Language policy: Lost in translation?

Bangalore lives by a code: swalpa adjust maadi. But the Karnataka government seems to be in no mood to grant concessions. It is still holding on to its guns over the language policy. For those who came in late, here’s a recap: The Karnataka High Court had ordered the government not to force schools to adopt Kannada as the medium of instruction. The government challenged the order and this is what the Supreme Court had to say about it, essentially: Without English, students won’t even get a clerk’s job… they would find it extremely hard to compete in this world.
Forcing children studying in government schools to learn only in Kannada – or any other vernacular language – is a flawed decision in a string of flawed decisions that governments have made. Look at the kind of homework that kids are given. Most of the times, parents have to struggle with the assignments. And then there is this policy of no tests till Class V. Even though it does take a lot of pressure off kids, but seriously, won’t we be bringing up a generation ill-equipped to face challenges of a ruthless world?
Mukhyamantri Chandru, chairman of the Kannada Development Authority, says that the government should have introduced the concept of compulsory Kannada long years back. The government failed in doing so and that is why we are in a spot, he says.
All these arguments are based on the premise that youngsters would not like to converse in Kannada or would lose touch with their roots unless they are forced to learn only in Kannada. And I think that premise is wrong. I may have spent less than a year in Bangalore but most youngsters I have met are equally at home with Kannada – and proud of it – as they are with English or Hindi. Unlike in the North, where most youngsters consider it a sin to speak in Hindi, youngsters in Karnataka talk in Kannada and English in the same breath.
Unless we let people decide what is good or bad for them, they will never be able to make the correct choice. Unless we open them up to different cultures, they will never realize the richness in their own.
In this globalized world, we need skills that can help us compete with the best in the business. Our youngsters need wings to soar and, at the same time, be in touch with their roots. Special classes wherein children learn the nuances of the language and the state’s rich heritage will do the trick.
Kannada is a beautiful language and needs little promotion. If the state feels there should be active encouragement, it should be by way of incentives and special schools, and not through coercion.

ravijoshi@epmltd.com