12/8/2014

BeyondthelanguagetussleTheHindu

OpinionLead
Published:December6,201401:23IST|Updated:December6,201401:23IST

Beyondthelanguagetussle
TejaswiniNiranjana
ItmightbemoreproductivetoseetheongoingSanskritversusGermancontroversyasawelcomeopportunitytodiscusstherealand
persistentproblemsofoureducationsystem,notallofwhichhavetodowithwhichlanguageschildrengettolearn

TheongoingSanskritvs.Germancontroversyisbeingseenbysomeasthesignofasinisterconspiracytochange
educationaloptions,andbyothersasamuchneededcorrectivetobringbackIndiancultureintotheschools.It
mightbemoreproductivetoseeitinsteadasawelcomeopportunitytodiscusstherealandpersistentproblemsofour
educationsystem,notallofwhichhavetodowithwhichlanguageschildrengettolearn.Theattempttoimplementthe
teachingofSanskritinschoolsseemstobesupportedbyaremarkablyuninformedviewaboutwhatsortoflanguage
policywerequiretoday.Andthisisnottosaythatpreviousgovernmentshadanygreaterinsightintohowtohandle
eitherthemediumofinstructionproblemortheissueofhowmanylanguagestoteachandatwhatlevel.
Educationbudgetcut
FarmoredisturbingthantheSanskritGermandebatewasthenewslastweekthatthenewCentralgovernmenthas
decidedtocutRs.11,000crorefromtheEducationbudget(TheHindu,Socialsectorfundsslashed,Nov.27).The
favouringofphysicalinfrastructureoverthesocialsector(health,education,socialsecurity,nutrition,etc.)
disregardstheintangiblefactorsthatgointostrengtheningknowledgebasesandthesettingupofinfrastructureinthe
firstplace.OneoftheimplicitcasualtiesofthemassivecutintheEducationbudgetisaproposed12thPlanprogramme
torevitaliseIndianlanguageresourcesinhighereducation.Therationaleforthisprogrammewasthatgenerationof
knowledgeinIndianlanguageswouldnotonlycreatenewintellectualresourcesbuttransformtheteachinglearning
processinpositiveways.Theaccessequityqualitytriangleemphasisedbypolicymakerscouldeffectivelybe
strengthenedthroughafocusonIndianlanguages.Sincethedefaultmediumofinstructionatthetertiarylevelwas
actuallyalocallanguageratherthanthemandatoryEnglish,thedeliberateblindnessofsuccessivegovernmentsto
thisfactwasdeprivingstudentsacrossdisciplinesofgoodqualityresources.Thislinguisticdivideaffectsthemajority
oftertiarystudentsinthecountry.Thus,investinginIndianlanguagematerialsatthebasicandadvancedlevelsisa
sustainable(nottomentioncosteffective)waybywhichIndianhighereducationcouldbestrengthened.

Thelongterm
objectiveshouldbe
tomakethestudent
bilingually
proficient,sothat
heisabletobridge
effectivelythe
conceptualworlds
ofthelocalandthe
global.

Weshouldnoteherethattheemphasisisnotonhowmanylanguagesthestudent
learnsbutonwhethers/heisdevelopingcognitivecapabilities.Thistoohasbeena
seriousblindspotinmodernIndianeducationoverthedecades,rightuptothe
recentMay2014SupremeCourtjudgmentonthenonenforceabilityofmother
tongueinstruction.TheCourtinvokedtherighttofreedomofspeechandexpression
inthisinstancetosaythatchildrenandparentscouldchoosethelanguageinwhich
thechildwantedtobeeducated.Withallrespecttothelearnedjudges,onewonders
iftheysoughtexpertopinioninthematterormerelyreliedontheircommonsense.
Iftheyhaddonetheformer,theymighthavefoundoutthatworldwideresearchhas
provedthatthemosteffectiveteachingandlearninghappensthroughtheuseofthe
mothertongue.IfexposingachildtoEnglishataveryyoungageisdictatedby
opportunismandaskewedsenseofwhatmakessocialmobilitypossible,thischoice
fliesinthefaceoflanguageandeducationresearchaswellasthemostenlightened
pedagogicpracticesavailable.IfmothertongueorIndianlanguageeducationisnot
practicaltoday,itsbecauseoftheenormouslackofgoodeducationalresourcesin
thoselanguages,anotherneedthatstateinitiativeshavefailedtoaddressadequately.
ParallelwithChina

Since,thesedays,Chinaisthefavouritecountryofcomparisonforus,weshouldpay
attentiontothefactthatstudentsinChinastartlearningEnglishinthefourthstandardandforthemostpartstudyall
theirsubjectsinMandarin.Inmyexperience,theEnglishfluencyoftheaverageChineseundergraduaterangesfrom
functionalknowledgeofEnglishtocompleteproficiency,withanemphasisonreadingandwritingratherthan
speaking.Eventhosewithfunctionalknowledgearefarmorecapableofdealingwiththeworldofhighereducation
todaythanmoststudentsIencounterinIndia.Thesinglemostimportantvariableherewouldhavetobethatof
mothertongueinstructioncombinedwithlaterexposuretoalanguagethatgivesstudentsaccesstoresourcesnotso
readilyavailableinChinese.ItsadifferentmatterthatInternetuseissoheavilypolicedinChina.However,every
personIknowinsideandoutsidetheuniversityhasfiguredouthowexactlytoaccesstheresourcestheywant,whichis
muchmorethancanbesaidofIndianstudentswhodontexperiencegovernmentimposedfirewalls.So,again,isthe
abilitytonavigatethedigitaldomainrelatedtolanguageskillsorcriticalskills?
Lackofclarity
Theinabilitytocreateasystematiccurricularexposuretolanguageandcriticalskillsisperhapswhatpromptsperiodic
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12/8/2014

BeyondthelanguagetussleTheHindu

outburstsliketheCentralBoardofSecondaryEducation(CBSE)directivetoreplaceGermaninKendriyaVidyalaya
schoolswithSanskrit.Combinedwiththislackofapplicationiswhatcanonlybeseenastheextraordinarilyresilient
prejudicesaboutwhatconstitutesIndianculture.Weroutinelytendtoforgetthatthisisamodernconcept,mobilised
bycolonialistaswellasnationalistperspectivesonoursociety.Lackofclarityaboutwhateducationisforleadsto
muddledthinkingaboutwhatshouldbedoneinthespaceofeducation.Weshouldnotconfusedlybelievethatthe
primarytaskofeducationistopassonwaysoflivingwedothatinalmosteverydomainofsocialengagement.The
taskofeducationistofosterandstrengthencognitivecapacitiesthatcanequipstudentstoproduceoriginalknowledge
ontheirownterms,forwhichwearelikelytoneedbilingualandtrilingualeducation.Debatingwhetherweshould
learnSanskritinsteadofGermanisadistractionfromtherealtasksthatlieahead.Weneedtoreorientthelanguage
debatetofocusnotonlearningthelanguage(anylanguage)butlearninghowtothink.
Languageuseanalysis
TheCBSEcircularofJune30,2014,instructingitsaffiliatedschoolstoobserveSanskritWeek,introducedthetopicby
statingthatSanskritandIndiancultureareintertwinedasmostoftheindigenousknowledgeisavailableinthis
language.Itsshockingtoseethatpeopleinthebusinessofeducationareunawareaboutthefundamentalhistoriesof
languageuseinourcountry,andthatmereassertioncanpassforaccurateinformation.Apartfromthefacilecollapsing
ofcultureontoknowledge,thecircularsstatementaboutSanskritasthelanguageofindigenousknowledgeappears
asasweepinggeneralisationwhenyoulookatitfromthepointofviewofmedical,artisanalorperformingarts
knowledgeforms.Evenifwestaywithjustoneexample,thatofindigenousmedicine,andevenifwestaywiththe
venerableCouncilofScientificandIndustrialResearch(CSIR)anditsTraditionalKnowledgeDigitalLibrary(TKDL),a
quickoverviewofthebookslistedwouldshowthatthelanguagesofindigenousknowledgeincludePersian,Arabic,
UrduandTamilinadditiontoSanskrit.Thelibrarycurrentlylists137TamilbooksonSiddha,forexample,with157
SanskritbooksonAyurveda.SomeofthisknowledgeisalsoavailableinMalayalam,liketheimportantworkson
vishavaidyam.
ComingtocontemporarylanguageuseinIndia,itwouldbeimportanttonotethatjustasmodernKannada,Marathior
TeluguforexamplehavedrawnonSanskrittobuildtheirvocabulary,theyhaveequallystronglydrawnonother
languages.HerearesomesampleKannadawordsthatrevealtheoriginallanguagecoiledinsidethepresentdayusage:
adalat,vakila,javabu,ambari,gulabi,sipayi,taakathhu,firyadu,bunadi,najooku(Persian/Urdu).Thiskindof
samplingcouldbereplicatedforanycontemporaryIndianlanguage,andanexhaustivemappingexercisemightreveal
fascinatingborrowingsandtransformationsthatgesturewellbeyondlanguageuse.
Mostofourlanguagescannotsustainteachingandresearchinthecontextofthemodernuniversityanditsdisciplines.
Weneedtocreatecriticalvocabulariesacrossseveralconceptualdomains.Studentsneedtolearntheabilityto
distinguishbetweenlevelsofmeaning,tocontextualise/translate,andtocreatenewconceptsthatcapturethelifeof
oursocietiesandourinstitutions.Andindoingthis,theyhavetolearntodrawonmultiplelinguisticresources.
EnsuringtheentryofIndianlanguageresourcesintothemainstreamofourhighereducationsystemisalongdelayed
project.Bybringingtheseresourcesintoanationaleducationalstructure,wewillbe(a)expandingtheanalytical
abilitiesoftheselanguages,and(b)makingthecurriculummorerelevanttothesocietywelivein.Thelongterm
objectiveshouldbetomakethestudentbilinguallyproficient,sothatheisabletobridgeeffectivelytheconceptual
worldsofthelocalandtheglobal.
(TejaswiniNiranjanaiswiththeCentreforIndianLanguagesinHigherEducationattheTataInstituteofSocial
Sciences,Mumbai.)
Keywords:Sanskritvs.Germancontroversy,Sanskrit,KendriyaVidyalayas,KendriyaVidyalayaSangathan,Sanskritin
KVs,foreignlanguages,languagescourses
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