Chapter 19

Economy and the its connection with the language of the place

The character of the language does affect the economy of a place. The feudalistic language instils a feeling of insecurity in people. They become too obsessed with money and position. This carving for money is entirely different from the desire for money in the English world. There it is for the buying power, and the social status it gives. In India, without money your very language would change, and also, the language others use to you changes. The indicant words change. People can be intrusive in your affairs, and you cannot defend yourselves. Many of your ordinary poses, and postures become wrong. You cannot say certain things. You cannot sit in certain person's presence.  Without money tomorrow, in a feudal language atmosphere, life would simple be unbearable.

In areas, where English is absent, people would not be great spenders. In fact, they would have a habit of hoarding and saving money. And when spending or paying money, they would be miserly. But in places where English is widely spoken, spending habit would be more. The insecurity of a stifling tomorrow would be less. The people would be more colourful. This fact may be substantiated by comparing cities in India where English is popular with those cities where Indian vernacular is widely spoken.

Another aspect of this side is that when lower indicant words are used for one's employees, their social status, as well as their capacity for articulation is reduced considerably. The employer's impression of his employee is then comparable to that of a dumb animal. He has no understanding of the latter's need and is absolutely uninterested in his pains and sufferings. He is paid a pittance, and this itself is believed to be more than he deserves. In a way, the communication of a lower man to the higher man is like that of an animal to a man. Man cannot understand an animals feelings and pains, and even if it seems to be in pain, could care little. This same level of unfeeling-ness comes about a lower person, whose communication is crippled.

At another level, almost all the big businessmen in India, even if they make millions pay only a pittance to the lower indicant workers. And it is good that it is so. For, these are the persons, who have to be addressed in the lower indicant words. It helps if they are not well dressed, and has an enduring look of physical exhaustion. For, to use the lower indicant words to such persons is more easier than to use it to well-dressed, highly polished, persons who enjoy social mobility and connections.

Moreover, if one were to pay a higher income to the lower sections of society it would definitely disturb others in the society. For, these lower groups of persons would immediately become more assertive* and start using lower indicant terms to persons to whom till that day they had used higher indicant words.

The cumulative affect of all this is a streak of stinginess in the whole society, which on a macro-scale affects its commerce and lead to stagnation.

As a logical extension of this argument, one may say that the Indian in his deepest feelings, does not want another Indian to be living in good conditions. For, there is need for some level of inferiority in his attributes, so that one can continue with the lower indicant for that man. So that communication can continue.

I have seen rich men in Madras giving a pittance to their old and senile gate security men as wages. And that too with a lot of grudging. But the affect is very wonderful and one that would defy logic in an English world. For, the lesser he is paid, the more respectful he is to the boss. He literally considers the boss as a demigod. But, if he is paid more, and made to stand with the dignity of a man, then the halo, in which he keeps the boss, would vanish. It is naturally better to let the halo survive, and the servant wither.

In this regard, I have seen persons spent much, much more on their cigarette packets, than the amount they pay to their menial servants, who are barely able to exist on their feeble pay packet.

But this discussion in the above paragraphs does not give the full picture of the story. Why are all English countries so good in so many economic aspects? Taking the relative consumer index, good wholesome food is very cheap for the ordinary people. In India, even when the food is so cheap, when compared to the American dollars rates, it is still so unaffordable for the common man. Here, by common man, I mean the non-bureaucratic group of ordinary citizens.

Here is where the concept of feudal languages can give a beautiful answer.

Before starting the discussion, I will give an illustration:

Some 20 years ago, I was in a small town in North of Kerala, i.e. in Malabar. I was introduced to three different persons by another man. The Malayalam dialogues may be reproduced here.

·    Onu (for him) randu (two) thenga. He has two coconut trees.

·    Ayakku (for him) nuuru (hundred) thenga. He has a hundred   coconut trees.

·    Orkku (for him) ayiram (thousand) thenag. He has a thousand coconut trees.

The reader may here note the differing words used for the word: for him.

For the smallest in society: Onu.

For the higher in society: Ayakku.

For the highest in society: Orkku.

The number of coconut trees a man has, does change a man's social attributes, starkly. And these external attributes immensely suppress a man's internal attributes, and in many ways, it can have a killing effect on his self-image, and self-confidence.

It is not difficult to discern a clear fact. In all countries, where English is the language of communication, there is a high level of living standards. By this, I do not mean just money, but also good dressing standards, neater roads, dignity of bearing in citizens, better quality of food, freer communication among the people, good interaction between the women and the men etc. Anybody can work for anyone, and the words in reference to him like He, She, Him, Hers, Her, His etc. do not change according to what is he doing for his livelihood, nor by just working for a person does he become a slave in any sense to the employer. In society, he is also entitled to the same level of dignity as the others, including the employer. The only thing that can curtail his movement would be his lack of immediate money in his pocket.

At the same time, in India nobody really likes to work for another. Whether he has a spirit of entrepreneurial enterprise or not, whether he like to be a farmer or not, whether he like to be a doctor or not, whether he like to sit at a table all day or not, a person would only like to be in a position of playing the boss.

Now with this background information, let us see a small time farm in interior India. A farmer has one or two acres of land. On which he is growing vegetables. Let us say, cabbage. On this cabbage has to subside not only he, his wife and three children; but also his grandparents, sometimes his wife's grandparents, sometimes his son and his wife and children etc. This cabbage cannot be very cheap in price, for it has to support so many persons. And the money it gives to the individuals in the family also gets divided into small amounts.

The same can be the case with so many other items, including meat products. And each of these small-time farmers is at the mercy of the middlemen. Yet, the small-time farmers break their bones to exist, for there is another social area where they have a standing. For, they will have workers, who would keep them in positions of social distinction and respect. Here, the farmer gets his dividend. Yet, it is a very tragic dividend. For, the land has a vicelike grip on him. He cannot move away, without leaving the strings that connect him to the social position that the land gives him. Devoid of it, his every attribute changes and he loses his ability to move in social circles that he was dwelling in earlier.

For maintaining the title of boss, by which only the farmers can maintain their level of social communication, they linger on for centuries and aeons to provide fodder for the parasitic nation. Yet, they individually live in dirty little hovels, with ill-clad children, who also display signs of malnutrition.

Now let us ponder on the social situation that would come about, if one fine morning everyone is tutored good English, the kind that is spoken in England. Instead of living in a vicious circle of social limitations and carving for respect and standing, the small-time farmer would sell off his small farm to a big framing group, become another worker and enjoy life, with least of tensions. Only if he were of an entrepreneurial bent of mind, would he go in for individual effort. And in that case also, he would not be fixed in any immovable social position, and he would be having a more intelligent social grasp, and understanding. And since his communication would not be crippled at any level, it would not be able to exploit him on a long-term basis by any middlemen.

Each agricultural item and even meat products would be mass-produced. Not everybody would want to be a businessman just to tide over the indicant problem.  There would be less of middlemen. The food products would be very, very cheap.

When this becomes a national phenomenon, the society would be a typical English nation. Food would be cheap. No one would grudge the others in society having good food.

At the same time, one may discuss on what is happening to the wealth that is really being created in India. More than hundred percent of the wealth accrued by the state governments in India are shared by the bureaucrats. These bureaucrats live in eternal fear that some common man would overtake them in financial soundness.

An average man in India is earning on an average about Rs.1000/- to 1500/- per month, if he is in the skilled unorganised sector. Many persons earn much, much less. Earlier times, the salaries of the bureaucrats were not like a king's ransom. But in recent times, it has been increased to astronomical levels, so that in the feudal language situation, an ordinary man would not dare to talk even to a government peon from a level of dignity, other than from a level of obsequiousness. Earlier times, pension was only reasonable, to provide a person to live without dependence. But the sudden loss of prestige along with the cessation of infinite number of official conveniences that comes with retirement, can give creeps in the feudal language situation. For, then it is not easy to maintain the level of social respect one is used to. The only thing to do was to make even the pensions huge, that it is intimidating to the common private vulnerable individual.

Earlier times, the huge money that is provided to India as aid by such nations as U.K etc. was reaching the needy directly. But then it sure is an uneasy situation for the bureaucrats; for then, there exists in India, citizens who may rise above them. So the rules were changed, and all such funds now come directly to the Indian government coffers. From here, it definitely goes into private pockets, in the guise of funding Non Governmental Organisations. These organisations run mainly by persons connected clandestinely to bureaucrats, operate institutions of pretence that seem to help the needy. Within no time, the organisers become immensely rich, and later they become big businessmen with offices in English countries.

In this regard, the discussion may be extended to what the international third world leaders are speaking. They want more equitable distribution of international wealth. Actually, these same leaders are among the persons who are cornering most of the national wealth in their respective countries, and effectively blocking the development of their fellow citizens.

And when one thinks of the ancient times, when the megalomaniac rulers of India ruled in royal splendour, building immense buildings, monuments, rock pillars, edifices etc. there was no lack of wealth in India. Yet, who thinks of the ordinary people on whose shoulder this entire burden was made to stand on? It is a truth that with all the wealth that India claims in its heritage, the people lived in terrible conditions, exploited and looted by the bureaucracy, and feudal lords.

In India the bureaucracy corners almost the whole wealth that is collected by the government, not just in terms of huge salary and substantial pension benefits, but also by means of so many other perks, which no other citizen in India does have any share in. And this is all paid for the worst service in this nation, and that too done with unquestionable arrogance. The government can make good homeless shelter, provide cheap transportation for the public, low cost phones, make good English medium schools for the children of the economically weak, give financial protection for the innumerable old persons who have toiled with desperate effort, have good furniture in public hospitals, see that public applications for various licences, certificates etc. are given in a matter of minutes instead of making the person come a multitude of times to the government offices etc. For all these things, there is always financial crunch. Yet, for any demand from the bureaucratic mafia, none of the political leadership dares stand up to.

Also, it may be seen that there are actually two Indias. One the affluent, modern dressed, English speaking, possibly foreign connected India, that lives in a pseudo-Indian atmosphere, and moves around in foreign designed cars, and function in foreign settings. This India is actually a miniscule minority. The other India, is the real India, which is financially weak, dirty dressed, weary with exploitation, and effectively kept away by the former India, by mean of mean looking, vernacular speaking, crude security guards. The funny thing about the whole situation is that it is the former India, that goes around the world giving speeches and claims for equitable distribution of international wealth, and better trade terms etc. Actually, whatever benefits they may accrue from these activities are never meant for the benefit of the real Indian. All talk, debates and outburst in their behalf are just affectations, with a diabolic value. And the English nations may just clean up their mind of any feelings of guilt and distress, these scheming persons may have induced in them. For, the real tormentors of India are these very persons who go around the world on costly tours, enjoying the unfettered attention they can get.

Even now, this is the reality of Modern India. And this whole truth gives the lie to the deceitful argument that the poverty of India, and possibly of many other third world countries, is a creation of the external world. For, the poverty is a component of the language and social realities of this country. And it may be mentioned that if this be true about India, then the question of poverty in many other nations also need to be scrutinised on similar lines.

The people of India seem to be bent on sex. Otherwise, how can one explain the population explosion? And the people of the English countries do not seem to have any interest in sex. Otherwise, how can one explain the lack of increase in population?

Just as with many other things with India, what appears evident is actually the opposite of reality. In the modern times, most people do want to control the number of their children. And there are a lot of government hospital and other formal medical facilities available in the country. Yet, why don't most of the people make use of it?

Here again, I have literally found the feudal language working in acute intensity to spoil the situation. I will give a beautiful illustration of the problem. I had an acquaintance. He had a number of children. He had a good house, built when he was financially fluid. He was a respected member of his society. People used to revere him and always invite him for all social functions. Yet, he was suffering from a severe infection of impecuniosity. He believed that no one was aware about it. Many persons did tell me in private that he was very unreasonable to continue having more and more children.

He used to open his heart to me about his personal problems. One day, when we were discussing about his slender financial resources, I mentioned casually about his abundant number of children. He made a shocking remark He said he wanted to sterilise his wife or he himself was willing to undergo vasectomy. But he did not have the finance to go to a private hospital. And since he was a reasonably respected man in society, he could not go to a government hospital, where the staff may take liberty with the indicant words, and he would lose his face in society.

Now, this illustration does actually reflect the whole Indian society. There is medical help available to the common man. Yet if one ventures into the government hospitals, then one would need to gear-up to face the barrage of insulting indicant words, and their consequent gestures and admonitions. The mental trauma associated with this problem is felt more by the lowest social class, who are also the greatest producers of children. The husband would have to place himself in an immovable position of lower of stature right in front of his wife, to whom he should naturally be a person of stature.

Herein lies the real hurt of the lowest classes in India.

And naturally, no family can bear with dignity to go for the free medical facility doled out by the officialdom with an air of sincere malice.

From these contentions, one may again recount the history of Emperor Ashoka the Great. Of the hospitals, and other institutions of public utility he made, and gave the reins to the officialdom.