I recently received the following forward from my friend Mr M S Ravikumar.
An American visted India and went back..
Indian :”What Nonsense? Who else could you meet?”
This forward I received from another source also a few months back and my reaction at that time was that we are Indians first and last. But getting the forward once again has set me thinking. Why we are not united as the Americans (a pluralistic society)? What prevents us coming near to each other and stand with a single identity? I think the languages divide us .Hence my reply to Mr Ravikumar on the following lines.
Single Nation, single flag, single language. Then we would be speaking in one voice.
Actually we are a collection of States, not like US but as
To call Hindi as the Official language, relegating English to the 2nd place as the link language is still funnier. I personally feel that English, if allowed to continue as the sole language of the Government, both at the centre and States we might have been more united and more progressed, instead of wasting our time and energy in translating English text books into regional languages and doing brain (!) storming to coin equivalent words or expressions to an invention abroad.
We last sense of direction, after the death of Jawaharlal Nehru and drifting apart. Stressing the individuality has undermined the unity. Unity in diversity has come to Diversity at the expense of Unity.In any relationship, some compromise is needed by the individuals involved. To remain as a strong nation and continue as the largest democracy in the world we need a common language like English which is widely spoken and understood through out the subcontinent.Regional languages,including Hindi, can flourish in literature,art , culture , entertainment and of course in local politics,if you treat it as another form of entertainment!