Shodharthy: An Initiative towards Empowering Indian Language Students
| Date | 01 June 2016 |
| Author | A.K. Verma |
| Published date | 01 June 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2321023016634951 |
| Subject Matter | Teaching–Learning Politics in India |
Teaching–Learning Politics in India
Shodharthy: An Initiative
towards Empowering
Indian Language Students
A.K. Verma1
One of the unresolved issues in higher education in India is related to language and medium of instruc-
tion. One aspect of this problem is about the domination of English language as the only lingua franca.
Macaulay’s writ continues to run large in Indian academia even after seven decades of post-colonial
history as one can occupy the academic centre stage in India only if s/he is fluent in English. We seem to
have resigned to the dominance of English in higher education. On the other hand, serious negligence
of Indian languages in higher education continues to remain a daunting concern.
Our inability to evolve consensus over a common national language has been one of the factors
responsible for this. It leaves students with no option but to depend on English as a medium of learning
at the graduate schools especially in non-Hindi states. In the Hindi-speaking states, on the other hand,
it draws an artificial divide between the Hindi medium and the non-Hindi medium students who are
coerced to opt for English as a medium of learning for several reasons. There are multiple issues
that coerce both non-Hindi regional language students and Hindi medium students into getting attracted
to English as a medium of learning. First, most academic discourse in social sciences in general, and
political science in particular, at national and global forums, takes place in English and hence the ‘critical
mass of knowledge’ is mostly located only in English books and journals. Even the best of teachers
are comfortable in teaching only in English though, of late, some have taken to bilingualism.
Second, the (whatever meagre) exercises of translations have been quite disappointing. Most of the
translated versions not only make the subject terse and dull but also either convey no meaning or wrong
meanings. Translators go for literal translations and use age-old technical glossaries published by the
government agencies. These translations completely destroy the communicability of knowledge and its
intelligibility by the readers. So, despite the fact that there is a huge market for translated books and
treatises, we have failed to develop an adequate pool of readable, communicable and intelligible reading
material for students in Hindi or other modern Indian languages.
These inadequacies have pushed the Indian language students into some kind of academic subaltern
status in our educational system. As social science classrooms become more diverse and as first-
generation learners enter the arena of higher education in increasing numbers, there is an urgent need
to address the various dimensions of this subalternity.
Note: This section is coordinated by Rajeshwari Deshpande (rajeshwari.deshpande@gmail.com).
1 The author taught at Christ Church College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is the chief editor of Shodharthy.
Studies in Indian Politics
4(1) 116–118
© 2016 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2321023016634951
http://inp.sagepub.com
Corresponding author:
A.K. Verma, Christ Church College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
E-mail: akv1722@gmail.com
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