Among
the leaders of the Indian Independence movement, Mahatma Gandhi had a deep insight
into the language issues facing the country, provinces, and people as regards
integration. The national policy of language use in administration and organization
of states on linguistic basis, which have a direct bearing on official language
policy of the Union and States, have roots in Gandhian thought.
Gandhiji linked progress, and Independence i.e., swaraj with use of provincial
languages and Hindi. Also he was clear about their complementary distribution
in usage. For a question 'Do you consider it necessary that the business of the
Congress should be conducted in Hindi, our national language?' He answered 'I
do. So long as public business is not conducted in Hindi, the country cannot make
progress. So long as the Congress does not use Hindi for all its work, swaraj
is not possible'. For another question, he said tat 'I do not say that the provinces
should all give up their own language and start speaking and writing Hindi. In
provincial matters, the provincial languages may be used. But national questions
ought to be deliberated in the national language only. It is not a very difficult
mater. It can be easily done. We should use Hindi for the work that we are today
doing in English'1. He identified the requirements of the national language thus
"(1) It should be easy for Government officials to learn, (2) It should be
capable of serving as a medium of religious, economic and political intercourse
throughout India, (3) It should be the speech of large number of Indians,(4) It
should be easy for every Indian to learn, and (5) In choosing such a language,
considerations of temporary or passing circumstances should not count"2.
Here he combines the issues of 'common language' or 'lingua franca' that he advocated
throughout with the 'language of administration'. Whereas purposes of common language
are different from those of language of administration. The form of the official
language policy that he advocated, and wished first to be implemented in the Congress
was in his own words "we must begin self-Government by introducing our own
speech in our own assemblies - provincial vernaculars in the provincial legislatures,
and Hindustani - a resultant of Hindi and Urdu - in the Imperial Council. We cannot
make a better beginning than by adopting the change in the Congress and the conferences.
In adopting English as he medium at these gatherings we have done a positive disservice
to the masses who have but a vague idea of the proceedings of these annual gatherings.
By persisting to conduct them in English we have actually put obstacles in the
way of the masses getting political education. I imagine what would have happened
if we had, during the thirty five years' existence of the National Congress, deliberated
in Hindustani instead of English which is understood only by a microscopic minority
of our countrymen"3.
To elevate the status of the provincial language he suggested that "The proceedings
of the provincial legislatures must be in the language, or even the languages
of the province where a province has more than one language within its borders.
I suggest to the legislators that they could, by enough application, inside of
a month, understand the languages of their provinces. There is nothing to prevent
a Tamilian from easily learning the simple grammar and a few hundred words of
Telugu, Malayalam and Kanarease all allied to Tamil"4. He also wanted the
change over of "the official language use for provincial Governments, legislatures
and courts within a definite period to be the vernacular of the province".
"Language of the Central Government and of the Central Legislature to be
also Hindustani"5 'script to be either Devanagari or Persian'. Regarding
the script of Hindustani he believed that "which script will be ultimately
accepted depends largely upon the intrinsic merits of the two scripts"6.
On the inter-state communication "Let it be clearly understood that Hindi
is not to supplant the indigenous languages but it is to be the medium of inter-provincial
intercourse and the official language of all India organization"7.
After the Independence of India, Gandhi, while setting the priorities said that
'the first and foremost thing is to revive the rich provincial languages with
which India is blessed'. If it 'takes place immediately, that of inter-provincial
speech will follow in quick succession'. '...for inter-provincial speech it shall
be Hindustani written in either Nagari or Urdu script or mere Hindi written in
Nagari'. To find staff for administrative purposes on the consequence of this
change over "... it must be quite easy for the provincial Governments to
have a staff which would carry on all transactions in the provincial languages
and the inter-provincial languages"8. At the same time he anticipated difficulties
in the multilingual provinces like Bombay and Madras, and such difficulties to
be solved by the 'redistribution of provinces on linguistic basis'.
On the organization of provinces he had felt that "The present distribution
of provinces is another factor which has done no less injury than any other to
the cause of vernacular"9. So, "There should be re-distribution of provinces
on a linguistic basis with as complete autonomy as possible for every province
for its internal administration and growth"10. For the growth of the provincial
languages and to give an impetus to education and trade he advocated the re-distribution
of provinces.
The concepts of Nation and nationality, and the role of various Indian languages
in integration as viewed by Gandhi are brought forth clearly in the following
statement. "Hindustani was to be the lingua franca - Rashtrabasha of India,
but it could not take place of the provincial tongues. It could not be the medium
of instruction in the provinces - much less English. Its function was to make
them realise their organic relationship with India. The world outside did not
know them as Gujaratis, Maharashtris, Tamilians, etc., but only as Indians"11.
Jawaharlal Nehru held almost the similar view about the use of language for official
purposes in the States and the Centre. He suggested that "(1) Our public
work should be carried on and State education should be given in the language
of each linguistic area. This language should be dominant language in tat area.
These Indian languages to be recognized officially for this purpose are: Hindustani
(both Hindi and Urdu), Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam,
Oriya, Assamese, Sindhi and to some extent, Pushtu and Punjabi. (2) In the Hindustani
speaking area both Hindi and Urdu, with their scripts should be officially recognized.
(3) Public notification should be issued in both scripts. Either script might
be used by a person in addressing a court or a public office, and he should not
be called upon to supply a copy in the other script ... (4) Hindustani (both scripts)
will be recognized as the all-India language. As such it will be open to any person
throughout India to address a court or public office in Hindustani (either script)
without any obligation to give a copy in another script or language"12.