By Justice Markandey Katju
Tomorrow, 14th September, is Hindi Diwas (Hindi Day), which is celebrated widely every year in many parts of India
When I was a Judge of Allahabad High Court (1991-2004) I would be invited by the High Court Bar Association on the occasion of Hindi Diwas, which was celebrated every year in a function in the Bar Library, after court hours.
I would tell the office bearers of the Bar Association who came to invite me that I would not like to come to the function because what I would say would create a controversy, so it is better that I stay away. However, they would insist and plead that I come and speak, so I went.
At the function I heard many speakers saying “Angrezi Hatao”, (abolish English), and things like that. Some would disparagingly describe English as a ‘dasi’ (slave girl).
When my turn came to speak, I told the audience that if their children did not learn English, they would only be fit to drive bullock carts (hal chalane laayak rah jayenge). I said I, too, love Hindi which is my mother tongue, but that does not mean I should behave like a fool.
Much of the knowledge in the world is in English. If one went to an Engineering college, all the books are in English. Similarly, all the books in a Medical College are in English. If one wanted to study history, economics, philosophy, science, literature, etc., the books are mostly in English.
I told the lawyers to look around. All the law books in the bar library were in English. If one went to any lawyer’s chamber, he would find all the law books there in English.
So how could one do without English? It was totally stupid to say “Angrezi Hatao”, and only enemies of their children talk like that. In fact, we must spread English more in our country for the country’s progress. In fact, English has largely become a world language, spoken not only in the UK but also in the USA, Australia, and the former British colonies.
So, on the occasion of Hindi Diwas, I appealed to the audience to learn and spread English.
However, the language of the common people is Hindustani or khadiboli, not Hindi. Hindi is an artificially created language. For instance, in Hindustani we say ‘udhar dekhiye’ (look there). In Hindi we say ‘Udhar avlokan keejiye’ or ‘Udhar drishtipaat keejiye’, which is never said by the common man.
The purpose of creating this artificial language was to further the British divide and rule policy, by propagating the false idea that Hindi was the language of Hindus, while Urdu was the language of Muslims. In fact, up to 1947 Urdu was the common language of all educated people, whether Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, etc. in large parts of India. My own ancestors were highly proficient in Urdu. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told me that he wrote all his speeches in Urdu.
When I was a Judge in Allahabad High Court, a lawyer who always argued in Hindi appeared before me with an application titled ‘Pratibhu avedan patra’. I asked him the meaning of the word ‘pratibhu’. He said it meant a bail application. I told him he should have used the word ‘zamanat’ or ‘bail’ which everybody understands, and not ‘pratibhu’ which nobody understands.
After 1947 Persian words which were in common use in Hindustani were sought to be hatefully and systematically removed by some bigots, and replaced by Sanskrit words, whose meaning often nobody knew. For instance, ‘zila’ (district) was replaced by ‘janapad’.
This policy of hatefully replacing Persian or Arabic words, which were in common use, by Sanskrit words which nobody understood, created many problems. For instance, in our law courts, it is often difficult to understand the language used in government notifications in U.P. as they are in artificially Sanskritised language.
It is a mistake to think that a language becomes weaker if foreign words come into it. In fact, it becomes stronger. Thus, English became stronger by adopting many foreign words e.g. from German, French, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Hindustani, etc. Urdu also became stronger by adopting many words from Sanskrit, English. etc. (see the poetry of Akbar Allahabadi, where English words are often used).
Once I travelled on a rickshaw, and offered to pay the rickshaw driver the fare which I thought was proper. He said ‘wajib hai‘ (it is the proper fare). Now here was an uneducated man using a pure Persian word which had come into common usage. So, we should not have hatred of foreign words which have come into common usage.
