Why vernacular?

The latest court verdict in Karnataka concerns the 2000 odd schools in the state to switch to Kannada as the medium of instruction bypassing English. English is the global medium of communication and it is imperative that we get a good grasp of the language that would aid us in the development process. Here, it is not the question of promoting your local language, but you are effectively terminating the ability of the children to come up in a competitive environment.

In India, every state has a language of its own along with the national language, Hindi. Being born and brought up in India, there is no doubt that it is important to learn your local language as well as the national language. But that doesn't mean that you should shun English. India is emerging as a major global power and we are dependent on our western allies to work in close co-ordination and improve the economy. As long as a person has the basic knowledge to speak, read and write in the local language, it should more than suffice for him to live happily in the area. But what happens if he decides to leave the area in pursuit of higher studies or some other reason. He would be virtually handicapped without English. Who in the world would come to his aid if he has to learn the technical know hows in English? One may argue taking into account the example of the European nations. It is very true that people in Germany or France may not take up English seriously. But how many of them move out of their countries in search of a living. They are self sufficient in almost everything. Name any automobile major and Germany has its headquarters cemented there. People from these countries do not find it a necessity to go out of their den. In spite of that, there is every effort on the part of these Governments to promote English.

We are able to compete with our Asian supergiant China since we have overcome the language barrier to a better extent than them. Our primary strength lies in our education system which promotes English right from the primary level, and this enables us to get a good command over a period of time. We are in a stage where we should be getting along with things, not fall behind due to ridiculous opinions from high end quarters.

Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali and other vernacular languages are really important. It is our duty to preserve these languages. There is no doubt about that. But, they should not be a hindrance causing us to neglect English. How many politicians are sending their kids to the local medium schools? Almost all of them are well educated in good convents with a expensive fee structure. As the saying goes Charity begins at home, these people should serve as an example to the society and send their kids to the local medium schools. Let us see how many would sacrifice their political ideals when it comes to them.

At the end of the day, everyone wants to see a competitive India. We should not be left behind due to petty political squabbles. It is easy to ruin the present and get back to the past. The future beckons something really important and we should be in a position to find our way through.