TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
KSS Pillai
The President of our country has done well to emphasise the "unity in diversity" theme in her Republic Day address to the nation. In a vast country like ours, multiple languages and creeds have unified the country instead of dividing it. Though some politicians take potshots at the "language problem" for personal gains, their efforts to generate heat fail after a short spell of protest in some parts of the country. The non-Hindi speaking areas have no need to worry as the constitution has the provision of treating English as the official language along with Hindi.
One of my teachers once said that the best way to propagate a language is not by thrusting it down the throats of unwilling citizens but through media like movies. He pointed out that all those who oppose Hindi have no objection to viewing the old black-and-white movies to have another glance at the singing and dancing heroines and to hear the tantalising music.
When I was young, the only cinema house in my village used to screen Tamil movies most of the time since only a couple of Malayalam films were released in a year. People never thought Tamil was being imposed on them. They worshipped the Tamil heroes like their counterparts in Tamil Nadu. They were proud that some of the actors were Malayalees by birth. When a hero, heroine, or script writer became the chief minister of the state, they were happy, and when they died, they grieved. In the same manner, the viewers of Hindi films have no problem with actors, and actresses who hail from other parts of the country.
People have been migrating to other states and even abroad for ages as proper employment is scarce in many parts of the country. They adjust to the new atmosphere when they settle in another state. There are several workers from Bengal, Bihar, and the Seven Sisters of the North East working in different fields in Kerala, as the wages there are much higher than what they get in their states.
Migrants love the places of their adoption as their own, learn the local language, and send their children to the schools and colleges there. They construct their houses there, grow old, and prefer to die there. Many marry local girls and, like the Parsis, who promised while seeking asylum in India, merge with the local population like sugar dissolving in milk.
Settled in Gujarat, we have never felt as outsiders. Our vegetable and fruit vendors and those who buy scraps are from other states. My barber is from Maharashtra; the grocery shop owner is from Rajasthan. The president of our housing society is from UP. When our house was being renovated, the carpenters, painters, and masons had their roots elsewhere in the country. The school where my grandson studies has the principal and many teachers from other parts of the country. We are voters here, having a say in the election of the rulers.
We, particularly the children, enjoy the traditional local food, while our Gujarati friends like Kerala dishes. The people have no objection to outsiders coming to their states, though some politicians try to get votes by generating friction.
