This Petty Linguistic Chauvinism

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 6 June 2025 The legendary actor Kamal Haasan is under attack from various quarters in Karnataka for his comments that Kannada was born out of Tamil during an event to promote his film in the presence of Kannada superstar Shiva Rajkumar. Such a petty issue is being blown out of proportion. Agreed, actor Kamal Haasan is neither a polyglot nor is he a philologist, but he has every right to observe and opine. Why should every statement be taken so damn seriously? We're sparring and fussing over which language is the best and the oldest; which language must be spoken and which one is to be discarded and ridiculed. This is rank idiocy. A month ago, singer Sonu Nigam was harassed and harangued for not singing a Kannada song during his musical concert in Bangalore. Is he a Kannada singer? Does he know Kannada? He was there to sing Hindi songs. The very demand to sing Kannada numbers in a programme of Hindi songs is ridiculous. (Kamal Haasan) ------ In Maharashtra, Marathi is being imposed on the non-Marathi speaking people by the goons of Shiv Sena and MNS. Religiosity, ethnicity, linguistic chauvinism and provinciality are on the rise. This is alarming. People in Karnataka taking umbrage at Kamal Haasan's statement that Kannada originated from Tamil must know that when the famous linguist Dr Suniti Kumar Chatterji defined Kannada as 'A Dravidian offspring of Sanskrit,' the great Kuvempu didn't mind. Scholars of Kannada are of the view that Kannada didn't originate from Sanskrit. Kannada is a Dravidian language, while Sanskrit is an Indo-European language. They belong to different language families and are not directly related. Kannada evolved from Proto-Dravidian, the common ancestor of all Dravidian languages. While Kannada has been heavily influenced by Sanskrit, particularly in vocabulary and formal contexts, it is not derived from it. Though Kuvempu didn't agree with Suniti Kumar Chatterji, he didn't criticise or condemn him (Chatterji) either. This is maturity that comes with erudition and wisdom. By the way, Kuvempu is widely regarded as the greatest Kannada poet of the 20th century. He was the first Kannada writer to receive the Jnanpith Award. When Raghupati Sahay 'Firaq' Gorakhpuri openly said in 1957 that Urdu was the supreme form of Hindi, no one disagreed. Had he said this today, do you think he'd have been allowed to stay in UP by the Sanatanis and Yogi government? 'Firaq' taught English at Allahabad (sorry, no Prayagraj; it grates on ears) University and lived there. While 'Firaq' loved Hindi, his first love was Urdu. When one of the finest critics of Hindi and a very gifted writer and professor Dr Bhagirath Mishra wrote about the Marathi language, "Ye Hindi Ka Vikrit Roop Aur Sanskrit Ki Kshakt-Vishakt Anukriti Hai " (Marathi is a distortion of Hindi and a mutilation of Sanskrit), no Marathi scholar in Poona issued an edict to oust him of Poona University. It's worthwhile to mention that Dr Mishra taught Hindi at Poona University in the 60s. I'm afraid, the redoubtable critic and scholar wouldn't have been able to say this today in a politically and linguistically surcharged Maharashtra where not knowing Marathi is now a mild (or serious?) crime. Dr Mishra would have been hounded out of Poona for his 'audacious' opinion. Today, you criticise Marathi, only to be guillotined (not pilloried) in full public view. Instead of evolving, we're devolving on all fronts and at all levels. This saddens all those who still apply their brains and intellect. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/current-affairs/petty-linguistic-chauvinism/d/135791 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism