Patricia Mukhim
The Assembly session is coming up soon. Those familiar with the English language will be posing questions in the Queen’s English to those that have not had the good fortune of being educated in elite institutions in this country and abroad. But I believe the latter group have earthy wisdom and connect with the people that the English educated don’t often have. I still recall how the answer of the Agriculture Minister, Banteidor Lyngdoh on what scientific agriculture actually implies being turned into a national joke because he was struggling to answer it in English and said things that were translated in his head from Khasi to English. That’s what most of us do. We think in our native languages and translate that thought into English. There’s nothing wrong about not understanding something said in a language that is alien to us. There is nothing in the criteria for being an MLA which says that he/she should know to speak and write English. That is why MLAs and MPs across this country speak in their native languages in their respective state assemblies. You hear Tamil being spoken in Tamilnadu, Kannada in Karnataka and Kerala CM, Pinarayi Vijayan is never heard speaking in English even when he speaks to media persons representing national television.
Purists will argue that Khasi and Garo are not yet recognized languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. But so what? The Government needs to hire translators who can do simultaneous translations in Garo when a Khasi legislator is speaking; in Khasi when a Garo legislator is speaking and in English for the benefit of those that speak neither Khasi nor Garo. The reason one is suggesting this is because when a Khasi MLA has the liberty of speaking in the local language the constituents will hear what is being said in the Assembly and they will know whether their problems are being adequately represented. They will also take more interest in Assembly proceedings and become ‘active’ citizens. Secondly, when the MLA can speak in a language he (gender neutral) is fluent in he can give better, more relevant and meaningful answers to the questions put by colleagues. After all, the purpose of putting questions in the Assembly is not to embarrass anyone but to be able to check if government spending is commensurate to the work visible on the ground and whether the benefits of governance flow to the people.
In December last year, Santhali language was spoken for the first time in the Rajya Sabha when MP Sarojni Hembram of the Biju Janata Dal from Odisha used it to raise a matter of urgent public importance during the Zero Hour. Santhali is spoken mostly by the tribals of Odisha. Hembram demanded the Bharat Ratna for Raghunath Murmu, who in 1925 created the Ol Chiki script for the Santhali language. Murmu is revered by tribals and is recognised as a big cultural icon in Odisha. Rajya Sabha, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu, who has encouraged MPs to use their local language for raising Zero Hour mentions, ensured that while English and Hindi translations are available to other members on headphones this was the first time that Santhali language was used in the Upper House. All the other members also welcome the move.
Mr Naidu then informed the House that the interpretation in Hindi was done under a new scheme by a non-regular employee engaged for the purpose. The interpreter from Santhali was a Ph D student. Rajya Sabha has regular employees who translate statements made on the floor of the House in different recognised Indian languages into Hindi and English. To enlarge the basket of languages used, outside language experts have been engaged on need basis to translate.
Granted that Khasi and Garo are not yet recognized languages and we can blame ourselves for not pushing enough to get them the much needed recognition but a beginning can be made by making provisions for legislators to speak in the language of their foremothers. Let them answer all questions and especially zero hour motions in the language they are most comfortable in so that all of us can benefit from their engagement in the August House – a place where people are not to be made the butt of jokes of. I am sure many legislators will outshine themselves if they are allowed this liberty. The Meghalaya Assembly has seen many MLAs sit through their five-year terms without speaking a word. If one were to analyse the reason behind this silence it is because (a) they don’t feel adequate to debate in English – an exercise that is daunting for many of us (b) they are not confident about raising supplementary questions on their feet should the need arise.
Noted linguist Ganesh Devy constantly reminds us that India has 780 languages of which 220 have been lost in the last 50 years. According to the 2001 Census, India has 30 languages that are spoken by more than a million people each. The Constitution lists only 22 languages and protects them in the Eighth schedule. Many languages are kept out of this Schedule even if they deserve to be included. This includes Tulu which is spoken by over 1.8 million people and has inscriptions dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Interestingly, Hindi, a much younger Indo-Aryan language has been gaining prominence much before Independence. When a refined language loses its status in literary and daily interactions, the way of life associated with it also vanishes. The 2001 Census also found that while Hindi is the fastest growing language, the number of speakers of other languages has dropped.
Khasi and Garo languages will only gain prominence if they are spoken in the seats of democracy – the state assembly and parliament. If we don’t protect and promote our own languages, especially the Khasi language which is now in the endangered list, our future generations will soon end up never understanding their ‘real’ roots and culture. That makes them rootless humans with a very superficial understanding of their rich cultural traditions. What is true about Khasi language is that not enough has been invested in its promotion and evolution. There is an urgent need to add to the cache of vocabulary and to invent words that are in sync with the times. New words are constantly added to the English language when they become common parlance. Khasi too can do the same. Language must grow and hence it cannot be sacrosanct.
The MDA Government would earn laurels if it were to make the first move in introducing tri-language debates in the Assembly. Every MLA has been duly elected by the people to represent their voices and their aspirations. It would be a sorry state of affairs if they spend five years without making a dent in the Assembly simply because they lacked confidence to speak in English. Perhaps that is one reason why they then have to buy votes to make up for their silence at a time when they should be speaking up.
We should also understand that there is a certain politics assigned to language. English when spoken amidst a group that does not understand it well enough becomes the language of hegemony. This should not happen in a democracy. That we have allowed this to happen since 1972 shows our lack of foresight. We should not step back from addressing this important issue.