The Congress leadership might have snubbed HRD minister Arjun Singh for his comments on loyalty and sycophancy, but he had an unexpected visitor on Sunday evening in CPM general secretary Prakash Karat. Though for a different reason, the CPM general secretary called on Arjun and discussed, among other things, contemporary politics.
Sources in the HRD ministry and in the CPM maintained that the visit was to press for the CPM?s long pending demand to hold a ??national linguistic survey?? to ascertain the current status of Indian languages. The CPM has been asking the government to constitute a ??map?? of the linguistic diversity in the country. The last linguistic survey was carried out by the British about 100 years ago.
However, the both had also discussed the current political situation. Arjun, famous for echoing Left?s concerns in economic and strategic issues, is considered as a Left?s favourite in the Manmohan government. The CPM has always been a votary of Arjun?s policies in the HRD ministry, especially the OBC reservation. The party had even supported HRD minister’s name for the President’s post, when their first choice Pranab Mukherjee failed to get his party?s stamp because of his ??indispensability?? in the UPA.
Even though the CPM opposed many of the UPA?s initiatives, the only issue the CPM had stood against in the HRD ministry was the foreign universities Bill. The Bill, considered as a brain child of the PM, was put in the backburner after the CPM?s strident opposition.
Recently Singh said that he was against Emergency and still he got the support of the Nehru family. His statements had invited a wave of criticism from various Congress leaders, who termed it as ??unwarranted.?? Political circles also view Karat?s visit as an effort to give Singh a ??moral support?? in his ??shadow war??, apparently against Manmohan.
Karat also shot a letter to Arjun on the linguistics survey. The CPM expects that such a survey would help to protect the ??dying languages?? in the country. It is learnt that the minister assured Karat that he will look into the matter.
The 2001 census had noted that there are about 10,000 mother tongues in the country and linguists often raised their concerns over ??the death?? of several languages.