Points: The harmful slogan against English — Usefulness of English for modern science and technology — Its role in national integration.
The cry of Angreji Hatao or “Drive English away” is a cry for putting the clock back. The inevitable result of downgrading English in parts of India has been a general decline of academic standards.
Some of the Indian vernaculars have, no doubt, a rich and varied “literature of power” — poetry, novels, plays etc., but not “literature of knowledge”, books on Science, Technology, Law and Medicine etc. English at this stage is our only window to the world at large. It is through English that we keep track of all that is happening in Arts, Science, Technology, and in trade and commerce. In giving up English, we shall be, in fact, isolating ourselves from the advanced nations of the world; we shall lag behind modern science and modern civilization. That will mean stagnation and decay. The fanatics may scrap English? But that will give a blow to the unity and progress of the country.
Without English we cannot keep our country one and united, we cannot communicate between one state and another. Without English we cannot communicate between one country and another, we cannot convene a non-aligned summit and have our deliberations. English is indispensable for a North-South dialogue within the country itself. We cannot simply do without English at this moment.
The cry of Angreji Hatao or “Drive English away” is a cry for putting the clock back. The inevitable result of downgrading English in parts of India has been a general decline of academic standards.
Some of the Indian vernaculars have, no doubt, a rich and varied “literature of power” — poetry, novels, plays etc., but not “literature of knowledge”, books on Science, Technology, Law and Medicine etc. English at this stage is our only window to the world at large. It is through English that we keep track of all that is happening in Arts, Science, Technology, and in trade and commerce. In giving up English, we shall be, in fact, isolating ourselves from the advanced nations of the world; we shall lag behind modern science and modern civilization. That will mean stagnation and decay. The fanatics may scrap English? But that will give a blow to the unity and progress of the country.
Without English we cannot keep our country one and united, we cannot communicate between one state and another. Without English we cannot communicate between one country and another, we cannot convene a non-aligned summit and have our deliberations. English is indispensable for a North-South dialogue within the country itself. We cannot simply do without English at this moment.
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