‘English Must Be Phased Out’ and higher education should be done in the mother tongue Yogendra Yadav said in a debate.
A parliamentary panel on languages has recommended using Hindi and regional languages for teaching in center-run higher learning institutes. A debate is raging over whether it’s a good move. “Bringing Hindi as a substitute for English is as barbaric to me as the dominance of English today. Yes, English must be phased out, and higher education should be done in the mother tongue,” said political activist Yogendra Yadav.
#LeftRightCentre | "English must be phased out, and higher education should be done in the mother tongue," said political activist @_YogendraYadav. pic.twitter.com/DYqBfMhaDr
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 11, 2022
This will what will happen if Phasing out English Occurs
- Language Cannot Be Learned in A Jiffy: When Yogendra Yadav makes a comparison of Britain learning Mandarin but learning all their subjects in their own language as the English medium is a poor comparison, because, unlike Britain, India has hundreds of languages. Most nations across the world have one language. Many Indians speak a language belonging to the families of the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European (c. 77%), the Dravidian (c. 20.61%), the Austroasiatic (Munda) (c. 1.2%), or the Sino-Tibetan (c. 0.8%), with some languages of the Himalayas still unclassified. We cannot just suddenly drill them into new lines to study their schooling in their own languages. It will just be chaotic because we are not speaking about just a few languages but many. One would need to raise lakhs of trained teachers for such a mega task along with massive infrastructure and the process would dishevel the nation. This will also destroy the next generation’s dreams and ambitions, by limiting their spheres because of language.
- Present Climate Very Sensitive: Presently, India is completely polarized and divided, and India is more toxic today than it has been in decades, and it shows no signs of climbing down. The divide between secular and Hindu nationalist visions of national identity, religion, and language too now is forming the major hub of polarization in India today. At present, by removing English, one will divide the states against each other. Playing now with English is only going to add more fuel to a fire that is already burning.
- Interstate Residents Will be Marginalized: India has a history of migrations which is part of the rich diversity of the nation. When people from different states are in another state and they speak their own languages, the others who do not belong to that state will become the “black sheep of the family”. It is a very unhealthy atmosphere and children more than anyone suffer due to linguistic barriers. Ultimately, it will limit people to their own states, divide India, and people will become more communal and linguistically build up narrow walls to cut others out. We are already having a gigantic issue right now with religious intolerance. Do they want to add another one to it?
4. A Divided India Will Be Celebrated By Enemies: India’s demography and ethnicity are more diverse than any other nation with India’s polarised politics being a bigger national security threat than Pakistan and China. The most pressing threat to India’s standing in the world comes not from China’s expansionism or the shifting of Pakistan but from polarised Indian politics. Here is India, with our divisions, it will be very easy for enemy nations to cash on it and weaken India.
5. Using Regional languages to Phase out English Will Thwart Interstate Unity: When traveling on a plane or train long journey, most times, it is either English or Hindi that connected people in communication. People from different states could carry out a conversation with each other, but now with language as a barrier, people will stop speaking to each other. Perhaps Indians will now have to learn sign language to communicate with each other.
6. Battle of North Indian and South Indian Languages will Intensity: As if it was not enough, the walls of division between North India and South India will grow, which is already being triggered off by the new politics of the ruling party, that even led Tamilians to echo, “Tamilians are not Hindus.”
7. Trade Will be Destroyed: Due to language barriers and tension brewing between states due to language rifts, it will discourage interstate trade. While one can learn a few words of another state’s language, trade between states was often easier because of a common language. Pride of language may rise but pride of language will be the ultimate fall of India unless we embrace diversity.
As Hermit on Twitter very rightly said, “That’s what they want. soon everything that is a threat to them will be phased out elections, education, feminism, democracy, human rights to name a few”
What is more surprising is this very narrow comment came from Yogendra Yadav, who is supposed to be a free thinker. Perhaps, sometimes, intellectuals are not practical! Just get prepared now to communicate with other Indians in sign language.
Thats what they want.soon everything that is a threat to them will be phased out elections, education, feminism ,democracy, human rights to name a few
— hermit (@cosmicash_dust) October 12, 2022