'The Triple Stream'

‘Triveni’ seeks to draw together cultured men and women in all lands and establish a fellowship of the elect. All movements that make for Idealism in India as well as elsewhere, receive particular attention in these columns. We count upon the willing and joyous co-operation of all lovers of the Beautiful and the True.

May this votive offering prove acceptable to Him who is the source of the ‘Triveni’–the Triple Stream of Love, Wisdom and power!

...he that laboureth right for love of Me
Shall finally attain! But, if in this
Thy faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure!

–The Song Celestial

A PHILOSOPHY OF ACTION

"Perhaps, I may not succeed, but how can I refuse to try?" said Sjt. C. Rajagopalachariar, Prime Minister of Madras, replying to the critics who predicted failure for his policy of Prohibition. And as I heard him from the Press Gallery of the Assembly, I was thrilled to the core of my being, for it seemed to me that the words revealed his entire attitude to life and its problems: they summed up his philosophy of action. It is easy to cast doubts on the wisdom of a step; it is easier still to turn round at some stage and exclaim, "I told you so!" Nothing great and worth while was ever achieved without an adventure of the spirit. It is a puerile philosophy which counsels caution when every moment of delay is fraught with untold misery. The subjective failure resulting from a refusal to follow the lead of the ‘kindly Light’ within, is infinitely more devastating than any possible and temporary set-in outward conditions. To the pure in heart, the greatest of failures is the failure to stand by Truth.

It is not ‘local option’ nor any mild type of temperance legislation that India needs. It is a programme of Prohibition, pure and simple, pursued relentlessly and in a spirit of utter consecration, that India now demands through her noblest Parliamentarian. For the success of ‘C. R.’ and his colleagues, the devout will send forth their prayers and blessings, and the entire man-power of the nation of will be marshaled on their side.

HINDUSTANI WITHIN LIMITS

In a very frank, if also a very vehement, article in the present number of Triveni, Mr. Burra V. Subrahmanyam seeks to define the limits within which Hindustani can be accepted as a common language for India. Like many thinking men in South India, he realises that unless the issues are clarified, great harm may be done by Hindi-enthusiasts whose zeal often betrays them into wholly indefensible positions.

In this controversy, it is necessary to concentrate attention on the political argument in favour of a common language, and to treat the cultural and other aspects of the question as irrelevant or at best trivial. There are certain propositions which are likely to command a large measure of assent, and these may be taken as the basis of future discussions. Put briefly, they are as follows:

(1) Indian unity is bound to be a federal unity, the units being the linguistic provinces; a common language is needed for federal politics and for inter-provincial communication; that common language must be Hindustani, not because it is culturally richer than other Indian languages but because it is spoken or understood by the largest number of Indians today; Hindustani will be the sole federal language some years hence, while Hindustani and English will be the two official federal languages during the period of transition, of ten, to fifteen years from the inauguration of the right type of Federation desired by Indians.

(2) Where, as in India at present, more than ninety per cent of the population are illiterate, our energy and resources should be devoted, in the main, to making literacy universal through the mother-tongue. There is no occasion whatsoever to strive for cent per cent literacy in Hindustani in the non-Hindustani Provinces.

(3) Universal primary education should be imparted for a period of at least six years, between the ages of six and twelve, during which no language other than the mother-tongue should be taught, either optionally or compulsorily, and the major portion of the knowledge now imparted in the middle school stage should be included in the primary school curriculum.

(4) In view of the lengthening of the primary school course to six years, the secondary or high school stage may be confined to four years, during which all subjects including Indian history will be taught through the medium of the mother-tongue, and therefore more easily and rapidly acquired. During the first and second years of this abridged high school course, Basic Hindustani as envisaged by President Jawaharlal should be taught compulsorily. The teaching of English will come in only during the third and fourth years, and will be continued at the college and the university.

(5) India should be divided into linguistic provinces straightway, and the provincial language become the language of the Administration, of the Courts and the Legislatures, the medium of instruction in schools, colleges and universities, and the vehicle of all creative literary effort.

(6) The primacy of the provincial language having been thus assured, Hindustani should be taught compulsorily as a second language in all non-Hindustani Provinces for a period of two years in the secondary schools, as already outlined, and then become an optional subject for further study.

(7) A knowledge of English is essential for all university men and women, even when English is no longer the medium of instruction, for they have to keep in intimate touch with the outer world in the fields of literature, politics and science, arid also translate the best in Western publications into the provincial languages. But the study of English can be commenced late in the high school stage and taken up in a more intensive form in the colleges and universities.

It only remains to deal with the specific proposal of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Education in Madras to make the study of Hindustani compulsory during the first three years of the secondary stage. Opposition to this comes from two different quarters–firstly, from those who fear that the mother-tongue will suffer, and, secondly, from those who are anxious that English should continue to occupy its present position in our educational system. The first class of critics can be placated easily by an assurance on the lines indicated above. The second class are harder to please, and their opposition will be more pronounced if the teaching of English is postponed to somewhere about the fourth form. But any comprehensive scheme of educational re-organisation all over India must note, (1) that English should cease forthwith to be the medium of instruction in schools, colleges and universities, and (2) that the teaching of English as a language can be relegated to a later stage than is now obtaining. It cannot have its present oppressive prominence, –a prominence that is bolstered up by children taking to the study of English when they are hardly seven or eight years old, and pursuing it as their sole aim in life for a period of fifteen or sixteen years.

One point needs to be emphasised, and in my view it is fundamental. Two new languages like Hindustani and English ought not to be imposed compulsorily and simultaneously when the child commences secondary education. They should be introduced at different periods, the allied Indian language certainly earlier by at least two years. This will have another advantage too. Students who are obliged to leave off study in themiddle of the high school course and take to vocational education, will be equipped with a knowledge of the mother-tongue as well as of India’s common, federal language.

AN ART CENTRE

Under the guidance of Shrimati Rukmini Devi, a group of art-lovers in Madras is seeking to "emphasise the unity of all true art," and to "work for the recognition of the Arts as inherent in individual, national, religious and international growth." By the courtesy of the organisers of the Academy, Triveni is able to supply a beautiful Supplement setting forth the ideals of the new movement, and giving an account of the work so far done. It is the faith of the organisers that art is not a drawing-room affair, a luxury intended for the delectation of a few. Art is something more vital, more dynamic, and needed by every individual for the expression of his personality. It is not an escape from life, but in some measure a fulfillment of life.

While it may be given to only a few amongst us to sing or paint or dance, there is none so aesthetically Poor as not to strive for perfection in the smallest details of daily life and action. The potter, the carpenter, the weaver–and even the reader of manuscripts and proofs–can make his handiwork beautiful, and help to spread simplicity and harmony. Thus the Academy is concerned not only with music and dance which are the expressions of art in its highest reaches, but also with the artistic handicrafts. Their weaving section will set a high standard of design, and the All-India Spinners Association can co-operate with the Academy, thus making khaddar more beautiful.

In December next, the Academy will hold an exhibition at Adyar. Besides pictures and other works of art, the exhibition will contain the best specimens of household utensils and objects of everyday use. Art must begin in the home, and Indian homes have to re-learn the beauty of simple hand-made brassware, mats, and pottery.

From small beginnings, the Academy is bound to spread itself out and bring the message of beauty to a generation that is tired and listless.