What is the issue?
- Following the submission of the draft National Education Policy 2019, there were protests against the three language formula.
- The controversial provision was thus revised by Dr. Kasturirangan-led committee that submitted it.
What are the old and new proposals?
- Earlier provision - Students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6.
- But this is only as long as the study of 3 languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India.
- Likewise, study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English.
- New change - Students who wish to change one or more of the 3 languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7.
- This is only as long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level).
- This will be as per their modular Board Examinations held some time during secondary school.
What is the continuing contention?
- As per the earlier version, the committee stipulated the languages that students must choose to study from Grade 6.
- In the revised draft, the committee has merely omitted the references to the language that students may choose.
- However, the broader recommendation regarding the implementation of a three-language formula remains.
- In other words, the revised draft retains the recommendation to introduce a three-language formula from Class 1 onwards.
- It simply removes the clause stipulating the specific languages that students must choose in Grade 6.
- Also, the revision was not done by the Central government but by the committee that drafted the policy.
Is Centre's rationale justified?
- The draft policy's push for Hindi seems to be based on the premise that 54% of Indians speak Hindi.
- But according to the 2001 Census, 52 crore out of 121 crore people identified Hindi as their language.
- About 32 crore people declared Hindi as their mother tongue.
- This means that Hindi is the language of less than 44% Indians and mother tongue of only little over 25% people in India.
- But there has been greater push for making Hindi a pan-India language, which is seen as imposition of Hindi by many states, especially that of the South.
How has the official position of Hindi evolved?
- Constituent Assembly - The debate over Hindi has been raging since Independence.
- The Constituent Assembly witnessed heated exchanges over the use and scope of Hindi.
- The Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights of the Constituent Assembly recommended the following:
- Hindustani, written either in Devanagari or the Persian script at the option of the citizen, shall, as the national language, be the first official language of the Union.
- English shall be the second official language for such period as the Union may, by law, determine.
- Constitution - Article 343 of the Constitution prescribes Hindi as written in Devanagari script as the official language of the government along with English for 15 years initially [It has however been extended subsequently].
- Clearly, the Constitution did not declare Hindi as the 'national language'.
- It rather accorded Hindi the status of 'official language' along with English.
What is the way forward?
- Language is primarily a utilitarian tool.
- While acquisition of additional tools can indeed be beneficial, compulsory learning should be limited to one’s mother tongue.
- Besides, English, as the language that provides access to global knowledge and as a link language within India, could be a supportive language.
- Given this, not everyone is satisfied by the changes, and the three-language formula itself is seen as an unnecessary imposition.
Source: The Hindu, India Today
