Unity in Diversity. Review on India, General

I read this moronic review on elitist airs by South Indians. The writer appears to have had experiences which support his inferiority complex. I do not find the review funny. A load of tripe. It hurts me to be a part of the same India. The writer proves his rustic mentality. What he states is not academic, more an accusation. I have my right to defend my India.

South Indians are simplistic. We prefer to keep our life simple. We in general do not want Hindi. Simple reason is a defunct language. If you want to communicate your daily needs in Karnataka or Tamilnadu you need to learn Kannada or Tamil. That is natural. As natural as learning French to communicate with the French.

For us, our mother tongue matters. Hindi complicates our lives. A few of us watch Bollywood flicks only since we learnt Hindi. Our regional movie industry is much better than that. Most bollywood movies are copies of regional movies anyway. We prefer works of outstanding people. Satyajit Ray even though we do not understand the language. Or Guru Dutt. Or Marlon Brando. Only because they made excellent ones. We take the trouble to find the meaning. And so we do not mind Hindi. But how many South Indian movies has a North Indian watched or even appreciated?

If the maximum freedom fighters were North Indian and Hindi became the National language, then good for it. But that should not be reflected in education. That is the future for our children. They should have the option to select the language they want. Hindi would make communication in North India easier. Not the case in South India. It makes sense for a South Indian to learn English as the preferred choice of communication. Simple reason being that the language stands for global communication, not regional. If a South Indian wanted regional then he can make do with his mother tongue, not Hindi.

Hindi is forced down our throats. We are not looking for a career in the Northern states. If so, mind you, we know Hindi. Most are not interested. I have a right to speak my mother tongue. I will stick to it. My birth right. But what about the North Indians coming south? I see a lot coming down south for work. Good for them. But then, they should learn the local language at least for communicating. Why blame the locals for it? Is it the local staying here for his lifetime at fault for not learning Hindi? No purpose served so far, why now? When a North Indian intends to stay or stick to his job in South India, we welcome you. But learn the local lingo. Or do not blame the locals for not learning Hindi. That is the least you can do. Why should the residents get chided for not learning Hindi? It’s time North Indians learnt their English vowels properly or learnt the local language. The advantage is most South Indians even rural elders know English. It is thanks to great people like Ramanujam and others that we have a major English speaking population today. It has helped India acheive its economic goals in part.

Every South Indian goes through the pains of communicating with his friends from the neighboring state and often knows more than two South Indian languages. It is useful to him. But Hindi? Other than academic forced value, nothing. English, yes, not Hindi. I doubt a Gujarati would learn Punjabi to appease him when settling in Punjab. He would communicate through Hindi. The state education boards should do away with Hindi as a compulsory language. It makes no sense especially when every South Indian talks global. Most North Indians know Hindi even before their mother tongue, since it’s their basic medium.

Every Indian has a right to his mother tongue. The other languages he learns are his communication tools. They are his bread and butter. A Keralite selling Tea in Karnataka will definitely know Kannada, so will a Kannadiga doing business in Kerala. A Tamilian can do masonry in Karnataka, but may not learn the local lingo. That is normal. At that level, education is a luxury, but they yet learn the basics of communication.

When there are so many cultures, languages and people, do you expect everyone to learn everything? If you can, try to learn the local language where you go. Wiser instead of blaming the locals for not knowing your lingo. That is the best you can do. All of us have our inadequacies. But we cannot be expected to fend your inadequacies too. Leave us to ours.

That is Unity in Diversity. Period