Language crisis: Maharashtra government is at the cleft end of a stick

If Hindi was to be taught in schools in Maharashtra schools at the primary level itself, then the state would most likely be required to appoint candidates from outside the state which are mostly Hindi speaking. One cause of opposition to it is that it is not just a local language but that it is spoken by the migrants, and they are being forced to use it in their daily usage outside of their homes. That is a major sticking point now.

At one estimate, the import of Hindi teachers would be upwards of 20,000. They would be required to possess a Diploma in Education (D Ed) or a B.Ed. Maharashtra just does not produce as many diploma or degree holders despite having about 1,500 Teaching & Education colleges. Of these, about 950 are private institutions and the rest are government aided or government owned. They produce about 4,000 Hindi teachers which is inadequate if Hindi is made compulsory in primary schools. And there are private and aided schools too.

Paucity of Hindi teachers

This paucity which cannot be wished away but would in fact be a major headache, for to take up jobs in the government schools, the candidates would need to have a domiciliary certificate. The eligibility to get that certificate is 15 years of residence in Maharashtra. The only way out would be to waive that requirement which could set precedence for other government employment. That the Marathi-speaking population would strongly resist because their jobs would go to others.

There is a subterranean opposition now to migrants though their usefulness is never disputed. Asking them to speak Marathi is a facet of it. In 2008, facing threats from the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, the fleeing of migrant labour in Nashik had led to shutting down of industry. Mumbai, proclaimed by the civic body in Latin as ‘Urbs prima in Indis’ – the first city of India – is built because of the sweat of the migrants, a fact that cannot be lost sight of; only 37 per cent Mumbai residents speak Marathi.

Half population comprises migrants

Over half the population is of migrants who came in one time or the other in its history. In census lingo, they are classified as ‘all-time migrants’ if they had come in in the previous censal decade. As older generations merge with the locals, their children are born with familiarity with Marathi, there are newer folk getting into Mumbai and its larger metropolitan swath without knowing a word of Marathi. The urban melting pot which made Mumbai a city of importance to the country, only must thank them for making the city vibrant.

In my study of Mumbai slums while drafting the Mumbai Human Development Report, 2009 for United Nations Development Programme it came across clearly that if one were to remove the slums teeming mostly with migrants, the city would just collapse. Dharavi’s economy alone was estimated by Nandan Nilekani to be US$ 1.6 bn per year, about the same as the cost of building the Ambani home, Antilia. And all migrants are not slum dwellers and that should make a point.

Hindi teachers may come from outside

The Nation Policy of Education does allow for appointing teachers from outside the state to meet the full requirement of Hindi teachers for the state’s government run 49,000 primary schools and this would be a difficult policy decision because given the current anti-Hindu sentiment in a state which is a preferred destination for migrants. The cities and major towns attract them for their livelihoods.

There indeed are other emerging features in the developments centric to Hindi. A committee headed by the scientist, Raghunath Mashelkar, commissioned by Maharashtra government, had recommended that Maharashtra should have Hindi as the third language in the schools from Std. I to XII. It was approved when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. The government now intends to table it in the ongoing Assembly. But that is intended to embarrass Uddhav Thackeray.

To take the issue forward, the government singed by the resistance to Hindi and sees a stronger Opposition emerging, has now set up a committee headed by Economist Narendra Jadhav to study the Mashelkar report and advice. The government is keen that the report on a report be submitted within the next three months, indicating that it is not stepping back in defeat and would pursue the matter of bringing Hindi into the curriculum at the primary school level. At many levels, Maharashtra is caught in the cleft end of the stick.