\ R E A S O N S F O R S U B M IT T IN G T H IS N O T E A S A M IN O R IT Y

REPORT

I h ave affixed m y signature to the R ep o rt as a particip ant in 1he

w o rk of the Com m ission m e re ly as a m atter oi form , and m y. signing
i t has been su b ject to this N ote w hich m ay b e tak en as a Sfrinonfy
Report.

I reg ret I cann ot accept m an y of th e Conclusions and Recom

m endations as p resented in the Report. I fe e l sad th a t a fter so m an y
months o f lab ou r I should find m yself differing fro m m ost of my
-colleagues in such a v ita l m atter as th e O fficial L an gu age of th e
Union and its im plem en tation by m aking such recom m endations to
the P resident as w ill u ltim ately conduce to the w ell-b ein g of th e
Indian Nation. T h e C h airm an and m y other colleagues in the C om
mission h a ve a ll of them evin ced an earnest desire and a sincere
concern to do th e ir d u ty in the best interests of the country. T h e
Commission did an enorm ous am ount of w o rk in g e itin g and siftin g
evidence and opinion, and I cannot claim to h ave obtained more facts
along the lin e o f en q u iry and investigation follow ed. B u t in th e
light of recen t happenings and trends of even ts in India, since th e
Com m ission sta rted its w o rk, m y point of v ie w has becom e v e r y
different, and con sequ en tly m y reading of the n a tu re of the lin gu istic
.situation and th e lin gu istic problem s has u n fo rtu n ately been p ro
fou nd ly m odified in m an y m atters fro m th at fin a lly presented in the
Report. I m ust say that I presented m y point of v ie w (along w ith
the points of v ie w presented b y other m em bers) before the C om
mission cam e to its final conclusions, b u t m y vie w s and suggestions
w e re gen erally not fou nd acceptable b y m ost of m y colleagues, after
th e y had considered them . I w o u ld th erefo re from this basic
difference n o w arrived at prescribe other m easures and suggest
-other recom m endations. Those who w ill h ave fin ally to decide the
issue should also be in form ed about th e other points of v iew w ith
regard to th e problem and the m easures to be follow ed . This is w h y
1 am feelin g constrained to present this Note, as a N ote of D issent or
as a M in ority R eport; otherw ise I shall be fa ilin g in m y d u ty as a
M em ber of th e Com m ission.

I cannot h elp fee lin g th a t the R ep ort is sim p ly try in g to suggest

certain program m es and lines of procedure from th e Centre, w ith
out a close consideration either of the general situation in India in
the sphere of lan gu age or of fu tu re reactions and repercussions
am o n g la rg e sections of our people. It is also seeking to place as
som ething co n clu sive b efo re the non-H indi peoples of India th at it
w ill be both an act of patrio tic d u ty and an u rg en t and necessary
refo rm to rep lace E n glish b y H indi as q u ick ly as possible, and
*to take in H in di to saturation in th e ir ju d icia l and adm inistrative
bases, in th eir ed u cational set up, and con sequ en tly even in th eir
m ost in tim ate being.

The provisions in th e Constitution rega rd in g th e use of H indi as

i h e Official L an gu a ge o f the U nion in certain contexts h ave been

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exten d ed in the R ep ort in a m an n er w hich w ill b rin g about a total?

revo lu tion in our Education, in the A d m in istratio n of L a w andl
Justice, in the C en tral L egislature, and in th e P u b lic Services, a-
revo lu tion w hich m an y do n o t th in k to be d esirab le in th e best in*
ter^sts of India in her present situation. If th e recom m endations are
sought to be im plem ented fro m the C en tre, it w ill b rin g about
im m ediate chaos in our pu blic life as a w hole. It w ill m ean for non -
H indi peoples the starting o f a progressive im position of H indi in.
most spheres of life. T h e R eport has been prep ared on the assump
tion (on the basis of the presen t Constitution, o f course) that Hindi,
has been already v o lu n ta rily accepted b y th e w h o le of India, that
non-Hindi peoples are as m uch eager fo r its u se in m ost spheres o f
our A ll-In dia affairs as speakers o f Hindi, an d th at it w ill be some
thing anti-national not to t r y to replace E n glish in th e entire-
adm inistrative, leg a l and p o litical fram e of In dia, and la rg e ly in the
educational cadre also. T h e entire outlook is th at of th e H indi-
speakers in the Indian Union, w h o alone a re to profit im m ediately,
and for a long tim e to come, if not forever. I fe a r th at in the entire
report there is v e ry little evid en ce of an a ttem p t to understand the
feelings and the in tellectu a l approach of th e non-H indi speaking
peoples fo r their ow n languages, and also fo r E n glish (as it is sincere^
ly regarded b y them to be th e m ost n ecessary th in g fo r the develop
m ent of science and letters in India, for the p reserv atio n o f the U nity
of India, and fo r the m aintenance o f th e p re-em inence of
In dia in the modern w orld). T h e attitude is fa r from dem ocratic
it is ju st a case of im position of one kind of m e n ta lity o ver the rest, as
the only natural and at the sam e tim e p o litica lly sound m en tality for
the w hole of India. T h e fa ct th at India is a p o ly g lo t co u n try where
people have now becom e or are becom ing a g g re ssiv e ly p rou d of their
own languages is ignored. A p articu lar la n g u a g e h as been sought
to be given, p rio rity over ev ery th in g else in our nation al life. A s it
strikes us, U niform ity th ro u gh H indi is sought to b e brou gh t about
as q u ickly as possible, even at th e risk of jeop ard isin g th e U nity of
India through the E n glish language.

T h e Recom m endations w ill, in m y opinion, b rin g about the-

im m ediate creation, w ith ou t intending to do so, o f T w o Classes of'
Citizens in India Class I C itizen s w ith H in d i as th eir language,
obtaining an im m ense am ount of special p riv ile g es b y v irtu e of their
lan gu age only, and Class II C itizen s w ho w ill b e sufferin g front
perm anent disabilities b y reason also of th e ir lan gu age. This is,
bound to b e the situation so lon g as non-H indi sp eakers lik e the
Assam , Bengal, Orissa, A n d hra, Madras, M ah arash tra and other-
peoples do not acquire a command' over H in di w h ich can compare*
fa v o ra b ly w ith th at o f those persons who h a ve H indi as th eir o n ly
la n g u a g e of education, eith er along w ith o r to th e ex clu sio n of Eng
lish. _A s the G overnm ent of K ashm ir has said in its R e p ly to the Com -
m issio n s QusstiojiTiciiTe* <(T h e residents of non-H indi sp eakin g areas-
w ill be at a considerable, even m ore or less a p erm an en t disadvant
age com pared to persons fro m H indi areas if E n g lish is replaced by
H indi as the m edium of th e U nion P u b lic S e rv ic e Commission
Exam inations . E lsew h ere it says: It is d ifficu lt to fo resee h o w fa st
non-H indi speakin g peoples can take to H in di so as to possess equal
com petitive a b ility W ith E n glish as a n e u tra l lan g u a g e affeetirig?
a ll equ ally, and as the liaison lan gu age n o t o n ly b etw e en India ancl
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at th e ex p en se o f th e rest. N o w th e In d ia n p u b lic as a w h o le (fro m

the So u th , N o rth , W e s t an d E a st) m u st p a y fo r th e d evelo p m e n t o f
H indi, w h ic h a s y e t h as no in te lle c tu a l sig n ifica n c e o r v a lu e fo r th e
rest o f India. I t m u st pay. n o t o n ly in m o n e y b u t also, as p eople in
non-H indi a rea s fe e l, In a h u g e w a s te of tim e and e n e r g y and tem p er
in try in g to a c q u ir e and m a s te r a la n g u a g e n o t y e t d istin g u ish e d j n
a n y w a y a b o v e th e ir ow n , a n d a la n g u a g e w h ic h is s till in th e
m ak in g. W h a te v e r co n c e rn ox so licitu d e o r good w i l l mighfr*be o u t
w a r d ly sh o w n fo r th em , th e la n g u a g e s o f In d ia o th e r th a n H in d i
w ill u ltim a te ly som e, as a r e s is t o f th ese fa r-re a c h in g R ecom m en d
ations, to h a v e b u t a s e c o n d a ry position e v e n in th e ir o w n areas. T h a t
i s an e v e n t u a lity w h ic h ca n n o t b e g la d ly a ccep te d b y th e ir sp ea k e rs.
T h e y w ill fe e l t h a t m o st of th e R ecom m en d atio n s, p a r t ic u la r ly u n d e r
E d u cation an d P u b lic S e r v ic e s E x a m in atio n s, an d th e A d m in is tra tio n
o f J u stice , c o n s c io u s ly or u n co n scio u sly w i l l b r in g a b o u t a fa s te n in g
.of th e te n ta c le s o f H in d i on th e p u b lic lif e a n d c u ltu r e o f th e n o n -
H in d i p eo p les in a m a n n e r w h ic h w ill m a k e th em h e lp le ss fo r ev e r.

T h e R e c o m m e n d a tio n s a p p e a r to ig n o r e th e co n seq u en ces w h ic h

m a y r e s u lt fr o m th em . T h e R e p o r t e v in ce s a su b d u ed b u t d e sp e ra te
h a s te to b r in g in H in d i fo r th e w h o le o f In d ia : 1965 s t ill re m ain s w i t h
th e R e p o rt a t a r g e t date, a lth o u g h it r u e fu lly a d m its th a t it h a s n o t
b e e n p o ssib le fo r u s to fu r n is h a r e g u la r tim e -ta b le b y d a te s and
sta g e s as to h o w H in d i sh o u ld b e in tro d u c e d in to th e b u sin e ss o f th e
U nion so as to a cco m p lish th e g e n e ra l c h a n g e -o v e r w ith in th e p e rio d
fix e d b y th e C o n s titu tio n ", I su b m it th e situ a tio n n o w is h a rd ly r ip e
fo r b rin g in g i n th is r e v o lu tio n a r y ch a n g e -o v e r in In d ia n a ffairs, w h ile
H in d i is n o t y e t r e a d y on th e one h and , a n d th e n o n -H in d i p eo p les to o
a re n o t r e a d y e ith e r on th e ir part, A s o n e w h o h a s d e v o te d o v e r 40
y e a r s o f h is l i f e to th e s tu d y a n d te a c h in g of In d ia n L in g u is tic s a n d
to th e co n s id e ra tio n of lin g u is tic p ro b lem s, I a m d efin itely " o f
o pinion th a t t h e lin g u is tic q u estio n is n o t at a ll so v e r y u rg en t fo r
In dia, as m a n y p erso n s, a rd e n t p a trio ts m o st of th em , seem to th in k .
I th e re fo re c a n n o t a e a p a r t y to th e R e c o m m e n d a tio n s su g ge ste d in
t h e R ep ort; n o r ca n I a cce p t th e v ie w s an d arg u m en ts and co n
clusions set f o r t h in it.

I do n o t s a y a n y th in g w ith o u t k n o w le d g e a n d e x p e rie n c e an d
1 iia v e b e e a a d v o c a tin g th e u se o f H in d i a s. one o f th e
official la n g u a g e s o f In d ia (sid e b y sid e w it h E n g lish ) fo r qu ite a lo n g
period. B u t I h a v e a lw a y s in siste d u p o n th e re te n tio n o f E n g lish
tn o u r h ig h e r ed u catio n , a n d la w arid a d m in istra tio n , p e n d in g the
tim e th a t H in d i a n d o th e r In d ia n la n g u a g e s w o u ld b e a b le to t a k e
o ver fr o m E n g lis h . T h e u se o f H in d i I h a v e s u g g e ste d fo r 'deco
r a tiv e p u rp o se s , in th e fir s t in sta n ce, a n d th en , i f su ita b le , fo r in ter-
p ro v in cia l co m m u n ic a tio n ; b u t n e v e r to th e co m p le te ex clu sio n of
t h e r e g i o n a l la n g u a g e s a n d E n glish . I w a n te d p e o p le in non -H in d i
S ta te s v o lu n ta r ily to l e a m H in di, ju s t a s I h a v e a lw a y s . a d v o cated
H in d i-sp e a k m g studeiats le a r n in g o n e o t h e r ' la n g u a g e of M o d ern
S S k ir iS n acf;lveJy o ccu p ied in p r o p a g a tin g H in d i a m o n g
B e n g a li p e o p le o n a v o lu n t a r y basis, an d f o r . o v e r a d ecade I h a v e
beem . P re s id e n t o f th e W e s t B e n g a l B r a n c h o f th e Rashtra-BTiasha
P ra cn a r S a m iti o f W a rd h a . F o r th is, I w a s m isu n d ersto o d b y m y
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B en gali-speakin g friends, and I cam e in for a good deal of uninformed,

criticism , even abuse, fo r supporting, as th e y th ough t, H indi as,
against B en gali. I rem ain a confirm ed advocate of th e R om an script
for a ll Indian languages, and I fe e l certain th a t in our ow n interest
sooner or later w e shall do w h a t I consider to be a m ost sensible
th in g viz., adopt a modified R om an alph abet fo r a ll our Indian
languages. I occasionally w rite in H indi I h a v e fo u r books in Hindi,
besides a num ber of articles. I h ave intim ate frien d s am ong w riters
and scholars of H indi everyw h ere. One of m y books obtained from
the U.P? Governm ent one of its highest prizes th is is m y Bharatiya
Arya-Bhasha A ur H indi. F o r another book (on th e R ajasthani
Language) I received from th e H indi Sahitya. Sam m elan the Ratna-
k a r P rize as the b est book in H indi on a lig u istic su b ject for the
y ea r of its award. I h ave b een m ade an H o n o ra ry M em ber of the
Nagari Pracharini Sabha of Barnaras, and the H indi Sahitya Sam-
m elan g ave m e th e title of Sahitya-Vachaspati for m y services to
Hindi. In 1948 a t an International C o n feren ce of Linguistic
Scholars in Paris, as a m em ber of the P e rm a n e n t International
C ou ncil of L in gu ists ( C I P L ) , I had suggested th at as th e third
lan gu age of the w o rld in point o f num bers sp eakin g or understand
in g it, and as the represen tative language of M od ern India, Hindi
should be recognised as one <oi th e official lan gu ages of th e United
N ations Organisation (U N O ), tak in g its place beside E n glish , French,
Spanish, Russian and Chinese. I h ave a g rea t lo v e fo r Hindi, not,
of course, to the exclusion o f B engali and E n g lish and Sanskrit, but
as a great and a g ro w in g lan guage, which, w h e n v o lu n ta rily accept
ed, w ill be a m ost desirable th in g for the w h o le of India. Thus I
w elcom e the w a y in w h ich H indi is bein g g iv en a prominent place
in the facade of our A ll-In d ia national life, side b y side w ith English,
and w ith the region al languages in our non-H indi States (e.g. in
pu blic sign-boards and notices as in the r a ilw a y and the post office,
and in the state docum ents w ith a fo reign c o n te x t), as this w ill
h elp people all o ver th e co u n try to fa m ilia rise th em selves w ith
H indi and induce them to b e d raw n fa v o u ra b ly to it as a great
S ym bol and Bond of U nion for our U nited States of India.

W ith all this background, I feel that th e d irectio n th at recent

events have been takin g in India, after th e Com m ission started to
function, makes it im p era tively necessary, to keep in ta ct our most
precious heritage of Indian U n ity, to revise our v ie w s abput the ex
ten t to w hich w e should push H indi and th e speed w ith w h ich w e
should try to m ake it the Rashtra-Bhasha, or S ta te or Official L an gu
age of India, and to reorien t our official a ttitu d e tow ard s both Hindi
and English (particu larly in the Centre and th e H indi States, and
am ong Congress circles). I honestly fe 3l th at I am seeing an inci
p ien t H m di Im perialism , w h ich w ill be a ll th e m ore anti-national
as H indi lias not y e t acquired a n y pre-em inence o v e r the other langu-
ages of India excep t its w e ig h t of num bers. T h e cu ltu red intelli-
gentsia m th e H indi States are o f course g e n e ra lly fre e fro m it, and
ric6 j h a ve shown the greatest co n ce rn o ver it. B u t the
h alf-ed u cated and uneducated people are bou nd to h a v e a different
reaction,^ and it is the common m en the m asses w h o r e a lly count
in a m at ter lik e this, w h ere a u niversal attitude of und erstan d in g and
toleran ce is so v e r y vital. T h e H indi-speaking people, lik e a ll human
beings, are not fre e from L inguism , and th e ir exp ectatio n s h ave been
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raised v e r y h ig h . T h is is a lso m y co n v ictio n , a fte r c a r e fu l o b servation

and th in k in g , th a t th e r e le g a tio n o f E n g lish to a se co n d ary p la c e in
our ed u catio n a n d p u b lic l i f e w ill u ltim a te ly n o t b e fo r th e good o f
the co u n try . H e n c e I b e g to d iffer fro m th e fin d in gs and recom m en d
ations of th e C o m m issio n s R ep o rt.

W h a t I co n s id e r ju s t a n d p ro p er I a m s ta tin g b e lo w in m y p ro
posals fo r R e c o m m e n d a tio n s to th e P re s id e n t. I a m also g iv in g in
b rie f m y re a so n s fo r m a k in g th ese p rop osals. T h e y sh o u ld b e b e fo re
th e G o v e rn m e n ts, th e L e g is la tu r e s and th e P e o p le , in a ll th e p a rts
of th e C o u n try . I t is o n ly in th is w a y th a t m o re p o in ts o f v ie w
th an one m a y b e co n sid e re d b y perso n s w h o d e a l w it h th e d e stin y
of th e people.

B . T H E R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S
F o llo w in g th e te rm s o f re fe re n ce in d ica tin g th e d u ty of th e
C om m ission to m a k e reco m m en d a tio n s to th e P re s id e n t on th e fiv e
item s m e n tio n e d in A r t ic le 344 of th e C o n stitu tio n of India, w h ile
h a v in g due r e g a r d to th e in d u stria l, c u ltu r a l and scien tific a d v a n c e
m en t o f In d ia a n d th e ju s t claim s a n d in te re sts df p ersons b e lo n g
in g to n o n -H in d i sp e a k in g areas in r e g a r d to p u b lic se rv ice s

I b eg r e s p e c tfu lly to m a k e th e fo llo w in g R eco m m en d a tio n s to th e

P resid e n t:

(a) C o n s id e r in g th a t th e H in d i-sp e a k in g p e o p le w ill h a v e a

n a tu ra l an d p e r m a n e n t a d v a n ta g e o v e r n o n -H in d i sp eak e rs, i f H in d i,
w h ich is th e r e g io n a l la n g u a g e and m o th e r-to n g u e o f th e fo rm er,
com es to b e u se d fo r a ll th e official p u rp o ses o f th e U n ion and th a t
as a co n seq u en ce In d ia w i l l h a v e a p r iv ile g e d cla ss of Iiin d i-sp e a k e rs
in a ll th e d e p a rtm e n ts o f p u b lic lif e a n d a d m in istra tio n ;

C o n sid e rin g also th e fa c t th a t as an im m e d ia te co n seq u en ce th e

fu n d a m e n ta l r ig h ts o f th e non -H in d i sp eak e rs in th e m a tte r o f th e ir
la n g u a g e a r e su re to b e p r o fo u n d ly a ffe c te d b o th in a p an -In d ian
se ttin g as w e l l as w ith in th e ir S ta te s:

C o n sid e rin g fu r th e r th a t th e p re se n t p o litic a l situ a tio n in th e

va rio u s S ta te s o f In d ia is a t p resen t q u ite a b n o rm a l and fu ll o f fe r
m en t th ro u g h th e w o r k in g o f lin g u is tic a n d te r r ito r ia l je a lo u sie s and
oppositions, a n d is n o t in th e le a s t p ro p itio u s fo r a n y _fa r-re a ch in g
ch a n g e w h ic h m a y b e -ta k e n to a ffe c t o r m o d ify th e lin g u is tic and
o th er r ig h ts o f v a r io u s sectio n s of th e In d ia n p eo p le, p a r tic u la r ly
w h e n th e y a re o u tsid e o f th e H in d i o rb it;

th e q u estio n o f th e p ro g re ss iv e u se o f th e H in d i la n g u a g e fo r th e
official p u rp o ses of th e U n io n b e k e p t in a b e y a n ce fo r the tim e
being, as i t m a y o th e r w is e b rin g in o th e r g ra v e com p lication s
u n n e c e s sa rily w it h in th e U n ion ; an d th e C o m m itte e to be appoin ted
u nder S e c tio n (4) o f A r t ic le 344 o f t h e C o n s titu tio n b e a ls o d irected
to ta k e co g n iza n ce o f th e situ a tio n in , th e c o u n try re g a rd in g th e
p ro g ress o f ed u catio n , a d m in is tra tiv e efficien cy and th e w ish e s ot
th e n o n -H in d i s p e a k in g p eo p les o f In d ia in th is connexion, w h ile
m a k in g th e ir reco m m en d a tio n s. T h e P re s id e n t is: also r e s p e c tfu lly