MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. Trace the growth of the ‘national language’ debate in post-independent India. Do you think India should have a national language? Critically analyse.
GS I – Culture-related issues
Introduction:
- India is a land of diversity comprising of individuals from different communities, backgrounds, religions, etc. It is famously said, that in India language changes every few kilometres just like the water. Language is integral to culture and therefore privileging a national language over all other languages spoken in India takes away from its diversity. The debate over Hindi being India’s “National Language” has been on since the time the Constitution was being written.
Growth of the ‘national language’ debate in post-independent India:
- The issue of adopting a national language could not be resolved when the Constituent Assembly began drafting India’s Constitution.
- Members from the Hindi-speaking provinces moved a number of pro-Hindi amendments and argued for adopting Hindi as the sole national language.
- The Assembly was divided on this issue and it seemed that this debate would result in breaking down of the Assembly’s unity. Therefore, a compromise called the ‘Munshi-Ayyangar’ formula was evolved and accepted. It stated that for a period of 15 years, English would continue to be used for all official purposes and the parliament could substitute it later with Hindi.
- In 1965, as the period of 15 years drew closer, proposals to substitute Hindi in place of English were raised and met with threats of violent disturbances in the southern states of India.
- In response, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave an assurance that English would not be substituted by Hindi, until the non-Hindi speaking people desire a change.
- Widespread resistance to the imposition of Hindi led to the passage of the Official Languages Act of 1963, which provided for the continued use of English for all official purposes.
- Hindi became the sole working language of the Union government by 1965 with the State governments free to function in the language of their choice.
- The constitutional directive for the Union government to encourage the spread of Hindi was retained within Central government entities in non-Hindi-speaking States.
- After 1971, India’s language policy focused on promoting regional languages by enlisting them in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, which meant that those languages would be entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
Benefits of having a national language:
- Language is not simply a tool for communication but is a central and defining feature of identity as all human thoughts are conceptualised through a language and all human values are pronounced and perceived through it.
- It is in a language that an individual conceptualises and communicates his thoughts which enables him to actively participate in society.
- In fact, language gives people a primary group as people can identify with each other using a language.
- Language is the most important tool of participation in the polity of the state.
Challenges posed by imposition of National language:
- The unifying role of a shared language in most nationalisms is well known, however, its hegemonic imposition remains problematic and divisive.
- The dangers of imposing a language are manifold.
- It can affect the learning ability of non-native speakers thereby affecting their self-confidence.
- It can also endanger other languages and dialects and reduce diversity.
- National integration cannot come at the cost of people’s linguistic identities.
- One doesn’t have to look further than Bangladesh’s example to know that history is rife with instances when language has been used as a vehicle to promote chauvinism and divisions.
Probable situation if Hindi is made a national language:
- If Hindi is declared as the national language, every citizen of the country would be required to learn the same.
- Such a situation would definitely benefit a north Indian (as Hindi is the most prominent language in the region) over citizens from the other regions, as the latter would be expected to learn a language from scratch.
- In effect, members of northern India would be placed at an advantage over the others, which is wrong.
- The governments continue to push for Hindi aggressively, a recent example of which is the controversial three language formula where the Union mandated teaching of Hindi in all government schools.
- Nehru had rightly said that Hindi should not be imposed till the non-Hindi speaking states agreed.
- However, despite their disagreement, the central governments have forcefully imposed Hindi on them.
Conclusion:
- It has been rightly said that India is like a beautiful carpet woven in a design that has a language of diverse cultural representations woven by knots tightly holding the entire fabric of the nation. The beauty of this carpet is besmirched if one culture or language is given more importance than the other. If we don’t protect and promote other well-evolved or endangered and indigenous languages, our future generations may end up never understanding their ‘real’ roots and culture. Instead, all languages should be treated with equal respect and promoted. A step towards it has been taken by the Supreme Court recently, where it made its judgments available not only in Hindi but also in other regional languages.
Q2. India needs an integrated foreign policy that can respond to the imperatives of building domestic capabilities, developing geo-economic partnerships, and constructing geopolitical coalitions with like-minded countries. Examine.
GS II – International Issues
Introduction:
- India’s foreign policy is shaped by several factors including its history, culture, geography and economy. Our first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, gave a definite shape to the country’s foreign policy. The thrust of foreign policy keeps on changing according to changing international conditions. Article 51 of the Indian Constitution also lays down some Directive Principles of State Policy on Promotion of International Peace and Security.
- The principles have stood the test of time and are ingrained in international law and India’s foreign policy practice.
The principles of Indian foreign policy are as follows:
- Panchsheel
- The policy of Non-Alignment
- Policy of Resisting Colonialism, Imperialism, Racism
- Peaceful settlement of International Disputes
- Support to UN, International Law and a Just and Equal World Order
How India’s New Foreign Policy is impacting New World Order:
- India’s total trade, which was about $38 billion in 1991-92, is expected to touch $1.3 trillion this year.
- This is about 40 per cent of India’s GDP and underlines the fact that India is more deeply tied to the world than ever before.
- After abandoning RCEP, Delhi has turned towards free trade agreements with countries like Australia, Britain, UAE, and Israel.
- Deepening engagement with complementary economies:This must be seen as the beginning of a process of deepening India’s engagement with countries whose economies are complementary.
- India is also arguing, much like the US and China, that no large country can simply abandon domestic manufacturing to other countries in the name of economic efficiency and globalisation.
- India is now taking a number of initiatives to promote domestic manufacturing in a range of sectors under the banner of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat”.
Challenges for an integrated foreign policy:
- At the end of 2019, India has walked out from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) suggesting that the costs of joining a China-centred regional economic order are unacceptable.
- Pakistan being one of the important countries in China’s BRI project is a steep strategic challenge for India.
- India’s troubled relations with Pakistan have meant that the Neighbourhood First policy has yielded few results.
- China’s strategic and economic presence in South Asia has enabled it to exercise political pressure on its allies. For E.g.: Disputes in South China Sea.
- Relevance and effectiveness of organizations such as the Commonwealth and the Non-Aligned Movement.
- SAARC has also been hampered by poor India-Pakistan relations thereby not being able to function effectively.
- Growing protectionism in goods and services.
- Concern over terrorism and radicalisation.
- India’s selective trade arrangements and the policies to promote domestic manufacturing have drawn much criticism.
Measures needed for an integrated foreign policy:
- Peaceful coexistence
- First, the Asian Century should be defined in terms of peaceful co-existence, freezing post-colonial sovereignty.
- Non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.
- Development of technological superiority in artificial intelligence (AI), cyber and space, and agriculture and knowledge based economy for sustainable development.
- New principles of trade
- Development of new principles of Trade focussed on Equitable Sustainable Inclusive development.
- Global public goods should include public health, crop research, renewable energy and batteries, even AI as its value comes from shared data.
Civilisational values:
- Ancient civilisational values provide the conceptual underpinning,restructuring both the economic order and societal behaviour for equitable sustainable development. For E.g.: The concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
Way forward:
- Until now, India had the luxury of treating its foreign, economic and strategic policies as separate domains.
- Integrated approach to policies:Adapting to the current global geo-economic churn demands that Delhi find better ways to integrate its financial, trade, technological, security and foreign policies.
- Above all India needs a strategy that can respond to the imperatives of buildingdomestic capabilities, developing geo-economic partnerships, and constructing geopolitical coalitions with like-minded countries.
- India’s foreign policy must serve twin goals of pursuing economic development at home and ensuring peace and stability in its neighbourhood.
