No country has benefitted more than India from the IT revolu- tion; it has not only ushered in a robust and sustainable economy (in spite of the Gods!) but has also played a key role in augmenting the dissemination of knowledge in various walks of life as diverse as agriculture and software engineering. However, the IT boom is also blamed for having created a new stratification in the Indian society-the digital divide between the information rich and the information poor (information is a weapon against poverty)-as only 5% of the Indian population knows English, which is the language of the IT revolution. Since it has been proved that the application of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at the grassroots level (villages) can regenerate the rural economy and bridge the gap between rural and urban areas, the government as well as social thinkers cherish the hope to make every village in India a knowledge center, which is in tune with the goal of realizing a developed India.
In a multilingual country like India, where the one billion plus population speak nearly 2000 dialects and 18 major regional languages written in 10 different scripts (recognized by the Constitution), the absence of a common language for effective communication is a curse. The elevation of Hindi as the national language has so far not been able to change the scenario even after six decades of independence, notwithstanding its growing popularity. Many of the regional languages in India are older than English. Yet, English is still the chief language in media, business, education, and administration. The truth is that all the languages-regional languages, Hindi and English-are becoming stronger and existing mutually. However, without the use of the regional languages, necessary information cannot be availed by the masses and without Hindi/English no meaningful contact with the sources can be possible. Hence, top-down and bottom-up dissemination of knowledge is the need of the hour. Particularly, "all grassroots information of land, agriculture, health and education, needs to be disseminated in the respective regional languages for effective communication and understanding. Hence, translation is as important as basic and necessary infrastructure like roads, water and transportation for a country like India." |
