I did my entire schooling in a school called Baptist English School and I appeared my matriculation exam in a school called Kohima English School (which was my examination centre for the HSLC exam). The common word in the nomenclatures of these two schools is the word ‘English’. Yes indeed there was a time when it was a proud thing for a Naga boy or girl to be going to an English school. Likewise Naga parents also took pride in sending their children to English medium schools. To be able to read, write and converse in English is associated with being an educated, informed and enlightened individual not only here in Nagaland but in many parts of India as well.
However, probably somewhere in the mid 1990s, the Nagaland state government came out with an order that all the schools having the word ‘English’ in their nomenclatures should drop the word from their school name / nomenclature. Consequently, today both Baptist English School and Kohima English School are known by other names sans the word ‘English’. However, that does not mean that English has stopped to be the medium of teaching in these schools. But probably, studying in an English medium school or to be able to read, write and converse in English is no longer considered to be such a big deal like it used to be in the past. This may be because of a shrinking world brought about by rapid advancements in technology where English (a global language) has invaded every nook and corner of our society. Today we live in a society where even an illiterate or half-illiterate person is very familiar and comfortable with many English words, phrases and sentences though he /she may not be someone who is able to read, write or converse in English with proper grammar, diction, pronunciation or spelling.
The very fact that Nagas has been associated with the English language for over a century now demonstrates the fact that the Nagas had been part and parcel of the globalized world as early as the latter part of the 19th century. Undoubtedly, Nagas’s tryst with the English language started when they encountered the English people and the American missionaries who came to the land of the Nagas in the middle and second half of the 19th century. And I guess our association, fascination and romance with the English language has not diminished a bit in all these years but rather it has only intensified over the last many decades.
And it was no surprise that when Nagaland became a full fledged state of India in the 1960s, English was accepted to be the official language of Nagaland state of India. This was done not for fashion or decoration purposes but out of necessity to meet the challenges that lay ahead because the time had come for the Nagas to wake up from their slumber and communicate and interact with the outside world. Besides, the Nagas are comprised of numerous tribes with their own different dialects unintelligible to one another. So obviously the Nagas needed a common language which could serve as a medium of communication not only amongst themselves but also between the Nagas and India (as well as the outside world) as they awoke to a new world order in the Indian sub-continent. And in this new scenario, no other language could fit the purpose better than English because the educated Nagas were already familiar with it as they had been introduced to the English language by the English people and the American missionaries even before India got her independence in 1947. Another reason was because English was a global language and one of the most advanced (if not the most advanced) languages of the modern world. Yes in the emergent scenario, English was the only language with all the required ingredients to serve splendidly as a medium of communication between the Nagas and the outside world.
The English people ruled over many parts of Asia and Africa for centuries and wherever the English empire went (be it in the 17th, 18th, 19th or the 20th century), the English language went with the empire and became a part and parcel of those nations and people simply because the English empire carried out all its personal as well as official dealings in English. Not only that, even English schools were opened in many parts of those subjugated countries with a view to strengthen the hold of the empire and make it more effective. And India also happened to be one such country which remained under British suzerainty for well over three centuries. And thus even Indians were no stranger to the English language.
Thus, in the post-Indian independence era, English turned out to be the safest bet to serve as a medium of communication as far as communication between India and the Nagas was concerned. English could fit the bill perfectly both in the personal and official front. This was so because English being a global and a most advanced language, there was certainly no dearth of words, phrases or sentences through which one could not communicate one’s thought, ideas or aspirations satisfactorily - be it in the area of politics, economy, society or culture. Thus in the aftermath of 1947, English naturally assumed a paramount role in the Indian subcontinent as far as the Nagas and India (or the outside world) were concerned. And therefore, when Nagaland was created as the 16th state of the Indian union in the 1960s under extraordinary circumstances, English was naturally made as the official language of Nagaland in the interest and for the benefit of both the Nagas as well as India. This was a positive move and an absolute necessity not only for the Nagas but also for the Indian government because there was no other language which could perfectly play the role of the official language of the new Nagaland state then….. or perhaps even now.
And therefore, when English has been splendidly serving the Nagas as an official language for the last many years, what is the logic behind the attempt of some people to substitute this fantastic language with some other language which has no root, no origin, and no standard? Or what is the logic behind thinking about a second official language for the Nagas when we can converse and communicate all our thoughts, ideas and aspirations through English officially as well as personally? English is such a rich, advanced and vibrant language and all Nagas should feel proud and blessed that we were introduced to the language more than a century ago and that it is our official language today.
Obviously there are still many in Nagaland who cannot communicate effectively in English and for these people, Nagamese is their only saviour when it comes to communicating with people belonging to other tribes. Nagamese is a combination of Assamese, Bengali and Hindi and Nagamese was inadvertently born when our forefathers came in contact with their neighbors in the past for whatever reasons. And many in Nagaland obviously have a soft corner for Nagamese today because they have grown very comfortable with it. And all will perhaps agree that the Nagas today cannot do without Nagamese and some very strong factors why Nagamese has been such an effective medium of communication amongst the Nagas are: 1) Nagamese is very easy to learn, 2) one can also easily express whatever he wants to express through Nagamese, 3) one can also supplement English or even one’s own tribal language with Nagmese whenever one fails to find the right word in English or mother tongue.
But Nagamese is still only a bazaar language with no history, origin or root. It is pidgin and has no script, no grammar, no alphabet and therefore no standard or class. Moreover, Nagamese is a topsy-turvy combination of Assamese, Bengali and Hindi only and is intelligible only to people living in or associated with Nagaland (whereas English is a global and advanced language covering the whole globe). Therefore, it would be sheer stupidity on the part of the Nagas if we are to accept Nagamese (a bastard and borrowed language with no grammar, no alphabet, no original vocabulary and no script and which is confined only to a very tiny portion of the Indian sub-continent) as our official language or second official language when English has already been splendidly and befittingly doing the job. If we are to do such a thing as this, we would only be limiting ourselves in many ways and also narrowing our outlook and horizon rather than widening it.
On a personal level, I am a person who is literally obsessed with the English language and literature. Reading writing and conversing in English whenever and wherever possible is one of the most satisfying and gratifying thing that I believe I can ever do. And I believe that Nagas tryst with the English language was somewhat predestined and premeditated. I believe so because if we consider the manner and the times in which the Nagas were introduced to the language and how the English language served us during some of our most crucial and critical times, we would not fail to see the miraculous handiwork of destiny in the whole episodes. Indeed the very manner in which a global language from the west penetrated into the land and society of some tribal, backward and savage people living in the remote hills between India and Burma and became their mainstay language is nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps this is the reason why some Nagas are so adaptive to English. Yes, there are and there had been Nagas who spoke and wrote English as if English was their natural mother tongue and as if they were born with English in their mouth. Late Theyiechüthie Sakhrie (T. Sakhrie) was one such Naga. Upon reading a letter written by T. Sakhrie, Jawaharlal Nehru wrongly assumed that the letter could not have been written by a Naga and he suspected the hand of some missionaries in the letter. Nehru probably assumed so because he considered Nagas to be some savage, backward and illiterate tribal people and he never thought and knew that some Nagas could write English so well.
To change and to evolve for the better is what we call life. Unless change for the better takes place no society can prosper. But when something we already have is good and serving us well and when change is not required, why change or try to replace the one that is good with something which can have unpleasant or disastrous effect on us and our society. During his visit to Nagaland in December 2014, even the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself admitted that Nagaland is very blessed to have a young generation who are well versed in English. And when the Nagas have the full potential to keep pace with the world, to forge ahead and even conquer the whole world with English as our official language, why take up some other lingua franca which may only degrade us and our society and make us a laughing stock in front of others………….?
