Re: Sanskrit as India's National Language
Navaratna Rajaram
Dear N.S. Rajaram ji,We do not know each other. We have been on RajivMalhotraDiscussion mailing list as well as one from Rajiv Verma.However I have been a fan of your writings against AIT and other subjects. At the moment I am sort of moderating a thread on Bharat-Rakshak Forum, called "Out-of-India - From Theory to Truth".While looking around in Internet, I bumped upon a post you made on Indiavine:Here is what I found. In December 1949, Ambedkar, supported by
Professor Nizamuddin raised the issue of making Sanskrit the national
language. He was supported also by a large number of memebrs from
Tamil Nadu. Ambedkar was also the first to sign it on 12 December
1949. Two days earlier, on December 10, at the working meeting of the
All India Scheduled Caste Federation meeting, he explicitly stated
that Sanskrit should be the national language. He was oppose mainly
by North Indian members, mainly B.P. Maurya (though he later
regretted it).
Ambedkar expressed his disappointment at a press conference the
same evening. Many of the positions taken by AMbedkar would be
denounced today as "Brahminical."
The issue was debated among the Congress members from 20 to 25
December 1949. Vote was taken on December 25, with 77 in favor of
Sanskrit and 77 against. Satyanarayanan, who was presiding over the
Congress party members did not cast the deciding vote. The result was
a deadlock and with that (and Rajendra Prasad favoring Hindi over
Sanskrit) Hindi was adopted.
This was reported in The Hindustan (Hindi edition of The
Hindustan Times).
There must be others who are more knowledgeable on the issue.
RajaramI was interested to know whether later on you found out any more material on this incident. In case you are not too busy, I would be grateful if you could share any more info on this.Thank you,RajeshA
Dipak Bhattacharya
Best
DB
From: Navaratna Rajaram <rajaramn...@gmail.com>
To: Rajesh A <rajes...@hotmail.com>; bharatiyaexperts <bharatiyae...@yahoogroups.com>; bvpar...@googlegroups.com
Cc: Mahesh Prabhu <India...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 18 September 2012 6:34 PM
Subject: {भारतीयविद्वत्परिषत्} Re: Sanskrit as India's National Language
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Vineet Chaitanya
Vineet Chaitanya
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p32b.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p32c.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p33a.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p33b.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p33c.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p34a.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p34b.htm
http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol9p34c.htm
The debate starts with the following on the first link above:
"That in amendment No. 369 of List VII (Seventh Week), for clause (5) of the proposed article 24, the following be substituted :-
if you learn the international numerals also and use them for all-India official purposes ? Rather, it will be to your benefit, specially for your higher educational curriculum. I would ask Babu Purshottam Das Tandon, and appeal to him that in this matter he must rise, equal to the occasion. It is not a matter which need be carried by a majority of votes. Even if some of there. feel against the all-India use and recognition of the international numerals in addition to Hindi numerals, even if he feels that this is not fair and just, or is not to his liking, for the very fact that Hindi which is the language of his own province is being accepted by the entire people of India, tie should have the statesmanship to get up and say that in spite of his personal feelings, he accepts the compromise and approves the resolution.
We have passed many important resolutions in this House during the past years. We have faced many crises together. It will be making a childish affair if on a matter connected with numerals, the Constituent Assembly of free India commanded by one political party divides. We shall be making a laughing stock of ourselves and the whole of India and we would be strengthening the hands of our enemies. Let us emphasise not on the differences but on the substantial achievement of our common aim. Let us tell the whole world that we have done so without rancour and with unanimity. Let us not look at the matter from a political angle.
It pains to find that in some areas, acceptance of international numerals may become a first class political issue. It depends on the leaders of those provinces to take courage in both hands, get up here and say that they have accepted this compromise for the good of India and that they are going to stand together. If the leaders say so, I have not the slightest doubt that the people also will accept it. We have not banned the circulation of Hindi or Devanagari numerals in any province where the State legislature so decides or even for allIndia purposes. All that we have recommended is the acceptance of a formula which we feel will be fair and just to all. I hope that before the debate concludes it will be possible for the representatives of the different view-points to meet together and come forward before the House with the declaration that the proposition of
Mr. N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar is going to be unanimously accepted.
Mr. President: The House stands adjourned till 4 O'clock."
As per my understanding the whole debate revolves about the issue of numerals; international numeral vs. conventional Devanagari numeral.
Vineet Chaitanya
I heard in my childhood that the the Constituent Assembly was divided between English and Hindi and Deshratna Prasad voted for Hindi. One source confirms this:
Sailaja, Pingali. (2009). Indian English - Dialects of English [Illustrated Edition]. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 074862595X, 9780748625956. p. 111.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ntxWxuoRBiwC&pg=PA111, retrieved September 19, 2012.
The other options were Sanskrit and Hindustani as per the above source.
Navaratna Rajaram
From: Rajesh A <rajes...@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 10:44 AM
Subject: Sanskrit as India's National Language
To: "N. S. Rajaram" <rajaramn...@gmail.com>
Cc: bvpar...@googlegroups.com, bharatiyae...@yahoogroups.com, india...@gmail.com, nmi...@gmail.com, vc99...@gmail.com
As already indicated, the Constituent Assembly did not give a smooth sailing to the Bill on Hindi asthe Official Languages. The majority which decided such a vital issue was one of the narrowest. During the few stormy days of the Constituent Assembly's discussion of this question, the impasse was sought to be solved by some members by proposing Sanskrit as the Rastrabhasa; and the late Dr.B.R. Ambedkar, who as the Law Member, was piloting the bill, was also reported to have favoured that proposal. In the course of the discussion of this question in the Assembly, several members, including some ardent protagonists of Hindi, paid due homage to Sanskrit. Apart from all this, the onlyother Indian languages for the adoption of which as the Rastra bhasa a regular amendment was moved, and discussion on which took a good part of the time of the Assembly, was Sanskrit.As Shri Naziruddin Ahmad, advocating Sanskrit, put it on the floor of the House, a language that is adopted for the whole country, where so many languages are spoken, should be impartial, alanguages which is not the mother-tongue of any area, which is common to all regions, and the adoption of which will not prove an advantage to one part of the country and a handicap to all otherparts. The late Lakshmi Kanta Maitra, who moved the amendment seeking to replace Hindi by Sanskrias the Official Languages, observed in the Assembly, that, if Sanskrit was accepted, "all the jealousies, all this bitterness will vanish with all the psychological complex that has been created ............. there will not be the least feeling of domination or suppression of this or that". Thus, neutrality (or notbeing the spoken language of any section) has been urged as the first criterion of a National Language. That is why efforts were being made to create in Europe quite a new languages like Esperanto, to be used as the International Language perfected for this very purpose of all-India use through all these centuries, why throw it away? The neutrality of Sanskrit is not a mere negative quality; it is also the positive virtue of having grown by incorporating into itself elements from all other languages of the country. In this respect again, Sanskrit, which, as has been pointed out elsewhere, is a synthesis of the best in all the cultural constituents of India, can truly claim to have been developed and enriched by every part of India.
विश्वासो वासुकेयः
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