Welcome emphasis on bilingualism

The elevation of the national language policy to a foremost position in Sri Lanka's list of priorities is a most welcome development and we hope that sooner rather than later all systems will be in place to fully implement it all over the country. Progressive opinion in Sri Lanka could take heart from the fact that no less a person than President Mahinda Rajapaksa is strongly insistent that the implementation of the national language policy should no longer be delayed.

It is a matter for immense satisfaction that language is no longer an issue in this country. Today, both Sinhala and Tamil are official languages and by virtue of that fact are languages of the administration. Thus, in terms of according parity of status to Sinhala and Tamil, Sri Lanka could be said to have come a very long way, but the challenge now is to fully implement this constitutionally-enshrined policy.

Yesterday a front page news report of ours highlighted the work being carried out by the National Languages and Social Integration Ministry in this regard and the point that should not have been missed out on is that a lot is remaining to be done by way of fully implementing the national language policy. One could be glad that the state is going all out to create a bilingual polity or a citizenry which is fluent in at least Sinhala and Tamil, although, ideally, the local citizenry should be knowledgeable in all three languages; Sinhala, Tamil and English.

However, even on this score, the state is putting its best foot forward because the project of creating a trilingual citizenry is already taking shape under the initiative of President Rajapaksa, with Presidential Advisor Sunimal Fernando coordinating and spearheading the laying of the foundation to this ground-breaking venture.

This action on several fronts is welcome because these efforts at creating a fully integrated and united polity cannot wait for another day. The challenge needs to accepted and overcome.

However, there is no denying that a tremendous amount of work remains to be done with regard to the bilingual enterprise and the state would need to ensure that all relevant systems are being activated to make this concept a reality.

One of the ultimate tests of language parity is whether a Tamil-speaking citizen of the north-East could transact business with a state institution anywhere in the country in Tamil and have his needs attended to and whether a Sinhala-speaking citizen of the same region could have his business attended to in Sinhala at state organizations in the North-East. In other words, our public service would need to be at least bilingual for the successful implementation of the national language policy in its essentials.

Language may no longer be a highly contentious political issue in this country but without a bilingual citizenry and public service the policy will be a dead letter confined to paper. Accordingly, we welcome moves by the state to have in every state institution at least one official with a bilingual capability. Likewise, we welcome efforts to re-introduce the learning of Tamil to the country's school system.

All of this boils down to sufficiently motivating the Sinhala-speaking public to learn Tamil and Tamil-speakers to learn Sinhala language skills. Strong incentives, such as, better promotional prospects and substantial salary increments, should be used in the case of Sinhala public servants to induce in them a zest to learn Tamil.

Similar incentives should be used to enable Tamil public servants to study and inculcate a Sinhala language capability. Over and above all, a love for each others languages and cultures should be fostered by the state among our communities. This should be an ongoing, priority project.

Equally important would be incentives that would facilitate the learning of Tamil among Sinhala-speaking primary and secondary students and a corresponding capability to learn Sinhala among Tamil language students. Thus far these projects have been tried out half-heartedly and inconsistently and a determined effort should be made by the authorities to ensure that programmes of this kind are re-launched and turned into successful projects.

There could be no let-up in persisting with the national language policy. It is a key factor in solidifying harmony and peaceful co-existence among our communities and should be implemented with exceptional interest by the state and other stakeholders in a peaceful Sri Lanka. Post-conflict harmony and our national language policy are, thus, closely intertwined.