Many years ago, during the early years of the IT boom, I spotted a signage in a Bengaluru medical shop that offered a 1 percent discount for those speaking Kannada. It struck me as a small nudge to learn the language of a city that had begun welcoming a large migrant population. Since then, the voices on either side of the linguistic divide have become more strident and uncompromising.
It is indisputable that job seekers who move across the country contribute to the economy of the state they move to. The cross-country migrant population comprises both unskilled and highly qualified workers. In this milieu, publicised language disputes often involve educated employees pitted against locals providing basic services. Incidents of violence and demands of job reservation for locals are the fallouts. It is also true that for the vocal few who refuse to learn a new language, there are several professionals, students and homemakers who acquire proficiency in the language of the region where they work and live. Ultimately, a willingness to use the local language makes it easier to do business.
More than ignorance of a local language, it is the recalcitrant attitude to bridging the linguistic gap that is galling. It’s a sad commentary that prejudice and bias against people based on language and region thrive even among the educated classes. Languages sharing a common genealogy often suffer from bouts of sibling rivalry.
While linguists theorise about the origin of languages based on historical evidence, unverifiable claims and counter-claims on superiority add to the political buzz. One of the objectives of the linguistic division of states was to promote and preserve the unique cultural identity of distinctive groups. However, this has also given rise to insularity and language vigilantism.
There are in fact effective solutions to overcome the barrier that language could create. Many employers provide language learning opportunities for those from outside the state. Basic conversational skills can smoothen social transactions and can be learnt in informal settings. Tech tools that offer on-the-fly translation services are available at the click of an icon. There was a newsclip showing a techie negotiating with an auto rickshaw driver using one such app. Digital platforms can enable language learning, supplementing the role played by cinema, television shows and songs. Learning a language involves exposure and an attitude of openness.
Until a few years ago, despite their immense computational prowess, computers could not string together a simple sentence. However, with the emergence of large language models (LLMs), machines have discovered coherence and an ability to communicate. AI’s deep dive into language, the ultimate repository of human knowledge, has allowed it access to the collective resources of human thought. Multilingual AI that understands and processes different languages has found a wide range of applications from business transactions to research and translation. Language services already a massive industry and is expected to grow fast.
Languages evolve through interactions and innovation. We are now witness to new usages and modifications of English by Gen Alpha, which sounds like gibberish to the older generation. It is a reminder that the language we take pride in today can morph into something unrecognisable in the future. Every language has its heroic stories, its ballads and chants handed down over generations. This is probably one reason why language becomes an emotive issue.
The stories of linguistic conflict and discord find traction thanks to social media. However, there are several positive stories that do not reach the public domain. This is about people from outside the region who integrate themselves and contribute to the literary and cultural development of the place they have adopted as their home. India has seen iconic figures including writers, film personalities and political leaders who have contributed to the growth of culture in languages of which they are not native speakers.
Groups of people speaking different languages have coexisted peacefully for decades with majority groups in many regions of the country while retaining their distinctive identity. They stand testimony to the fact that in India, a language can flourish beyond regional boundaries. Indians are adept at using one language at home, another on the street and a third at the workplace.
The weaponisation of language only serves vested interests of a few misguided elements. Linguistic pluralism is an advantage India has over the homogeneity seen in some other parts of the globe. It is necessary to appreciate that, just as biodiversity is important for the health of an ecosystem, linguistic diversity helps in cross-pollination of ideas and enriches the social fabric. Seeking common ground and keeping the conversation flowing, while respecting intrinsic differences, is the way forward. To quote the Tamil poet of the Sangam era, Kaniyan Pungundranar, “To us all towns are one, all people our kin.”
Geetha Ravichandran
Former bureaucrat and author, most recently of The Spell of the Rain Tree