A Bahá'í response to the controversy surrounding the languages to be taught in schools
Dr. A. K. Merchant*
Once again, there has erupted a controversy over languages in the country. The National Education Policy 2020 emphasizes the importance of educating children up to class V in their mother-tongue. However, given the hundreds of languages in the country and only a limited recognized in the 8th schedule of India’s Constitution, for many years it was accepted by most states to follow a three-language namely the state language, Hindi and English. However, this was not strictly enforced and some countries had comfortably accepted Hindi and English.
The important thing to understand is that language is a tool for communication and every child should learn at least one language in which he or she is able to communicate meaningfully. Although it is possible for children to easily learn a few languages without any difficulty and most of them in the country had no problem with this arrangement.
The importance of English was always understood as a language that provided a window to the world and incidentally since it is the de facto international language every parent understood the importance and even in the remotest of place there was a desire to get their children educated in English medium. The United Nations functions on the basis of six identified languages namely Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish. Of course, this not prevent heads of state and governments from addressing the General Assembly in their own national language.
The Bahá'í Faith emphasizes the importance of adopting an international auxiliary language to foster unity and improve communication among people worldwide, whether it would be English or some other language has to be decided by the global conference of language experts. They would have to bear in mind of that language barriers hinder understanding and collaboration, which are essential for global peace and unity.
Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, advocated for the selection of a universal auxiliary language, either by choosing an existing one or creating a new one. This language would be taught in schools world over alongside native languages, preserving cultural diversity while enabling effective communication across nations.
Bahá'í Faith also highlights that such a language should not suppress existing languages but rather complement them, ensuring that cultural identities remain intact. The ultimate goal is to create a world where people can communicate freely and work together harmoniously.
In this context, the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, has reiterated the importance of this principle in a number of its general messages to all of humanity as well as to members of the Bahá'í community. These communications highlight that the lack of a common language is a significant barrier to world peace and understanding among nations and even within nations.
In the early part of the 20th century Esperanto, a language invented by Ludovic Zamenhof, a Polish ophthalmologist, is credited with creating the international language Esperanto, aiming to foster understanding and communication between people of different backgrounds. However, it did not get universal acceptance and lost the popularity it had gained. The Bahá'í teachings stress that the adoption of an auxiliary language should not lead to cultural uniformity or be made an issue of controversy at the cost of our children’s bright future. Instead, it should complement native languages, allowing each culture to retain its unique identity while fostering mutual understanding.
It is hoped that this article would help to smoothen the policy debates and in the interest of Atma Nirbhar and Viksit Bharat foster harmonious collaboration among policy makers and legislators as well as reduce misunderstandings. The goal should be to promote quality education and knowledge-sharing for the children in the country and also foster education for global citizenship.
*The author is an independent researcher, social worker & member of the Bahá'í community of India. Views expressed are personal