English is not just a language but a unifier and a tool that "promises access, exposure and upward mobility" to lakhs of Indians, All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) leader Derek O'Brien said on Friday.
India has 21 languages and 19,500 dialects, he said in a blogpost while stressing that English doesn't make anyone less Indian. "Rather, it makes Indians more prepared and more connected in a globalized world," he said.
To dismiss English and its potential as an equaliser is to dismiss the struggles and aspirations of those Indians who have historically been invisibilized, the Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha Parliamentary Party leader said.
"To view it singularly as a colonial imposition, is to be ignorant of the world order, and what it takes to destabilise the powers that be," O'Brien said.
"In a country as vast and diverse as India, English is not only a language, it is a unifier. For the lakhs of Indians who have been forced to live their lives on the fringes, English is a tool. A tool that promises access, exposure and upward mobility," O'Brien said, referring to Home Minister Amit Shah's reported remarks on English.
Across our history, he added, English has been a functional ally used as a tool to fight colonialism, build institutions, and connect India to the world.
"This view isn't recent or elitist. It is grounded in the thought of those who built the nation. To shame people for speaking English is to ignore history, undermine progress, and deepen divisions," he said.
"India doesn't need less English. It needs more multilingualism, more access, and more confidence in its ability to speak in many tongues without shame or fear," O'Brien said.
He also quoted the remarks of several leaders, including Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar, C Rajapolachari, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Savitribai Phule, Atal Behari Vajpayee and Frank Anthony.
Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of the Central government's official language department on Thursday, Shah said language was used as a means to try to divide India in the past and the Modi government will ensure that Indian languages become a powerful medium to unite the country.
Shah also said Hindi is not an opponent to any Indian language, rather it is a friend of all Indian languages and there should be no opposition to any foreign language in the country.
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