Punjab, one of the richest Indian states, also has something in particular that other states can learn among many things.
There was also one similar movement in Indore around sixty five years ago that all the shopkeepers should put their nameplates i.e. signboards in Hindi. All the signboards that were in English were supposed to be removed. That worked till some extent but later it also got included in one of the old forgotten memories.
The fundamental reality shows that only those countries in the world who have remained slaves of Western Countries have this pointless mentality of using the language of the ‘once masters’ even today. On the other hand, all other countries in general have and love to have signboards and names of their own language and scripts.
This is the 75th year of Indian independence which is known as Amrit Kaal. Even then the linguistic slavery has not been dispensed with till the date. Indian condition in this regard is the same with Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. In countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, the effect of such slavery is not much visible. The AAP government of Punjab has done wonders in this direction.
Punjab has now implemented this rule from February 21, 2023 that all nameplates/signboards on the shops will be in Punjabi language and all government websites will also be in Punjabi language. Anyone found violating the rule, will be fined Rs five thousand. In Maharashtra, there is even more strict rules are seen. There, if the nameplate is not in Marathi language in Devanagari script, a fine upto one lakh rupees may be imposed.
Tamil Nadu also has a system of fines. In Karnataka too, a movement inspiring people to write nameplates in Kannada language is viral. This would have been great if all other Indian provinces could have learned something from it. Nameplates on everyone’s houses and shops must be in their regional languages in bold letters and the national contact language should be in Hindi in small letters and if someone wants to keep it in a foreign language as well, he should also be allowed to do so.
If this rule is implemented in the whole country, then learning each other’s language will also become very easy. If the AAP government in Punjab is showing such courage, then why can’t Kejriwal’s government in Delhi also take the same initiative? If something improves in Delhi, that will affect the whole country.
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All our political parties nowadays have gone mad chasing their vote banks and money making as well. They seems to have nothing to do with social reform. Why is there a need to make a law on the question of language? Therefore, people themselves need to launch a popular mass movement in this direction. There was one such popular movement in 2015 known as “signing in your own language” campaign.
In these eight years now around fifty lakh people have got their signatures changed from English to their own languages. There is no less love for their own language among the people of India, but if our political parties and leaders take the responsibility of awakening the expediency of prioritizing their own language. I this could be successfully done then it will not take long for India to literally become a superpower. It is unfortunate that our sages, saints, clerics and priests also remain silent on the issue of language. This is a historically realistic fact that no nation has ever become a superpower on the basis of a foreign language.
