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The number of
persons having Sanskrit as mother - tongue, i.e. Sanskrit
Matribhasha -(SMB), in India, the abode of Sanskrit, has
shrunk to a negligible minority. The number of persons not
knowing or accepting that Sanskrit has a Matribhasha form,
which exists even today, has swelled too much. People after
hearing the term 'Sanskrit Matribhasha feel astonished and
begin to ask, What Sanskrit Matribhasha is? What is its
form? For proper comprehension, it is necessary to know, 'What
is Sanskrit ? What is 'Language' and what is 'mother-
tongue' ?
The teaching of language in any form, in any country, is
"Sanskrit". It is applicable to S.M.B-s also. The
expression and communication of ideas correctly,
unambiguously and precisely as per set norms of the language,
comes after practice through experience and/ or formal
education or acculturization i.e. Sanskar. The Sanskar of
Sanskrit Language has been done once for all by Panini. But
every generation has to do the work of acculturization of
the pronunciation of the children of the next generation,
for they learn it by speaking. "Repetition of
faults" if not corrected becomes the norm and the
purity of language by and by comes to an end. From linguistic point of view also the main difference in
Tadabhav words is only of correct pronunciation .So we will
have to be careful about the linguistic Sanskar of every new
generation.
Historical perspective
.....These are just a few examples in short about the form of
Sanskrit-matri-bhasha which is different from its literary
form. In fact writing of a full separate book on the subject
is needed. The contribution of persons well versed in this
field is desirable for the preservation of Sanskrit as
mother -tongue.
.....In context of the aforesaid historical back-ground, now we
take up the matter of Sanskrit Matri Bhashi-s from the
recorded modern history and the survey reports of the Census
from the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The term
"Mother-tongue" though very simple and understood
by everyone, has been defined differently by various
authorities on different occasions and in different
contexts.
In the instructions to the enumerators of Punjab in the year
of 1881 census, "The mother- tongue" has been
mentioned as "the language ordinarily spoken in the
household of each persons' parents, whether or not it be
that of the place where he or she is living at the time of
census".
Periodicals
.....The publications of the Union and the State Governments are
in all the main languages except Sanskrit. The Government of
Jammu and Kashmir did publish a periodical in Kashmiri. The
publications of all the State Governments are in their
respective main languages except Sanskrit and Sindhi. But
the Daily News Bulletin of five minutes in morning and
evening from All India Radio and Sunday News Bulletin of
Doordarshan TV reminds us
about the living Sanskrit language.
.....No doubt every year few Sanskrit News-Papers, Magazines do
close down due to several problems but at the same time
new-ones spring up at other places. This speaks about the
restlessness and the limited number of their followers and
purchasers.
Nationality
.....The importance of the Mother tongue of an individual is a
determining factor for one' s Nationality, not only in the
present context but, in our country, historically also.
The issue of Mother-Tongue is very sensitive.
.....In our own
country the large scale violence in a state on the issue,
resulted in the re-organisation of States on linguistic
basis, and insertion of 7th amendment, Article 350A in the
Constitution for the facilities for instructions in mother-
tongues at primary education stage. Still the problem exists
in changed form. Our neighbour Pakistan had to loose an
important eastern part of its territory on issue of
language. The same is applicable to many countries of West.
But it is also a fact that "the babies start learning
their future language even before birth.
.....Studies have
discovered that beginning in the womb, babies recognise
speech as a special sound and can distinguish between spoken
passages. Professor of psychology Anthony Decasper disclosed
at Boston in August 1990 that in a study, 24 new-borns were
exposed to the sound of heartbeat of a women speaking. They
were able to choose which ear would prefer to hear which
sound by varying the intensity in which they sucked
pacifiser. This can be correlated to an episode in
Mahabharat where Abhimanyu learnt a particular war-strategy
during the period he was in his mother's womb.
.....It is well-known that maternity is a confirmed matter of
fact, whereas paternity is a matter of general public
opinion. The same is applicable to mother-tongue also, It is
the language of the child which begins to take shape even
before his birth. Due regard and commitment to accept and
use Hindi as a national language does not and should not be
at the cost of any body's mother -tongue. Perhaps it was due
to this fear that the safe-guard provision was included in
the Constitution, the fulfillment of which in letter and
spirit is limited only to few particular languages, of which
S.M.B-s are devoid.
.....President Herzog of Germany in his speech in Weimar in Feb.
1999 said "you can not imagine the history of German
culture without Weimar. When we say that Weimar represents
Germany as a whole, we say at the same time that this city
was home not only to culture and spirit, but also to
un-culture and barbarism. Anyone who remembers the brighter
sides of history must not forget the dark and horrible
sides……. Near by Buchenwald…… is and continues to be
a terrible remembrance and is at the same time an
admonition. Culture and civilisation that have produced
such, wonderful peaks of perfection in Weimar, are always
threatened and are never protected eternally."
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