We do not have to read about Indian culture, because it is not included in our course of study. So we take for granted that India had scarcely any culture. Then when some foreign pundits speak highly of India's culture, we feel greatly elated. We rend the sky with the shout that our culture is something heavenly. It is a special creation of Brahma. This makes us indulge in self-praise, and we feel an irresistible craving for it.

Here we should remember that the doctrine of special creation has become obsolete. In modern times we have realized that every special truth and special culture is connected with the universal. Today nobody except a prisoner is isolated from the outside world. So the assertion that India's intellectual solitary confinement is the will of the Almighty does not increase her glory in  any way. However, we must have the belief that India has a culture, and it is worthy to be imparted to all.

Now a question arises : Is our Indian culture the best in the world, or, at least, so good as to be included in our course of study? In God's world there is no such thing as the sole best, because the despotism of the best is  not tolerated. There are a number of variates of the best. So it is useless to argue over it.

We must not lose sight of the fact that our culture has its superstitions and flaws. These are conspicuous because our culture has become static. European culture, its politics and its science, are also not without it's superstitions. But they do not cause disasters, because they are dynamic and they change for the better. Their caste distinctions may be cited as an example. They do not become tryannical to a degree, because they are constantly on the move.

Only a few years ago Europe began to look upon the world from the point of view of an old-fashioned scientific doctrine. It was the struggle for existence. This changed her attitude to life. We also followed her and believed in the doctrine. But, of late, there is an indication of a change in this view. There are facts to prove that the struggle is based, not on competition, but on sympathy, unity and co-operation. Thus, in the nineteenth century, unchecked competition was the message of political economy. And in the next century it has changed into co-operation. This only proves that whatever impedes is undesirable.

In the past we in India made different experiments, in our own way, to solve the problem of life. The solutions we found cannot be set aside simply because they differed from those of Europe. But they must not be allowed to remain static; they should be dynamic. and keep peace with the procession of discoveries made by men of other countries. We must not lag behind other countries and show contemptuous indifference to them. We should move together with others in harmony.

The Hindu Code Law was duly passed in the Parliament, but it could not safeguard the women from the agony and torture caused by the dowry system. Even today many women suffer for this disgraceful social practice. And when their sufferings become too much for them to bear, they commit suicide to find relief in death. When the Hindu Code Bill was placed in the Parliament for debate, there were differences of opinion within the Congress. Some members were not in favour of this law. So the Congress party which was then in power had to get the law passed by applying party whip. In the opposition parties also there were some members who fought against the bill.

When the law was being debated in the parliament, it was found that many housewives and many peasant women were against the bill. They knew it well that a women could not get married unless the dowry was paid. So they found no reason ton support the law. In the meetings with women we hear the same sad stories of many families that fell victims to the dowry. Many had to to sell their landed property, and many had become completely bankrupt to get their daughters married. A woman would not get married without paying the dowry, in spite of her education or skill in household work. In fact, her education or other qualities were of no worth in of money, ornaments and landed property that would be given to the bridegroom at the time of her marriage. How could she become happy at her marriage, when her marriage made her father insolvent? She could sit on the bridal stool, trying hard to hide her tears. Nothing can be more pathetic than this.

Sometimes it so happened that a bride's father was unable to meet all the dowry claims at the time of his daughter's marriage. He would then promise to pay the dowry at the later date. But if he failed to keep his promise, the bride would be mercilessly persecuted by her husband or parents-in-law. There was no limit to this cruel torture. In some cases the bride could be killed or driven to suicide. The groom's family arranged for his remarriage to get new dowry.

 The violence of the anti-dowry law was rampant, but the government could not make the law effective. Had the law been strictly applied, lavish display of riches could not be seen in the marriage ceremonies in the rich families. The police connived at the unlawful exchange that took place in such marriages. Exemplary punishment should have been inflicted on those who violated the law.

We see the evil effects of the dowry in the villages. The towns presented a worse picture. We see many poor people who get their daughters married by giving huge dowry. If they failed to pay the dowry in installments, their daughters would be forced to come back to them. And the grooms would marry again without being punishment by the law that banned polygamy.

There is only one way to eradicate this evil custom of dowry. It lies in the hands of women. They should stand until in their protest against dowry. The mean-minded bridegrooms are devoid of moral scruples. They do not feel ashamed to take money and various valuable articles of luxury from their fathers-in-law. There are some who prosecute higher studies at the expense of their fathers-in-law. It is only women who can make them check their greed and bring them to their senses. None can save the womenfolk from the clutches of the dowry devil unless they themselves stand firmly against this evil custom. So the ant-dowry campaign should be the most important item on the agendas of all women's organizations.

The two unfortunate riots of 1984 in Delhi and 2002 in Gujarat are haunting the Indian political space ever since they happened. In both of them there is a widely held belief that the government of the day did not take adequate and necessary steps to nip them in the bud and thereby they are accused of alleged connivance  In both riots precious lives were lost in thousands. The scar they left on the two minority communities of Sikhs and Muslims is not getting healed even after 30 years and 12 years lapsed period.

In both the riots allegedly leaders of the ruling party are supposed to have taken leading part in heaping death and misery over hapless men, women and children in vicious forms. Both the ruling parties in Delhi and Gujarat are in a denial mode. In the case of Delhi riots, after many years the PM apologized in the Parliament but in case of Gujarat there is no apology by its CM or his party.

In his interview to a TV channel, Rahul Gandhi by design or default stated that "some Congressmen may have been involved in the 1984 riots". Naturally the Sikhs are up in anger and are demanding action against such Congress leaders. This has once again brought these riots on the center stage. 

Far too often, we have observed, how the Gujarat riots are used as a neutralizing weapon by Congress when attacked by BJP on Delhi riots and vice versa. Most of the times the bickering between the representatives of these two by now more regional and less national parties is sickening to say the least. The riots for them have become a source of endless debates and are used to score debating points. Both have miserably failed to answer the important question - why they could not control the riots in the shortest possible time.

The 1984 riots took place following the killing of the then PM Mrs Indira Gandhi by her own two Sikh bodyguards, on October 31, 1984. The apparent reason was to avenge the Operation Bluestar in which army was used to flush out the well entrenched terrorists from the sacred Golden Temple in Amritsar. This act had enraged many in the Sikh community. Indira was advised to opt for non Sikh bodyguards but like a true patriot she refused the suggestion only to pay with her life.

Indira was shot at around 9 am but officially the announcement was made by about 2 pm. Her son Rajiv Gandhi was in Kolkatta and returned to Delhi by late evening. He was immediately elected leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and was thereafter sworn as the PM. By the next day however Sikhs were targeted in Delhi and many North Indian cities and were brutally killed, their houses burned, women molested, property looted etc. It seemed the rioters had a field day as there was no one to stop them. This mayhem lasted for three days and then stopped altogether. The figures of Sikhs killed is widely believed to be upwards of 4000 and figures up to 10,000 are also frequently mentioned.

The 2002 riots in Gujarat erupted a day after the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt allegedly burnt by a mob of Muslims in Godhra and 59 Hindu kar sevaks returning from a program in Ayodhya were burnt to death. The charred bodies were brought to Ahmedabad and the ghastly sight incited the Hindus to react violently. The riots spread to many parts of Gujarat and more than a thousand people from both communities lost their lives including in police firing. The riots lasted for nearly three months from March 1, 2002 on wards. There was widespread loss of property and horrible stories of hateful acts of torture and killings.

What was common to both the riots was that they were  reactions by the majority community  to  dastardly acts by persons of a minority communities. Another common feature was the fact that both incidents happened during morning hours and the riots began a day after. Another common factor was the alleged systematic manner in which the rioters moved to take revenge indicating a degree of advance planning. Thus spontaneous reaction was not there. Also in both cases there were leaders at the helm who lacked administrative experience, one of them in fact was sworn on the very day of the incident. This was to play a crucial role in the curbing of the riots.

In the 1984 riots the casualties were very high especially because the riots lasted for only three days. This shows it was very concentrated and no control actions were taken. The arsonists had a free hand and took their revenge to their hearts content. In the 2002 riots the casualties were around 1100 inclusive of deaths due to police firing and spread over nearly three months period.  

There were  no 24X7 TV channels in 1984 and this was one main reason why it has not registered in the minds of the people as has the 2002 riots which was extensively covered by the electronic media. Also there was very tardy follow up of cases against alleged rioters of 1984 including identified Congress leaders which are going on today also. On the contrary many of the 2002 rioters have been convicted and have received death sentences, and varying jail periods. A minister has been convicted and sent to 28 years jail sentence. This has been possible due to the Special Investigations Team (SIT) formed by the Supreme Court which also monitored them. Further many trials were held outside Gujarat indicating a lack of faith in the local administration to act fair. This has brought a sense of closure to many of the riot victims which is not the case for 1984 victims.

The demand of Sikhs for setting up of an SIT is a valid demand and should be under SC monitoring and also have a time limit. Better late than never.

It would be worthwhile to discuss, could the riots have been prevented or if timely measures were taken could the killings have been minimized. It does seem that the administration did have nearly 24 hours lead time before the riots started. 

In both cases the attitude of the administration has been however to a large extent similar. They have shown a studied and calculated indifference to the riots and its victims. It is the absence of any preventive steps taken during this period which points to either a deliberate negligence or a lack of understanding the possibility of a strong  reaction. In both cases, unfortunately, there is also allegedly indifference shown by police against rioters in the first few days when the rioting was at its peak. Also in both cases fingers are pointed at powerful politicians, especially those in power, for their alleged involvement in leading rampaging mobs or not coordinating abatement measures when approached by victims. In both cases it is alleged that the Army was not called in time and this resulted in higher casualties.

Post riots the probe commissions have been formed to investigate what all had happened. As usual everyone knows the commissions take years and years to submit their reports. In one of the riots the inquiry commission is working even after 13 years. When their reports come, matter is usually forgotten and hardly any action is taken.  Unfortunately these commission reports are more of a time buying tactics.

However what is unique to these riots is there being remembered almost on a daily basis, for scoring debating points and embarrassing each other. If the Congress rakes up 2002 the BJP immediately rakes up 1984 and vice versa. It has now reached to an  irritating stage in TV news debates. In the name of these riots muck is spoken and many a times false statements are made. There are young persons who may not have been born when 1984 riots took place or were very small. They can be told any lie by vested interests.

What is true is the fact that one riot was relegated to background and another was skillfully exploited  politically. Both riots were used to settle scores and were subsequently mercilessly exploited for political gains. The latest riot in Muzaffarnagr also falls into this category.

While the politicians and active rioters gained it was the poor hapless victims who escaped death that are the worst sufferers. Most of them have lost their houses and had to move to alien places.The survivors lost their near and dear ones and have to live with this loss throughout their lives. They have had to suffer financial losses also. No amount of compensation can compensate their losses and the mental agony they are suffering from.

What however is frightening is the fact that most of the mass murders, rapists, looters, arsonists etc are roaming the streets freely knowing very well that no harm is going to come on them. There simply is no will in the system to haul them up. Involved leaders and identified persons of stature are not being either prosecuted or done at less than snails pace. It smells of a big and silent conspiracy. The State acted as a one sided punishment agent.

The 2014 elections are seeing both aggressive and a low level campaigning and riots of 1984 and 2002 are freely hurled at each other without any consideration about the pain it may cause to the feeling of survivors. The issue simply is that your riot was more worse than my riot. What a fall for a society which considers Mahatama Gandhi as its ideal.

No one knows the origins of the thousands of languages that are spoken all over the world. It is estimated that nearly between  to 5,000 to 6,192 languages (depending on classification) are spoken globally. When one travels out of India one recognizes the fact that English is not so universal a language as we think it generally to be. In the European continent, so near to England, English is hardly spoken or in Latin America and in Africa or in Asia. However it is the link language of the world and is greatly used as an official language between countries. This makes it a universally accepted language and it also is now the language of IT, therefore its use is going to increase considerably.

In India three major languages have played very important roles in its history till date. They have been the languages which shaped its history and culture. They were the languages of the elite and at different periods had the status as  official language. They have considerably influenced Indian culture, thought, literature, arts, science, politics, religion etc. The tgree languages are Sanskrit,Persian and English. Today only English is having an influence. 

Indian Language Scenario: 

The census of 2001 in India  has recorded that 29 languages have more than a million speakers while 60 have more than a lakh and 122 have more than 10,000 speakers. 

As per the 1991 census 22 languages had more than a million speakers, 50 had more than a lakh and 114 had more than 10,000 speakers. However it is interesting to note that the 1961 census had recorded 1,652 distinct languages being spoken in India, while the 1991 census recorded 1,576 languages as 'mother tongues' spoken in India.

The government has given official recognition to 22 languages in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution. A few of them are for political reasons and most of them were the basis of forming various States after independence. however there are a few languages which even though spoken by more than a million are not recognised as official languages.

Hindi is the most widely spoken language and is in fact the official language of the Government of India and English is the secondary official language. But in reality the languages of Sanskrit, Persian and English have played a great role in pan Indian history through the ages.

Sanskrit :

Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages. It is the language of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, all ancient religions of India. Sanskrit has influenced the languages of not only India but Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal and beyond.

Panini, believed to have been born in the 4th century BC in Gandharva near Afghanistan is considered to be the grammarian of Sanskrit. He wrote his Ashtadhyayi, consisting of eight chapters, wherein he set forth 3,959 rules of Sanskrit morphology, syntax and semantics which became the basis for Sanskrit grammar. It is interesting to note that in it Panini refer to previous existing grammar texts thereby giving Sanskrit a more distant origin. Hoewever Panini is supposed to have lived in what is considered to be the end of the Vedic period. His grammar gave rise to Classical Sanskrit as opposed to Vedic Sanskrit. So logical is the grammar of Panini that he has been also called the Indian Euclid.

The ancient Indian Rigveda is written in Vedic Sanskrit around 1500 BC and thus is the oldest of texts in the world. The Upanishads are also supposed to have been written towards the end of the Vedic period in Vedic Sanskrit. The Classical Sanskrit based on Pannini's grammar was to continue for nearly next 2,000 years. It gave Hinduism two eternal epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Over such a long period Sanskrit developed into four distinct dialects namely paschimottari (Northern or Western), madhyadesi (Central), purvi (Eastern) and daksini (Southern) covering the entire Indian sub continent and large parts of Asia.

Sanskrit is one of the languages of the Indo-Iranian family of languages. Sanskrit was taught mainly to members of the higher castes mostly Brahmins and there was considerable emphasis on  its correct its pronouncing. It thus was confined to a small but significant and very effective section of the society and existed in conjunction with other languages which are known as the Indo-Aryan languages. It also became the language of the priests and was associated with religious rituals. It also received royal patronage because of the coalition of the ruling and priest classes.

By remaining confined to a select group and refusing to universalize Sanskrit became a static language. With the advent of Islamic rule in Indian sub continent its use went down further. In course of time it has remained restricted to hymns and religious rituals. It is today almost a dead language. However its great contribution in Indian culture was  immense as it existed as a vibrant language  from ancient to middle ages in India. However its everlasting contribution is that out of its womb are born almost all the popular and widely spoken other languages of India.

Sanskrit has greatly influenced Indian languages like Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese, Konkani, Malayalam, Telugu,Gujarati, Kashmiri  etc. It is estimated that anywhere from 50 to 80% of the words of these languages are from Sanskrit. Budhism took it to China, Tibet and beyond contributing many words to these languages. Nepalese is also heavily influenced by Sansksrit.

The Southeast Asian languages of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines are full of Sanskrit words, though today they may have a large number of words from Chinese, Arabic etc languages also.

Sanskrit language has today around 14,000 self reported speakers as per the 2011 census. Very few scholars are pursuing it. It is studied by religious persons to be able to carry out worship  and rituals which are recited in Sanskrit. There is no commercial gain by learning it. In fact it is said that there are more students and colleges teaching Sanskrit in Germany than in India its birth place. 

A once rich and vibrant language Sanskrit has been relegated to a dignified place of honour and finds very few learners even in India where it is the official language of the State of Uttrakhand!!

Persian Language: 

Persian language originated in Iran. Before the British domination in South Asia started in early nineteenth century, Persian was the most widely used second language. In India also it was the same till about 1832 when English language started making inroads as the Mughal period was coming to an end.

Persian influence was brought into India by Muslim rulers especially in 13th century and the Mughals consolidated it from 16th to 19th century. Persian was the official language of the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th to the early 16th century and thereafter during the Mughal rule till British ended it in early 19th century. It became the language of the elite and also started influencing other Indian languages especially those of North India. In due course of time the mixture of Persian and Hindi languages gave birth to Urdu language and what is also called Hindustani.

Indo-Persian culture began to blossom from 1206 AD with establishment of the Delhi Sultanate which lasted till 1526 AD when the Mughal empire took over. Till 1707 the Mughal Empire flourished and with death of Aurangzeb that year its decline started. As it was giving way to other regional straps and weakening in the process the British started colonising India and finally in 1839 they abolished the use of Persian as the language of governance and education. Instead the use of English started gaining momentum.

However the influence of Persian was very deep in India especially in northern  and north western parts that it continued to contribute politically. literally and culturally far beyond 1839. The Mughals were great patrons of art and culture and poets and scholars flourished under their patronage. Their contributions enriched the intellectual atmosphere in the country which continues till today and beyond. Persian was associated with high culture and sophisticated poetry,  shayri,ghazals and qawalis

Persian is the language of Iranian origin spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and also Uzbekistan, Iraq,,Kuwait, Azerbaijan and Bahrain. It is also known as Farsi in Iran and was known by this name in India also. An estimated 110 million people are today speaking this language. It had an equally glorious literature before Iran became Islamic and incorporation of many Arabic words enriched it further and its writers continued making very high quality literature. Persian language also traces its origins to earlier than 1500 BC and it has also undergone many changes. Modern Persian is supposed to have come into use from 800 AD on wards and went along with Central Asian kings to large parts of South Asia which they conquered and was made as the official language. The golden period of Indian films till the seventies had songs and dialogues full of Urdu language which has a liberal dose of Persian language.

The advent of English wahe cause of death of Persian language in India.

English Language: 

English language was brought into India by the English traders via the East India Company in the early 1600s. As we know the Company had established its control on major parts of India by 1765. The Christian Missionaries were teaching English to the locals although there was no official pressure to do so. By 1857 the Universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were established by the British and instructions were in English. Increasing number of locals wanted to learn English as it also meant that they could get government jobs as English was the official language of the British in India. It also was learnt by the rich and press also was printing English newspapers.

In course of time the use of English went up as it became a passport for higher learning and seeking professional degrees. Due to multiple languages across the country English also served as link  language both for official and non official purposes. Knowledge of English also got persons jobs. It thus granted a special status to those who could read, write and speak English. Many Indians who could afford, went for higher studies to England and upon return got plum jobs. This increased its appeal still higher.

By the time India became independent English had been firmly established as a language of learning and earning. True to our nature there could be no unity on making Hindi the official working language simply because though it is spoken by the largest numbers still it is restricted to a few northern and central states. Other states have their own local languages. In the South hardly anyone knew Hindi at that time.

Therefore while Hindi was given the status of the national official language, English was the second language and more importantly it is the 'temporary' official language of the  government. Today there is a clamour for children to be taught in English from kinder garden classes itself. In fact English Medium schools are vrery much in demand even though they may demand very high fees. English has now become perhaps the fist language of a significant section of educated Indians. It is very common to find Indians talking in English even when they belong to the same language group. It is also often seen parents teaching English to their toddlers even at the expense of their mother tongue.

After USA and UK, India has the maximum number of persons speaking English. It has helped Indians make a mark in IT sector. English also has enabled Indians to interact with foreigners with ease especially for business purposes. Overall India and Indians have relatively benefited tremendously from English. In fact it looks odd to many to call English as a foreign language in India. It has become almost an Indian language and now it is widely understood with increased spread of education throughout the country. In fact there has evolved an distict Indian English style.

In fact English is the official language in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and the Union territories of Andaman& Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. It is reported that Hindi is spoken by 41% of the population and no other Indian language is spoken by more than 9%. Thus English plays the role of a link language throughout the country. Around 12% of Indians can speak English as a second and third language.

It is interesting to note that English is supposed to be a West Germanic language which was spoken in England in medieval times and is today the most widely  used language. It is the third most native language after Chinese and Spanish. It is the second language in a large number of countries and this is to a large extant due to the wide spread nature of the erstwhile British Empire.

English came to England in the form of a fusion of closely related languages brought by German settlers during the 5th century. It also has lot many words derived from Latin as that was the language of the Church. Over the centuries English absorbed lot many words from nearby European languages like French, Dutch etc. The Old English gave way to Modern English from 1550 on wards when England started becoming a colonial empire.

Conclusion:

Today English has attained the status of a world language and has been responsible for 'killing' some languages. Its use is spreading in all areas of human endeavour like science, arts, engineering, technology, entertainment, IT etc. Increasing number of persons throughout the world are learning English. It is becoming a bread and butter language.

In today's India Sanskrit is the language of ancient India relegated to religious sermons and rituals, Persian is almost forgotten and only English is surviving in a very robust manner. It surely is going to become a major language of India in the near to distant future at the expense of all existing Indian languages excepting Hindi to some extent. 

It is now English all the way.