Sunday, September 25, 2011

They are not in wrong but...

North India and South India are two different worlds. Actually even these monolithic terms that are so common in our vocabulary are erroneous... The term South India holds good only till it means what is beyond North India. Even North India could be used with certain exceptions. We often celebrate our unity in diversity. What unifies us is just a political vague idea of INDIA . No one actually cares about it when it comes to living ordinarily in daily life. We are diverse, true. But we are certainly not united. We form a collage where difference are just minimized by gluing the different ends together. Nothing unites us into one is the colonial English. Language was ever political but I have always been dimly aware about it. I had given it less thought that it wonted from me. I wondered at people who debated for Hindi as a National Language. How does it matter?? It does. It really does all that could be done. The only entity that could unite the common public is Language. I don't consider Art here for it is trivial in a common man's life. Language, in being cultural have always, instead of playing a positive role, have played the part of a villain. It creates a scenario where the different language speaking group form their mini societies. Isn't it a common phenomena that a Keralite will forget you when he/she meets another Keralite or a Bengali will begin talking to another Bengali in Bengali without considering the presence of others who might not know that language and are excluded from the conversation or a Kashmiri never agreeing to teach you their language or a Bihari enjoying the flavor of his language with other Bihari not caring for what others might think about it? What do these point towards? It is their attempt at retaining one's culture and even at certain extent keeping it exclusively to oneself. If only one knew that it is all the play of Language. Why do I yearn for people who are able to speak Hindi where it is hardly spoken. Even the Hyderabadi Hindi is acceptable! It was the only tool that was used to unite what we today know as Andhra Pradesh as "Telugu Speaking State" and today the same tool is exploited to attain a different end where the people demanding for a different state, Telangana proclaim that the language spoken in Telangana region is different from that spoken in other region. Language gives us a sense of "Us". It is One thing with which we identify ourselves. But language will always fail to give a sense of "All of Us". It unites and divides simultaneously. One can do nothing about it but to learn the best ways through which to put up with this heroic-villainous language. It should not be criticized when people talk in their native language. It is the only way they could identify themselves with their native land from where they might be far away. It is an old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." but this conceals the fact that one is not a Roman and one should not desire to be categorized as one. This should be reflected from one's act. There is certainly a need to maintain individuality -- a social individuality -- in this Globalized World. My only plea to a global citizen (who live in a surrounding where the people from different society meet and interact) is that "Even when in Rome, do as you did at your Home but when in Roman Market do what holds good for EVERYONE." Just don't forget the Others because they are equally important.

1 comment:

  1. wonderful observation....
    Language of politics and politics of language
    not yet identified critically in a 'liberal','democratic','secularizing' india.....

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