Interview : We must stand up for respective languages

Padmashri and the recipient of highest literary award, Gyanpeeth Prof Bhalchandra Nemade is that eminent Marathi laureate who changed the literary direction in the 60s with his writing. Nemade a popular writer of three generations is a staunch proponent of mother tongue. He believes in roots and is known for his outspoken and frank views. Hitesh Shankar, Editor of Panchjanya recently talked to him on various issues like education and language, distortion of history in syllabus, cultural identity of this country, and the resolution calling for imparting education through mother tongue passed by the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha of RSS and so on. Here are the excerpts:

• What is that most hurts you in the old education system and new school education? Or say, what is that most hurts a grandpa in the education of his grandchild?

The excessive use of English is the one that hurts me the most. However, my grandchildren study in Marathi medium schools. I particularly like that all the subjects are taught in Marathi (mother tounge or regional language) and English is taught as a subject from fifth standard onwards. I feel this is good. The students studying in this system have better chances of developing good English over their English medium counterparts.

• How far this dictum is true that if you think in the language in which you seek food when hungry, weep when hurt and have dreams when sleeping, you will move forward?

This is absolutely true. This has been the human history. Only those countries that were enslaved or some other have foreign language as medium of instruction. China, Japan and European nations do not have foreign language as a medium of instruction. Why should we use English then? But this has been going on throughout the nation.

• Talking in English thinking in English is considered superior. Do you believe that good thoughts are monopoly of English language? Or Indian psyche is developed in this fashion?

After independence this perception was created in India. In my opinion it is totally wrong to presume that good thoughts are monopoly of English language only. There was some tilting towards English during our children’s time but today in the time of my grandchildren this is more vivid and excessive.

• What would this growing influence of English do in your opinion? Is there any danger?

This is very dangerous and aggressive. Today English has assumed demonic proportions globally and threatens the very existence of diverse languages and tongues. In Australia there were over 600 languages but only 30-35 exist today and maybe in coming 50 years all these will vanish! England used to have 6-7 languages a century ago. English has spoiled all these languages. Today no one speaks Scottish, Gellil, Manx, Celtic. Only some have saved Welsh. Instead of English we must use our mother tongue as that is the only solution to this problem. The Irish people have started using Irish language. There were 200 languages in America and Canada of which only 38 exist today. This situation stares at India too. Hence, from this point of view, English is dangerous. In India, people must stand up in various provinces in support of their respective languages.

• You have toured and travelled extensively and understood the world. But what is your source to understand our vast country as a writer?

However vast our country may be, if you know and understand the Hindu family, you can know the roots of our nation. One cell is enough to know about the entire body. We are proud of the fact that in our country, in each village and family, in any state whether Assam or Kashmir, you find similar sanskars imparted. Therefore, you need not go outside to understand things. Diversity has a major contribution in development of our intellect. Adopting different things in different situations has developed us. But today things are changing. We are becoming dependent on a number of things. This one point thinking, eating and clothing is against the very grain of this land which bolsters and promotes diversity.

• As you said English has a demonic tendency, it devoured 300 tribal dialects of Australia. Similarly, in our north eastern region there are numerous tribes who have individual traditions, culture and system of clothing. But teaching English to them along with the religious book has detached them from their traditions. How do you look at it?

I have said many a times openly that people in the North East should be given instructions in their mother tongue. Shifting to english with change of faith, this should be stopped. Those who convert people in the guise of service should not be allowed to do so. These two cannot go hand in hand.

However vast our country may be, if you know and understand the Hindu family, you can know the roots of our nation. One cell is enough to know about the entire body. We are proud of the fact that in our country, in each village and family, in any state whether Assam or Kashmir, you find similar sanskars imparted. I am dead against this secularism, its definition and its thought. I failed to understand its meaning. Its my appeal to the intellectuals not to borrow words from foreign languages that would divide us further. Our Hindu culture can bind all of us together because this is the only culture that keeps us together.

• Mother Teresa had said in her interview to Time magazine that she converted people with love. Questions were raised on her service of this type in India and abroad. Do you consider such service as true one? As a laureate do you feel this is a challenge and how to confront with it?

It is good to serve. Even Jesus had said so. But he did not say ‘serve and convert’. If such things are happening it is because of our weakness. If we were to save society from the clutches of the missionaries then we would have to awaken people in this regard. We must expose the difference between missionary education and our primary education system. We must generate awareness amongst the parents of the students in this regard. Once this is done, things will get clear automatically.

• You said India has unity in diversity. Against this how do you see ISIS or Christianisation of people, efforts to paint humanity in one single color?

It is singularly dangerous for us Hindus to accept anything one. We never accepted one God, one book. Hence, it is wrong for us. We cannot support this and cannot even tolerate this because we believe in diversity. We believe that this alone can maintain the balance in nature.

• You said you can’t accept the wrong. But for an average Hindu it is said that he is so tolerant that he can tolerate any thing. Will this continue?

This is our weakness. Hindus were strong till the Gupta period and no one could do any harm to him. After that the Hindus began to get divided into castes and we did not accept those Hindus who drifted away from their roots. This was our blunder. As Shivaji Maharaj used to accept those Hindus who would come back to their original faith with honour and respect, we did not follow the same in the later period. This has weakened us further. We must give those Hindus a respectful place in the society because they are our own. We need to break the shackles of hatred and negation in their cases.

• Do you think that the country so diverse like India should have one medium of instruction and one syllabus?

I feel that syllabus should be according to the needs and requirements of particular region. If you are residing in Goa, then you ought to know what the Portuguese did and if you are a North Indian then you should know about the Mongols. How the Portuguese came, how they converted the people of Goa, you must know all this. Similarly, history and geography of individual state should be incorporated in the respective syllabi. Instead what is not required is being taught. For example, how the parliament functions in Britain, what Hitler did, etc. These are not useful to us. We should teach our pupils what the great people of this land did.

• One opinion is that some educationists have deliberately underestimated our history and defamed it as they were more influenced by the other world. They inserted a inferiority complex in our system. Do you believe in this?

Frankly speaking all the history taught from primary to higher levels is entirely false without an iota of truth in it. This is because their sources are either outsiders or ignorance of the language in which they are written. That is why we have a wrong, incorrect history and the same is being taught.

• Do you ever feel that there was lack of political will in this regard?

Yes. We have tremendous lack of political will. The most glaring example of this is our failure to make one language as national language. Sanskrit is on the verge of extinction and we did not replace it with any other national language. That is why English and our dependence on it is increasing. This is our main failure.

• Who, in your view, are the aggressors, if you look at the root cause of this malady?

If we have a look at our history we find that there were invasions. Greeks, Shakas, Hunas, Portuguese, Mughal and English were all aggressors. Most of them divided this society, confused the people and the British caused the maximum damage to our society. They divided people on the caste lines. Earlier, even the Muslims used to relate to them with profession and not with religion. This is what that kept us together.

• Secularism was inserted in our constitution during the Emergency. What damage this word has caused to our country?

I am dead against this secularism, its definition and its thought. I failed to understand its meaning. Its my appeal to the intellectuals not to borrow words from foreign languages that would divide us further.

• Do you mean to say there was some ulterior motive behind inserting this word?

They were people of lesser intellect. They were educated in England and developed a superiority complex. But those who went to England did not have knowledge of Kapil, Patanjali, Panini and Kanad. They were branded ‘insane’ in their own land! The East India Company brought this wrong education system in our country. Actually we had a storage of highest knowledge which we neglected.

• Some time back there was a Global Vedic Conference in Delhi but a section of media took it very lightly and even ridiculed it.

I do not read such items by media, this is my reply to them. When I said against the English medium schools, some said I was against English. But I did not say so. I said that mother tongue should be medium. But the media deliberately spreads falsehood and confusion because for them English is the sole bread earner.

• The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha of RSS had passed a resolution demanding primary education be imparted through mother tongue. What is your opinion?

This is a welcome step. I fully support the RSS for this resolution. If possible, I will propagate in the favour of this though this is not my job. This resolution be made applicable at all the places. This will purify the brains of younger generation and save the country.

• What is that thing that binds this country together? How did you contemplate on ‘Hindu’ title for your book?

Our Hindu culture can bind all of us together because this is the only culture that keeps us together. This is all inclusive and does not discriminate. I feel whatever culture we have is Hindu culture. All people here are Hindus. Even Muslims also consider them as Hindus. Akabar, Aurangzeb all considered them to be Hindus. The divide between Hindus and Muslims is caused by the British.

• How do you look at efforts to form a new Khilafat by ISIS?

Those who encouraged them will have to face the music. I do not think this a global problem. We do not have any place for violence of this kind. We have good things more in number than such things hence, we do not have to be afraid of this.

• Today people are talking of globalisation and you talk of nationalisation. People will drub you as an old fashioned.

However globalised the world became, there would remain a village market and this is enough for us. What will we do of the global market? It is necessary to safeguard our own and move forward. Literature also needs to be nationalised. We are writing novels from second century but could not surpass France, Germany, America in that field barring Fanishwarnath Renu or Premchand.

• How do you perceive the debate on accepting new words from other Indian languages and sticking to complicated words?

This has caused much damage. After independence Hindi should have been our national language. All our regional languages are one from the inside.

• English they say adjusts itself with the changing market. There is a limited readership too. But readership in Hindi and other languages is on the rise. Do you think that the literature available in other languages be made available in Hindi?

Definitely yes. This is very easy too. Hindi is also a global language and people are familiar with it. Bringing literature in Hindi would do much better service than secularism. Our tradition that is broken after Sanskrit can be brought back through Hindi.

• Will the spread of Hindu culture prove beneficial compared to secularism?

Yes. It will definitely benefit for our history and people both.