“It’s a misconception that without English one cannot become a global citizen”

Mukul Kanitkar, National Organising Secretary, Bharatiya Shikshan Mandal, delivered a very thought-provoking speech at Vishwarang 2022 recently organised in Bhopal. He elaborated upon the vision of National Education Policy in a conversation with Vishal Duggal. Excerpts...

Under the new education policy, Indian languages will be emphasised and the mother tongue will remain at the centre. But if we have to adopt a global outlook, then there is no difference for the global citizen in terms of which language he will adopt. Is there any opposition to English in the new policy? 

The National Education Policy is not opposed to English, but it opens the way for 88 per cent Indians who do not know English to get an opportunity for higher education. It aims at ending the compulsion of English. There is no question of ending English or opposing English. 

Don’t you see any practical difficulty in imparting of technical education in Hindi and other languages? Also, if there is a government circular or any legal document in Hindi, people, in general, find it difficult as compared to in English...

This is a big misconception. Only 12 per cent of the people in this country understand English while 80 per cent people do not know English. Not only in Hindi language, we will have to work in the language of that region. In fact, people do not understand government documents because they are in English. When Tamil Nadu started writing them in Tamil, the people from there started to understand all such documents.

To what extent is it correct to propagate Hindi and popularise it as a link language?

You can see the data that not more than 2% people of any state migrate out of that state. The one who goes abroad must be resourceful enough to learn the language there. 
German language was taught in Kendriya Vidyalayas and then its three-year contract ended. When Smriti Irani became the minister, there was a lot of ruckus when the contract was not renewed at that time. At that time the German ambassador was lobbying with everyone. His calls also came through an intermediary. Talking to me in Hindi, he told me that engineering and other subjects are taught in German and as that country’s population is decreasing, so many colleges remain vacant. That's why they want Indian students to learn German so that they can go to Germany for higher education.

When he was trying to convince me, suddenly he realised that this man is a “Sangh Pracharak,” so he told me if you do not come then people from Bangladesh and Pakistan will come. But we want Indians to come. I asked him how he was able to speak Hindi so well. He told me when his posting took place, he learnt Hindi in six weeks. 

The one who gets admission in America should learn English; the one who gets admission in Russia should learn Russian. All the children who have just returned from Ukraine were studying a little in English. English is mandatory for a global citizen, this is a big bigotry which America has done cleverly. Entire Europe opposes it. France does not recognise English.

English is not the language of the United Nations. French is the language of UN and if an Indian is sitting in the UN, it is written 'Inde' and not Indian against the name of that representative.

This misconception is more widespread in India that without English one cannot become a global citizen. There are seven countries like Australia, America, New Zealand, and England where English will work. All other countries are such that you will have to learn the language of that country.

If you go to China you will have to learn Chinese or if you go to Japan you need to learn Japanese. If you have done your studies in your mother tongue in your childhood then you can learn any language of the world in seven weeks. It is not required for a Tamilian to learn Hindi from his childhood. As soon as he gets a job in Noida he learns Hindi in just six weeks. Similarly if a person from Madhya Pradesh will go to Tamil Nadu he will learn Tamil in six weeks. I get to move around the country and I never face any problem in terms of language. Wherever I go, I ask them to ask questions in their own language and I’ll reply them in Hinglish or Hindi. I can understand Kannada and Malyalam as well and if I get to reside there for two three weeks I’ll start speaking those language as well because I have done studies in my mother tongue.