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here’s something as they say, about the Gujarati script. When Chief Minister
Keshubhai Patel presented a map of Gujarat to visiting global software icon
Bill Gates, he wasn’t quite prepared for the reaction he received. Bill declared
unequivocally that the Gujarati script has the same look and feel as Hindi’s
Devanagari
and that it was suited for software development. He added
that Microsoft definitely needed to consider creating software in the
Gujarati language.
An endorsement such as this, from no less than the biggest name in
the international software business sure is a pointer to the fact that
localization of software in Gujarati will be a reality sometime in the future.
I am not saying here that we should dump English for Gujarati. In fact, my views
on this issue are different. My belief is that, the opinion makers and erstwhile
leaders of Gujarat have done the state a disservice by imposing the Gujarati medium of
instruction at the school level instead of sticking to the more progressive English.
While I respect Gujarati and English equally, I must admit that staying with
Gujarati alone has in a sense isolated our Generation Next, which is now finding it
increasingly difficult to bag jobs outside the state.
Jobs in the software sector in particular have proved elusive for this evolving segment
of career makers as English is the dominant language and an almost necessary
prerequisite. In fact, India’s English speaking, skilled manpower, is one of the
key reasons why the country is succeeding so significantly in the world
software arena.
My point then is that we don’t need to pit languages against one another.
The average Indian today is multi-lingual. Most of use are comfortable in
fact with three languages at the very least — English, Hindi and the mother tongue of
the state.
The Times of India, Ahmedabad October 9, 2000
“
Breaking the Language Barrier.
Guju-English on the Internet”
It’s time for Gujarati
bhais
to
don the mantle of IT
bhais
.
Gujaratis must learn to play
the game in accordance with
the new rules.
