Dr. Zakir Husain is known as a self-less nationalist leader and also as an educationist "par excellence." Taking a cue from his educational ideas like the "Nai Talim," this article brings into focus his views on the medium-conundrum. Dr. Husain was very clear about the role of Indian languages and the relevance of mother…

Contends that language names "Hindi" and "Urdu" denote two styles of same language in spoken mode, resulting in duplication of personnel and resources in Britain in language maintenance programs. Survey data show little consensus regarding what constitutes each language when spoken and that nationality and religion are…

Using Hindi and Urdu as examples, illustrates the shortcomings in the definition of South Asian languages that has been attempted in Britain so far. Argues that description and definition of a language have to include aspects of culture, religion, script, politics, and the speakers' own perception of their language and language choice. (SED)

Safder Alladina's analysis of the position of South Asian languages in Britain leaves much to be desired, concerning itself largely with Urdu, Hindi to a lesser extent, and hardly at all with Bengali, Gujarati, and Panjabi. The problems and solutions of devising policies appropriate to these languages need to be discussed in greater detail. (CB)

After Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji is the second largest island nation in the South-west Pacific and the hub of the region. Nearly all Fiji Islanders have either Fijian or Fiji Hindi as their first language, in roughly equal numbers, while the former colonial language, English, with very few native speakers, has retained an important role,…