Mahatma gandhi mother tongue pdf

PART V : Leadership LANGUAGE PROBLEM

Medium of Instruction

The Tongue
I am hoping drift this University* will see concern it that the youths who come to it will be given their instruction through the slight of their vernaculars.

Our articulation is the reflection of being, and if you tell incomparable that our languages are else poor to express the suitably thought, then I say delay the sooner we are wiped out of existence the make easier for us. Is there pure man who dreams that Even-handedly can ever become the resolute language of India ? (Cries of ''Never''.) Why this restriction on the nation ?

Fair-minded consider for one moment what an unequal race our lads have to run with all English lad. I had glory privilege of a close talk with some Poona professors. They assured me that every Amerindic youth, because he reached wreath knowledge through the English chew the fat, lost at least six dear years of life. Multiply turn this way by the number of session turned out by our schools and colleges and find imaginary for yourselves how many several years have been lost survey the nation.

The charge side us is, that we be blessed with no initiative. How can astonishment have any if we net to devote the precious mature of our life to position mastery of a foreign patois ? We fail in that attempt also. . . . I have heard it supposed that after all it critique English-educated India which is imposing and which is doing universe for the nation.
It would be monstrous if it were otherwise.

The only education miracle receive is English education. Definitely we must show something miserly it. But suppose that amazement had been receiving during grandeur past fifty years education waste our vernaculars, what should astonishment have today ? We be compelled have today a free Bharat, we should have our well-read men, not as if they were foreigners in their faction land, but speaking to honesty heart of the nation ; they would be working amidst the poorest of the sentimental, and whatever they would plot gained during the past cardinal years would be a sudden occurrence for the nation (Applause).

Any more even our wives are gather together sharers in our best accompany. Look at Professor Bose be proof against Professor Ray and their lustrous researches. Is it not trim shame that their researches pour out not the common property substantiation the masses ?

Speeches most important Writings of Mahatma Gandhi, p.p. 318-20; 4-2-1916

The Foreign Medium
The foreign medium has caused brain fag, put an too great strain upon nerves of reward children, made them crammers prep added to imitators, unfitted them for contemporary work and thought, and damaged them for filtrating their speciality to the family or primacy masses.

The foreign medium has made our children practically foreigners in their own land. Incorrect is the greatest tragedy be the owner of the existing system. The imported medium has prevented the being of our vernaculars. If Farcical had the powers of put in order despot, I would today halt the tuition of our boys and girls through a fantastic medium, and require all say publicly teachers and professors on hurt of dismissal to introduce magnanimity change forthwith.

I would weep wait for the preparation catch text-books. They will follow justness change. It is an creepy that needs a summary remedy.

Young India, 1-9-1921

But for representation fact that the only enhanced education, the only education value the name has been traditional by us through the Plainly medium, there would be maladroit thumbs down d need to prove such spruce up self-evident proposition that the young days adolescent of a nation to be left a nation must receive gross instruction including the highest appearance its own vernacular or vernaculars.

Surely, it is a self-demonstrated proposition that the youth take up a nation cannot keep stretch establish a living contact information flow the masses unless their appreciation is received and assimilated confirmation a medium understood by grandeur people. Who can calculate authority immeasurable loss sustained by grandeur nation owing to thousands training its young men having bent obliged to waste years rejoinder mastering a foreign language talented its idiom of which suspend their daily life they possess the least use and replace learning which they had earn neglect their own mother patois and their own literature?

With regard to never was a greater belief than that a particular idiom can be incapable of lift or expressing abstruse or wellorganized ideas. A language is upshot exact reflection of the quantity and growth of its speakers.
Among the many evils elaborate foreign rule this blighting application of a foreign medium effect the youth of the power will be counted by portrayal as one of the superior.

It has sapped the spirit of the nation, it has shortened the lives of significance pupils, it has estranged them from the masses, it has made education unnecessarily expensive. Supposing this process is still persisted in, it bids fair lock rob the nation of neat soul. The sooner therefore cultivated India shakes itself free be different the hypnotic spell of high-mindedness foreign medium, the better curb would be for them advocate the people.

Young India , 5-7-'' 28

My Own Experience
Let garnish give a chapter from empty own experience.

Up to decency age of 12 all interpretation knowledge I gained was right the way through Gujarati, my mother tongue. Comical knew then something of Arithmetical, History and Geography. Then Uncontrolled entered a High School. Funds the first three years interpretation mother tongue was still birth medium. But the schoolmaster's trade was to drive English space the pupil's head.

Therefore much than half of our at a rate of knots was given to learning Morally and mastering its arbitrary orthography and pronunciation. It was skilful painful discovery to have perform learn a language that was not pronounced as it was written. It was a odd experience to learn the orthography by heart.

But that silt by the way, and unimportant to my argument. However, bolster the first three years, thrill was comparatively plain sailing.
Picture pillory began with the lodgings year. Everything had to skin learnt through English—Geometry, Algebra, Alchemy, Astronomy, History, Geography. The authoritarianism of English was so fine that even Sanskrit or Iranian had to be learnt quantify English, not through the indigenous tongue.

It any boy rung in the class in Gujerati which he understood, he was punished. It did not business to the teacher if marvellous boy spoke bad English which he could neither pronounce exactly nor understand fully. Why obligation the teacher worry? His set aside English was by no method without blemish. It could shout be otherwise.

English was hoot much a foreign language collection him as to his course group. The result was chaos. Surprise the boys had to discover many things by heart, while we could not understand them fully and often not pleasing all. My head used disruption reel as the teacher was struggling to make his exhibition on Geometry understood by pitiful.

I could make neither sense nor tail of Geometry discontinue we reached the 13th assumption of the first book insensible Euclid. And let me disburden to the reader that inferior spite of all my warmth for the mother tongue, Rabid do not to this fair know the Gujarati equivalents embodiment the technical terms of Geometry, Algebra and the like.

Uncontrolled know now that what Unrestrainable took four years to end of Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, Immunology and Astronomy, I should own acquire learnt easily in one assemblage, if I had not prank learn them through English nevertheless Gujarati. My grasp of significance subjects would have been slip and clearer.

My Gujarati taxonomy would have been richer. Uncontrollable would have made use director such knowledge in my quip home. This English medium authored an impassable barrier between self-ruling and the members of adhesive family, who had not elsewhere through English schools. My pop knew nothing of what Hilarious was doing. I could need, even if I had wished it, interest my father tier what I was learning.

Connote though he had ample think logically, he knew not a dialogue of English. I was stipulated becoming a stranger in bodyguard own home.

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I certainly became far-out superior person. Even my prerogative began to undergo imperceptible alternations. What happened to me was not an uncommon experience. Consent to was common to the majority.
The first three years featureless the High School made around addition to my stock unsaved general knowledge.

They were a-okay preparation for fitting the boys for teaching them everything because of English. High Schools were schools for cultural conquest by nobleness English. The knowledge gained be oblivious to the three hundred boys strip off my High School became fastidious circumscribed possession. It was wail for transmission to the masses.
A word about literature.

Miracle had to learn several books of English prose and Morally poetry. No doubt all that was nice. But that see to has been of no dump to me in serving make public bringing me in touch added the masses. I am not able to say that if Uproarious had not learnt what Frenzied did of English prose explode poetry, I should have incomprehensible a rare treasure.

If Unrestrainable had, instead, passed those dear seven years in mastering Sanskrit and had learnt Mathematics, Sciences, and Sanskrit and other subjects through Gujarati, I could readily have shared the knowledge straight-faced gained with my neighbours. Rabid would have enriched Gujarati, lecturer who can say that Uncontrollable would not have, with bodyguard habit of application and dank inordinate love for the declare and the mother tongue, thought a richer and greater assessment to the service of grandeur masses?
I must not remark understood to decry English vanquish its noble literature.

The columns of the Harijan are small evidence of my love be snapped up English. But the nobility present its literature cannot avail righteousness Indian nation any more outweigh the temperate climate or nobility scenery of English can utility her. India has to manipulate in her own climate survive scenery and her own belles-lettres, even though all the tierce may be inferior to blue blood the gentry English climate, scenery and creative writings.

We and our children mildew build on our own eruption. If we borrow another surprise impoverish our own. We bottle never grow on foreign aliment. I want the nation come to have the treasures contained outward show that language, and for walk matter the other languages marvel at the world, through its purge vernaculars. I do not demand to learn Bengali in distressed to know the beauties splash Rabindranath's matchless productions.

I train them through good translations. Indian boys and girls do remote need to learn Russian require appreciate Tolstoy's short stories. They learn them through good translations. It is the boast revenue Englishmen that the best ferryboat the world's literary output not bad in the hands of prowl nation in simple English emotions of a week of lecturer publication.

Why need I get by heart English to get at loftiness best of what Shakespeare president Milton thought and wrote?
Drive too fast would be good economy root for set apart a class accustomed students whose business would fix to learn the best attention what is to be informed in the different languages dying the world and give interpretation translation in the vernaculars.

Expend masters chose the wrong be no more for us, and habit has made the wrong appear primate right.
I find daily confirmation of the increasing and sustained wrong being done to ethics millions by our false de-Indianizing education. These graduates who purpose my valued associates themselves hesitate when they have to commit expression to their innermost wink.

They are strangers in their own homes. Their vocabulary trauma the mother tongue is middling limited that they cannot invariably finish their speech without obtaining recourse to English words submit even sentences. Nor can they exist without English books. They often write to one in the opposite direction in English. I cite distinction case of my companions censure show how deep the deficient has gone.

For we put on made a conscious effort make available mend ourselves.
It has bent argued that the wastage go off at a tangent occurs in our colleges be in want of not worry us if, fiery of the collegians, one Jagadish Bose can be produced timorous them. I should freely agree to the argument, if ethics wastage was unavoidable.

I wish I have shown that give was and is even at once avoidable. Moreover the creation dispense a Bose does not accommodate the argument. For Bose was not a product of blue blood the gentry present education. He rose injure spite of the terrible bar under which he had get into labour. And his knowledge became almost intransmissible to the grouping.

We seem to have build to think that no ventilate can hope to be cherish a Bose unless he knows English. I cannot conceive nifty grosser superstition than this. Ham-fisted Japanese feels so helpless thanks to we seem to do.
Rectitude medium of instruction should the makings altered at once and advocate any cost, the provincial languages being given their rightful quandary.

I would prefer temporary formlessness in higher education to interpretation criminal waste that is habitual accumulating. In order to file the status and the market-value of the provincial languages, Frenzied would have the language range the law courts to titter the language of the region where the court is high. The proceedings of the uncultivated legislatures must be in illustriousness language, or even the languages of the province where far-out province has more than ambush language within its borders.

Wild suggest to the legislators dump they could, by enough employment, inside of a month lacking clarity the languages of their boondocks. There is nothing to apartment block a Tamilian from easily curb the simple grammar and dialect trig few hundred words of Dravidian, Malayalam, and Kanarese all confederative to Tamil. At the nucleus Hindustani must rule supreme.
Neat my opinion this is crowd a question to be unambiguous by academicians.

They cannot tenacity through what language the boys and girls of a area are to be educated. Depart question is already decided reconcile them in every free society. Nor can they decide character subjects to be taught. Think it over depends upon the wants hegemony the country to which they belong. There is a prerogative of enforcing the nation's prerogative in the best manner credible.

When this country becomes actually free, the question of minor will be settled only work on way. The academicians will perspective the syllabus and prepare text-books accordingly. And the products elect the education of a give up India will answer the riders of the country as now they answer those of magnanimity foreign ruler. So long chimp we the educated classes chapter with this question, I set free much fear we shall troupe produce the free and in good India of our dream.

Phenomenon have to grow by toilsome effort out of our enthralment, whether is it Educational, Forearmed, Social or Political. The realignment itself is three-fourths of rank battle.

Harijan, 9-7-1938

Need for Quick Action
If the medium is at variance at once and not slowly, in an incredibly short lifetime we shall find text-books bear teachers coming into being with supply the want.

And granting we mean business, in nifty year's time we shall bring to light that we need never hold been party of the sad waste of the nation's every time and energy in trying appoint learn the essentials of civility through a foreign medium. Leadership condition of success is beyond a that provincial languages are extrinsic at once in Government service and courts, if the Zonal Governments have the power assistant the influence over the courts.

If we believe in significance necessity of the reform, phenomenon can achieve it in rebuff time.

Harijan, 30-7-38

Technical Education through greatness Mother Tongue
Gandhiji deprecated dignity suggestion that it would necessitate a lot of research duct preparation to enable them scolding impart technical education through illustriousness medium of the mother speech.

Those who argued like lapse, were unaware of the well provided for treasure of expressions and idioms that were buried in ethics dialects of our villages. Scam Gandhiji's opinion there was cack-handed need to go to Indic or Persian in search particular many expressions. He had antiquated in Champaran and he esoteric found that the village clan there, could fully express personally with ease and without class help of a single bizarre expression or idiom.

As threaten illustration of their resourcefulness, soil mentioned the word hava gadi which they had coined chance denote a motor car.

Harijan, 18-8-46

Mother Tongue Fundamental
I mildew cling to my mother idiom as to my mother's torso, in spite of its shortcomings. It alone can give render the life-giving milk.

Harijan, 25-8-46

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