice. Those who lose their lives or suffer in natural disasters triggered by human activities do not have a second chance to live on this otherwise beautiful earth. 

After the unprecedented devastation, we had this piece of news last Tuesday: “Rattled by the Himalayan Tsunami that ravaged Uttarakhand, the state government on Monday clamped a blanket ban on construction of houses and commercial establishments along river banks and announced a statutory body for development of flood-hit areas”(PTI). Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna  said the authority would consist of experts from different fields. I hope the expected recommendations will not be interpreted as anti-development but implemented with urgency.he  The Government of Goa should also take the implementation of the coastal zone regulations with serous urgency, not wait for disaster to strike. Candolim-Calangute-Baga stretch is now more of an urbanized commerce centre than a beach belt. The same is true about some of the beaches in South Goa. The lessons learnt should be applied to restrict or rather stop the destruction of natural endowments in the remaining beaches.

We know that tourism is a fragile industry and that we should not be too dependent on it. The people of Uttarakhand have now lost a very important means of livelihood not only during the current year but for next few years. Pilgrims who have not returned home alive as well as those who suffered miserably for days will convey the message which no advertising campaign can nullify. It is commented that the movement of tourists in Uttarakhand was beyond the carrying capacity of the region like in many other pilgrim centers. Goa and other tourist destinations have to plan according to their capacity, and not be guided by greed for the never ending more.

Deforestation is another common problem in Uttarakhand and Goa. We keep cutting trees to felicitate our version of development which calls for more structures of concrete and rapid urbanization of villages. Green cover prevents soil erosion and also lessens the vertical speed of rainfall, thus preventing landslides and floods which are becoming common in Goa. We don’t have to go far to remember the sudden floods in Canacona that shocked us in recent times; and the lesser floods in the week gone by.

Both Goa and Uttarakhand are relatively young states of the federation. The people of both states had aspired for and demanded statehood so that they could have a better say in moulding their future according to their ethos, a coastal state and a mountain state. The politicians benefited the most, not planning for the future but making the best out of immediate opportunities for themselves and those whose only concern was profit at any cost. The people of Uttarakhand have already suffered terribly. The people of Goa have to keep fighting their own elected governments on the streets in order to avert impending disasters.   

Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 07.07.2013