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Kothari Commission, 1964-66 on
Language Education: In Retrospect
Shreesh Chaudhary
Background remuneration, school and college buildings and
Kothari Commission, 1964-66, was created to other related issues. Summary of its
4
find a model of education for an integrated recommendations is a 140-page document .
socialist and secular India. Mid-1960s saw some Annexes and enclosures account for another
of the worst language riots in India. The elder thousand pages.
statesman C Rajagopalachari cautioned that Highlights of some of the important
without English India’s federal structure may recommendations of Kothari Commission,
1 5
be under threat . Since independence, there had relating to language education, are given below.
been two commissions and numerous 1. Evolution of a Language Policy (Section
committees, with little progress in finding a 1.49): To help social and national integration,
nationally acceptable model of education. The a language policy must be evolved. ‘
government resolution appointing the Education
Commission, 1964-66, noted: 2. Development of Modern Indian Languages
… a wide and distressing gulf persists (1.50): It is essential for development of
between thought and action and community feeling. Energetic action is
programmes concerning the quality of needed to produce books and literature.
education, even where these were UGC should provide guidance and funds.
well-conceived and generally agreed 3. Medium of Education at School and College
to, could not be implemented (1.51): The development of the modern
satisfactorily..2 Indian Languages is linked with the place
given to them in the educational system.
The Commission About thirty years ago, Rabindra Nath
Including its chairman, Daulat Singh Kothari, Tagore had said:
the 17 members of the Commission In no country of the world, except
3 India, is to be seen this divorce of
were eminent educationists . Besides, the language of education from the
Commission spent about a 100 days going round 6
the country and finding out. In 1966, it submitted language of pupil…
its recommendations to the Government of India In general, India wanted to bridge this gap.
(GoI), suggesting a system that would promote 4. Language of Communication: The country
“national prosperity and integration”. The should have one language as the medium
Commission dwelt upon the desirable objectives, of higher education (1.53), so that students
method and medium of general, vocational, and teachers can move from one part of
religious and teacher-education and the country to the others.
Language and Language Teaching Volume 3 Number 2 Issue 6 July 2014 41
5. All graduates will need to have some the pinch comes. Of the nearly 1700 mother
proficiency in a library language (1.60), tongues enumerated by the Census of India,
which will be English for most students. 9
over a 1,000 have no tradition of use in schools .
Other languages should also be developed Kothari Commission says that relevant material
besides Hindi (1.62). We should create B be prepared in these languages. Japanese do
A and M A programmes where students 10
can study two Indian languages together. so . But the task in India is stupendous. Printed
collections of even native poems and stories are
6. Policy for Urdu: Urdu should be taught, unavailable in many modern Indian languages.
because it is “spoken by certain sections of Birhor and Kurukh, spoken in Jharkhand plateau,
the people in different parts of the country” for instance, do not have enough of even these.
(1.56). Even Maithili, Santhali, Konkani, Nepali,
7. Role of English & Foreign Languages: All Manipuri, etc., relatively developed, with a
India institutions can continue using English tradition of written literature, do not have a body
11
for the time being (1. 55). A change over to of academic writing . They do not have books
Hindi may be considered in due course. Just in Natural and Social Sciences, Economics,
now, a student should possess an adequate Geography and History. Textbooks come out
command over English. The Commission of a traditionof academic discourse.
felt that India would need a small but Besides, people speaking many of these
proficient group of peopleknowing some languages are many and poor. Printing even an
foreign languages (1.57). alphabet book for all school-age children in all
of these languages may cost a fortune. Where
Critique is so much money going to come from? Will all
Due to lack of space, discussion is limited to or only some mother tongues be used in
the following issues, namely, education? Shall we do so in a phased manner
(1) a. Mother Tongue, & Medium of Education, – producing a quota of books in some languages
b. Role of Hindi / Urdu and Regional this year, in some others next year, and so on?
Languages, and The Commission has no word on these issues.
c. Role of English and Foreign languages. Consequently, many modern Indian languages
are not taught in schools even today. Census
Mother Tongue (MT) in Education figures for Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand,
Since Charles Wood’s despatch of 18547, all Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, etc., besides those
commissions and committees have supported for languages of many scheduled tribes in Central
8 and peninsular India, such as Lambadi or
the use of MT in the early years of education . Lamani, show that there are more languages
Learning is not smooth where both medium and in this region than those used in the
message are new.
But we choose medium of instruction in view (government) schools.
also of things other than students’ familiarity
with the language. Primary education also needs Promotion of Hindi and Regional
methods, materials, teachers and teacher Languages
education. We, therefore, take a language which Commission recommended encouragement
has a tradition of use in education, rather than toHindi and regional languages as the media of
another without such a tradition. That is where internal, regional and national communication,
Language and Language Teaching Volume 3 Number 2 Issue 6 July 2014 42
But this was selectively implemented in different government. We can encourage book production
states. In Bihar, for instance, study of English in our languages, by both translation and original
was made optional in the late 1960s, but no 15
writing. Amar Chitra Katha series of books
language from another region was introduced. have been both literary and commercial success.
Mother tongue and Hindi are generally taught We may learn from them.
enthusiastically, but the place of the third Kothari Commission would like Hindi to replace
language, to be taken from another region, is English as the language of Pan-Indian
either left vacant, or, is generally filled with lip- communication, and as the sole medium of
service to Persian, Arabic or Sanskrit. This instruction at the university level. But, being
policy created an unnecessary over-load of pragmatic, the Commission recommended
languages, and was criticised12. support to both Hindi and the regional languages.
The Commission recommended that books could Theoretically, the policy is sound. The student
be specially written in and for those languages will continue to have education in the familiar
that have no tradition of academic books. But language. UGC must encourage preparation of
16
text book-writing is askilled-job. They come out text books in these languages .Bengali, Marathi,
of a certain culture of reading and writing in the Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil seem to have some
community, they take shape in the network of academic and technical literature even in natural
authors, publishers and distributors, all catering and social sciences. But many other languages
to a reading public. Where are the readers of have few books of this kind in them.
academic books in many modern Indian Then there is the problem of attitude. Even when
languages? Do we have enough people who can an occasional academic paper or book appears
write books on various subjectsfor various in a modern Indian language, it remains
classes in various languages? Experience of the 17
13 unrecognized .It is possible today to write in
Children’s Book Trust , National Book Trust, Hindi and other regional languages many all India
Sahitya Akademi and the other government examinations for admissions to institutions of
bodiesengaged in the business of book- higher education, and for recruitment in
production is not quite encouraging. They are government service. Yet, in actual practice, only
always behind schedule, their show rooms are 18
a few choose from Indian languages .
burdened with unsold copies. Whereas this is Kothari Commission recommended preparation
true that some deliberate effort is required to of terminology in Hindi and other regional
create appropriate literature in some languages, languages. The Council of Scientific and
it must be recognised that state has hardly ever Technical Terminology (CSTT) has prepared
been the best producer of literature of any kind. 19
glossaries of administrative terminology , none
Kothari Commissionalso recommended creation of which significantly furthers the use of Hindi
of appropriate books through translation. But a in non-conventional domains. The question once
good translation is no easy job. The translator again is how it can happen. Must we translate
needs to know the subject and the source and “collector” and “commissioner” and “atom”,
the target languages involved. Again, experience etc. which have through usage become parts
of the National Translation Mission at Mysore of modern vocabulary, just as many words from
14 Persian, Portuguese and other foreign languages
has not been very encouraging . Creating
20
academic resources may take time, skill and in use in India have become ?
money. Voluntary organizations can take them So has it been for the administrative terminology.
as campaigns, if possible, with help from the Even all so called “Hindi-speaking” states have
Language and Language Teaching Volume 3 Number 2 Issue 6 July 2014 43
not agreed upon the Hindi rendering of Kothari Commission recommended creation of
administrative terms.They are one thing in Bihar, institutions for training of teachers who would
another in U P, and yet another in M P and teach Hindi and regional languages in “other”
Rajasthan, etc.”Grievance” is “wyathaa” in one regions. Kendriya Hindi Sansthan, Agra, and its
21 regional centres, and sister institutions were
place, “shikaayat” in another . Agreement created. But once again needs were under-
among other states is farther away. Even among assessed, and recommendations remained
various authorities of the Government of India 23
even “limited co-ordination” has not been unimplemented . The following table shows
how many students have expressed any interest
achieved22. in learning anotherregional language.
Native Speakers of / in City Language I II III IV
Tamil, Chennai English 100% Hindi 20 Malayalam 05 Sanskrit 05
Kannada, Mysore English 80 Hindi 40 Tamil 20 Sanskrit 05
Telugu, Hyderabad English 100 Hindi 60 Tamil 50 Sanskrit 10
Hindi, Delhi English 100 Urdu 40 Punjabi 20 Sanskrit 10
Punjabi, Patiala English 100 Hindi 80 Urdu 20 Sanskrit 10
Kashmiri, Jammu & Udhampur English 100 Hindi 60 Urdu 80 Dogri 05, Sanskrit 05
Dogri, Jammu & Udhampur English 80 Hindi 80 Urdu 20 Punjabi 10 Sanskrit 10
Oriya, Bhubaneswar & Cuttack English 80 Hindi 80 Bengali 20 Sanskrit 10
Bengali, Kolkata English 100 Hindi 80 Oriya 10 Sanskrit 5, Assamese 5
Marathi, Nagpur English 80 Hindi 80 Sanskrit 5
24
Table: Language Preference in Education
The Central and Sainik schools, created by the inaccessible languages to an overwhelmingly
GoI for its nationally transferable large number of students, particularly from rural
employees’children use English for and disadvantaged sections.We have to take
1 3
instruction .Following the recommendations of English to them .
the New Education Policy in 1986, Navodaya The Commission also recommended creating
Vidyalayas were created as model schools for institutions for research in learning and teacher-
rural students. They also use English as medium education in English and other foreign languages.
of instruction. On the whole, thus, there seems In over 50 years since its creation, the Central
to have been little change in the status of Indian Institute of English and Foreign Languages,
languages as subjects and media in education. 4
Hyderabad , and its branches and sister
institutions have produced a few thousand
English and Foreign Languages trained teachers of English, and a few dozen
The Commission recommended continued use books. This hardly answers the needs of the
of English for technical education and by all India country. India needs far too many teachers far
institutions. The IT boom in India, India’s more quickly. Possibly, it needs modules of pre-
popularity as an outsourcing destination, etc. are and in-service teacher education that equips its
acknowledgements of itsrelatively long and English teachers to work and innovate in difficult
2 circumstances. English continues to remaina
strong tradition in English language education .
But English continues to be a foreign and badly taught and difficult to learn language.
Language and Language Teaching Volume 3 Number 2 Issue 6 July 2014 44
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