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One National Language : Is it Antithesis to Federalism ?


                                                                                                     Rohan Choudhary* 

Language is the prime binding factor among people across communities, besides religion. However, it goes without saying that language has also always been a source of conflict among communities. When we think about federalism, we generally think about power sharing  between the Centre and the States, and the idea of relationship between federalism and language may seem absurd to a layman. However, in our multi-linguistic country, the combination of language and federalism holds a significant importance, and more so in recent times.

 

The Vague Idea of Federalism

Our idea of federalism is strictly concentrated on key instruments of the state such as the division of power between the Centre & the States, revenue sharing, division of judiciary etc.  This concept of federalism originated in western countries where the population was already linguistically homogeneous, and has served well in countries with linguistic homogeneity, but the case is not the same with a multilingual country like India. 

 

The Constitutional Provisions 

At the time of independence it was thought by the forefathers of our constitution that with passage of time India will become a bilingual country. For that reason Article 345 provided for Hindi as official language, with English being the additional language. Despite that ample provisions for protection of the linguistic minority were provided by the constitution, from giving the state government the power to choose their official language to the inclusion of the eighth schedule of the constitution.  Hence, by giving ample protection to linguistic minorities and by retaining English as an additional official language, the constitution makers managed to avoid a major linguistic conflict. 

 

Incorporation of Linguistic Federalism  

India’s multi linguistic problem was a reason for skepticism among many, holding the view that the nascent India will be divided again on the lines of language. However, despite that India has remained united, even at the time when in our neighbourhood, the state of Bangladesh was carved out of Pakistan on linguistic basis. Although, at the time of independence the constitution makers demarcated the state boundaries on historical and political consideration, but soon this proved to be fatal. Within months,  public uproar arose in Madras to demarcate a separate sate for Telugu speakers, which led to formation of Andhra Pradesh, the first state to be demarcated on linguistic basis. The formation of Andhra Pradesh started a Domino effect, that led to formation of state after state on linguistic basis. Hence, it could be inferred although the forefathers of our constitution provided ample room for linguistic minorities to thrive, but the proper concept of Linguistic Federalism originated at a later stage, and as such it wasn’t envisioned by the forefathers of our constitution. Ever Since then India has thrived on the Idea of “Unity in Diversity”

 

The Hindi Imperialism 

Since independence there has been a constant tussle between the Indo-Aryan group of languages and the Dravidian group of languages. The latter group constantly calling out the former for imposing ‘Hindi Imperialism’ upon them. There is no denying the fact that Hindi is the most widely spoken language of our country, and for that reason the political agenda has always been decided by the politicians of the Hindi Heartland. The trend has catapulted more so evident since 2014, with the NDA’s voter base being concentrated majorly in the ‘Hindi Heartland’ states. It’s not to anyone’s surprise that the present government has constantly promoted the vision of “One Nation, One Language”, with Hindi being the frontrunner.

 

Lessons from Canada- Can we adopt the policy of Official Multilingualism ? 

India has borrowed the concept of federalism from Canada, despite that we haven’t fully embraced the idea of a multi-lingual federation like Canada has done. Canada follows the ‘Principle of Multilingualism’ according to which everyone is entitled to seek services in the language of their choice,  for that reason Canada has accorded the status of official language to both English and French, which awards equal status and protection to both the languages. Moreover, all the official work of the government is done in both French and English. However, the problem here lies in the fact that India has not two, but a plethora of widely spoken regional languages.

 

The Road Ahead- Curbing the Majoritarianism

The present regime’s insistence to promote Hindi as the prime language of our country has diluted the concept of ‘Linguistic Federalism’. Although, a policy of Multilingualism as that of Canada sounds tempting, but it is to be considered in the light of the unique case that India presents. The means to serve Indian needs must be unique to its character, and can’t be imitated from another state. The flawed idea among many, that homogeneity of language makes people more united has never stood the test of time, as evident from the formation of Bangladesh or the linguistic civil war that shattered Sri Lanka at the turn of the century. The only outcome of pushing Hindi on non natives is the harm that it causes to the concept of Linguistic Federalism. It goes without saying that Linguistic Federalism has acted as a bedrock for maintaining unity and harmony in our heterogeneous state, that has always embraced the idea of ‘Unity in Diversity’.

*Student of  8th Semester, BA-LLB(Hons.), Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala

 

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