Of late, discourses on the nature and development of Indian community in Malaysia have invariably touched on the issue of Tamil schools in the country. One view is that Tamil schools given the poor performance of students, their lack of modern facilities, their location in the interior and others are hindering the progress of the Indian community.
Adherents of this view feel strongly that Tamil schools should be gradually phased out in the coming years. Another view examines the schools' system form a cultural and emotional point of view.
It is argued that since Tamil is rich in meaning and ideas; some even go the extent of saying that learning and understanding Tamil might unlock answers for future problems!
The above two positions on the future of Tamil and Tamil schools is untenable for a number of reasons. The first view that regards Tamil schools as the source of the problems is a very simplistic and naive one to say the least.
Tamil schools themselves do not constitute a cause rather their existence is the effect of how the Indian community has developed over the years. In other words, the state of Tamil schools and their poor performance is nothing but a reflection of the political, social and economic position of the Indian community.
Today, if the community is developed and self-sustaining, the Tamil schools' system would have been quite dynamic, something like the Chinese schools. But because the community is poor and deprived in many ways, the Tamil school system has also suffered as a consequence.
Nationality right
This particular approach rather than examining the political economy of the Tamil educational system, tends to focus merely on those effects that have been caused by the interplay of larger societal forces.
Apart from basic theoretical flaws, this approach tends to underestimate the political dangers in pursuing this kind of reasoning. Calling for termination of Tamil schools not only deprives the Indian community of its nationality right to learn and speak the language but also undermines the deep emotional and cultural attachment the community has for the language.
Such attachment is no different from what the Chinese, Malays and other nationalities have for their respective languages. The question here: why should Indians alone be told to sacrifice their language and their school system?
Beyond this, the proponents of this view do not have any scientific basis for the rejection of the Tamil school system. It is merely an assertion among some sections of the middle and upper middle class who have a simplistic understanding of the plight of the Indian community. Some of them do not even the speak the language and are even shy to admit that they are Tamils in the first place.
The real issue is something else; the colossal failure on their part not to acknowledge the real problems faced by Indians having their roots in the racial policy of divide and rule.
Insane exaltation
The other popular argument is the way the language is very often exalted to a point of insanity. While Tamils should be proud of their language, there is not reason to deny the importance of other languages as well.
Pursuing the kind of argument to its extreme only makes a mockery of the Tamil language. Tamil is no different from other languages in terms of its historical greatness. But beyond this, it is merely a mother tongue to millions of Tamils around the world.
While nobody should deny Tamils the right to learn and speak their mother tongue, the language itself is not superior or inferior to other languages. Like others, it has grown and developed in its various aspects as result of the interaction of various people in the world.
To say that the language has a secret that is waiting to be unlocked actually contributes to nothing but merely to highlight chauvinism on the part of some members of the community.
For the Indian community in Malaysia, Tamil language constitutes an integral part of its existence and identity. No sane member of the community would want to part with this right, immaterial of the costs of sustenance.
Real problem
Rather than blaming the language and its school system, we should first find out why the community and its school system has suffered over the years. Is it because of the inaction on the part of the government or is it because on the inability on the part of the Indian elite to provide the kind of representation for the community over the years?
There is really nothing wrong with the language or the Tamil school system. The real problem lies in the nature and manner of the un-development of the Indian community over the last 43 years or so.
The non-interest shown by the government in addressing the fundamental problems of the community is the real reason why Indians have become marginalised in the country.
The Tamil school system is one particular aspect of this marginalisation and there are others. Unless and until comprehensive policies are devised to deal with the whole range of issues, groups and communities without the power of numbers would have a dim prospect of progress in the country.
To call for the termination of the Tamil school system would really mean playing into the hands of racists who have been long arguing that the vernacular system in the country is the main reason for the lack of national integration.
As we are more than aware, the real reason for the lack of racial integration in the country is the racial policy of the BN regime that refuses to acknowledge the equality of all races in the country.
P RAMASAMY is a professor of political economy at the Political Science Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and has academic interests in Malaysian politics and labour. He has written quite extensively and is currently focusing on conflict management in Sri Lanka.
