In his convocation address delivered at the fourth convocation of Central University of Karnataka, Kalaburagi, on Thursday, writer Chandrashekhar Kambar devoted much of his time to explicate the plight of Indian languages, particularly Kannada, in the face of English onslaught and express serious concerns over the danger of extinction of indigenous languages.
“Linguistic States were formed soon after Independence to facilitate the development of the main languages of the land. However, the purpose has not been served even today. The situation is more absurd and horrible these days. Our languages are on the verge of extinction. Though our languages share common history, form, culture and goals, we are forced to interact with each other in a foreign language, English, which, given its advantageous position, is eating up all our languages,” he said.
Two revolutions
Terming the upsurge of the Bhakti Movement and the introduction of Macaulay Education as two revolutions that had deeply influenced languages in India, Dr. Kambar said that the former allowed people’s languages to flourish and the latter curbed their development.
“The Bhakti Movement led by Basaveshwara, Allama Prabhu, Akka Mahadevi and other reformers in the 12th century was a movement of the oppressed. With the compositions of Vachanas, Sanskrit was replaced with Kannada as a language for communication with God. When people got to know that they can communicate with God in their own languages, they created a flood of Bhakti songs composed in their own languages. However, the introduction of Macaulay Education developed a sense of inferiority among Indian masses. With the extension of educational opportunities to all, including those masses such as Dalits who had never thought of getting educated, the British rulers created tens of millions of Indians who began to say ‘Yes’ to whatever the Englishmen would say without any question. Now, we have lost our sense of questioning our own minds,” he said.
The great benefit that India obtained from the British was universalisation of education, the second revolution, but what we had to pay for it was not a small thing either, he added.
Referring to the Supreme Court ruling on the medium of instruction in primary education as a noose around the necks of indigenous languages, Mr. Kambar said that Kannada language was in a pathetic state.
“In the four years between 2013 and 2018, the strength in Kannada medium schools is down by around 13 lakh students and the strength in English medium schools is up by around 15 lakh students. The government itself is paying for students who opt English medium schools under RTE [Right To Education] Act,” he said.