India - Education system a paradigm shift is needed

It is indeed pity that some political parties making noise about Government's reported directive to officials to give priority to Hindi language in social media even after more than six decades of independence. It revealed we even failed to adopt one Indian language as our official and social language in independent India. It is indeed therefore important to find out the reason for such an act keeping aside any political perspective.

States Reorganisation Act, 1956 listed the boundaries of modern states of India. Demand of states on linguistic basis was developed much before independence of India. Though administrative regions were identified as different provinces. Odisha was the first Indian state formed on linguistic basis in the year 1936. This movement also created State of Andhra. Small states of Bilaspur was merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1 July 1954, and Chandernagore, a former enclave of French India, was incorporated into West Bengal in 1955. However, still the undercurrent of the movement for linguistic states remains till today.

It is quite important hence for the Central Government to eradicate such feeling of indifferent and build a concept of togetherness at any cost. I presume this thought may have triggered such a move by the present government.

My personal view is that, imposition of language is not going to work, unless people perceive the language and feel comfortable in exchanging views in that language, it takes quite a few years for a new language to go deep into vain and particularly in the heart. So, what could be the way out to integrate India in one common language !

Since British rule, British in particular and the English speaking world understood the potential of fertile brain of India, they decided immediately to take advantage of the same in coming generations, hence language of English were popularly being injected for all purposes of society and in particular for job prospects. Division among Indians due to race, caste, language, region, and custom also remains barrier for a united India. Slowly Indians became English and remain admirer.

As a result, other than primary and maximum secondary education, and in some stray cases graduation could have been possible in Indian languages i.e Hindi, Telgu, Tamil, Bengali, Oria etc etc

However, the professional and essential courses remain untouched and still only language they can be studies in Free India is English, to name a few are Medicine, Engineering, Micro Biology, Pharmacology, Chartered Accountancy, Cost Accountancy, Company Secretary and to a large extent even Law.

If one give a close look at the reserve seats for SC/ST/OBC etc, one will find even their marks are not competitive to general categories. The reason for the same may not be always because of financial backwardness, but mostly because of language barrier ! . India also need to strengthen this group too on their own accord and not by mercy and discounts on marks.

Now, what are the adverse effects of such ignorance! ·

# As primary and secondary English medium schools are not available across geographical territory of India , even the most intelligent and brilliant Indian students remain deprived of from prospering at higher education level due to non proficiency in English.

# Therefore English becomes a compulsory language for Medicine, Engineering and related field. That fraction which ultimately comes out as graduates migrates to English speaking countries and vacuum in India remains vacuum.

# The outlay by government towards higher education for such granted colleges and universities remain waste.

So in one hand we never allowed a large group of Indian students to pursue higher education due to language barrier and in other hand could not even retain the brightest students in the country, for the nation’s growth. What a pity ! what a policy !

We must and must find out a solution. And the solution is lies with the Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India.

At the 1st step – They must immediately set up a linguistic department to immediately make medical and engineering dictionary, English / Russian/ German to Hindi, with the most simplistic terms and most practical terms.

At the 2nd step – Immediately translate as many as medical and engineering books in Hindi.

At the 3rd step – Make available adequate Professors to teach in Hindi.

At the 4th step – Make Rashtriya University and colleges under it with single curriculum for imparting Medicine and Engineering in Hindi.

At the 5th step – Initiate research in Hindi in medicine and engineering and allied subjects.

A target of one decade would be enough to produce able Doctors and Engineers, they will never leave country as English will bar their migration. India will never ever had to cry for able professionals any more.

At the end I would request the Hon’ble minister of Minister of Human Resource Development of Government of India to at least give a thought on the text narrated above. The youth of the country shall remain greatful.

Some data Source: 

http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/1/07-041681/en/

Swajan Kr Sen

Mech Engg, F.C.M.A, LL.B, LL.M