It’s surprising how trailers of
shows can actually give you a moment of epiphany and how it can make you
realize that the ground you stand on is really shaky.
While browsing through my limited
network of local channels my attention caught the trailer of a talk show, where
the discussion was focused on whether Malayalam is important in the school
curriculum or not. The main guest on the show made a remark which actually
caught my fancy, it was something like this “a student can complete his
matriculation and intermediate exams without learning a single word of
Malayalam if he is studying in an English medium school…”. What also interested
me was how people on the show were substantiating the fact that how less or
more important they felt to learn their mother tongue.
Well it was not the debate that
caught my rapt attention rather the whole point of a language not being
important. Our country has around 28 states where each state has its own
language, and what’s remarkable is what’s actually holding India together. It’s
definitely not religion, even though we are secular , India is home to more
than 8 different religions, it’s not language, cause we are known for being a
country of languages, and it’s also definitely not a common culture. So what
holds India together and what is that one thing that is keeping India alive and
bound for more than 60 plus years at a time where communal disharmony and
religious fanaticism are at its peak.
This thought also sheds light on
a very important fact as to why development has eluded India for so long. Being
a multi-cultural and multi-faceted country has its own set of drawbacks. For
example a country like France, even though secular is united by a common language which makes it
easier in many aspects, one being development in terms of employment and
ensuring equal rights to all and also unification of rural and urban sectors. In
a country like India, the lack of a common language can be considered as one of
the main reasons of unemployment or differential development. For example, a
state like Gujarat, requires skilled work force but Gujarat as such doesn't produce the same, and Uttar Pradesh’s labor force is the answer or savior to
Gujarat’s problem, but they avoid going to Gujarat because communication poses
a huge problem. This would not have been the case if there was a common
language. Even though this a very small scenario but this can be applicable in
many other aspects of development.
But like mentioned earlier there
is a common thread that is holding us together, that even barriers like
religion and language cannot break. It’s
something beyond being a Tamilian or a Gujarati, I guess ironically it’s about
being an Indian.
The multi-cultural diversity and
secularism engraved in the constitution is the common thread that’s holding us
together, beyond this each Indian is different. This is our greatest and also
our weakest link and building upon this and making sure that our diversities
and national ethnicity doesn’t come in the way of petty differences like
religion and language is the job of every Indian. In terms of development what
is required is an universal approach, which is free from the grip of nepotism
and so called political bureaucracy. If we have been doing well so far without
the interference of our lingual or religious differences, the chances of a
developed India sans political interference are bright. Development cannot and
will not elude India anymore.
