'Indians need to appreciate the rich repository of its languages' - Kiran Manral
New Delhi, April 22: The purpose of language is to communicate, convey thoughts and bring us together. But now, at a time when languages are more often used to divide, to create an impression of superiority, to make you look like an out-of-touch elitist, "the need to begin appreciating the rich repository of languages that we have in India, is a dire need", says versatile author Kiran Manral.
One way is greater emphasis on the use of mother tongues and more translations from this rich repository we are fortunate to possess, said the Mumbai-based writer who supplements her eight books in English -- both fiction and non-fiction (on a variety of topics) -- with being an activist in various spheres, a regular columnist, a Ted Talk motivational speaker and an indefatigable organiser of literary events.
"The fact remains that we are all polyglots in India and that is such a beautiful thing. All languages are born of the basic need to communicate. We have our mother tongue, and then perhaps Hindi and English. We need to begin recognising the richness of all our languages and appreciate them; perhaps no other country has so many official languages, not to mention regional languages and dialects, some of which are dying out. With each language comes its entire written culture... we have such a rich repository. We need to begin appreciating it, rather than using language to create walls between us." Manral told IANS in an email interview.
The multilingualism, which was one of the strengths of the country, is now emerging as a major threat to the nation, creating divides in the name of religion, majority/minority, et al.
How can we bridge the gap between the hundreds of languages spoken in India?
"I think the fact that we have so many languages that co-exist is a lovely example of our synchronised culture and heritage. We need to encourage more translations, so we can read across writings from various languages, and also encourage the use of the mother tongue, both written and spoken, across the country through various initiatives," Manral, 46, suggested.
Asked whether she wished to write in Hindi sometimes, Manral said: "I hope I will surely sometime, but first I must work on my Hindi writing skills really hard."
Being fortunate enough to be on a platform where she can give voice to various social issues demanding serious concern, she also never shies away from her social responsibilities along with her literary chores and adroitly balances the two.
She was amongst the founder-members of the campaigns Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month (CSAAM) and Violence against Women Awareness Month (VAWAM) which ran for many years across all social media platforms. Post the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, she also founded India Helps -- a volunteer network that has worked on long term rehabilitation of disaster victims as well of the 13/7 (2011) Mumbai bomb blast victims.
She is also a prolific blogger on everything from motherhood to feminism, writing in a wry and understated manner, eagerly and avidly read and remembered.
Manral, whose most recent published work was "Saving Maya", about a new stab at romance a divorced mother gets, however, also stresses the importance of the quality of language.
People from various backgrounds are writing books. Do you think this is a welcome trend or is it detrimental to the world of writing?
"I'm ambivalent about this. I think everyone has a story in them, but I also believe not everyone should be allowed to tell that story. Very often, most folks think that it is only the story that matters and do just that -- tell the story."
"But writing fiction is so much more; it is nuance, and style and language and the love for words, and characterisation. All these must fall into place to have a compelling narrative. At the end of it, it is the readers who will decide what touches a chord with them."
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
