Shankarrao Deo
Topic: Framing the Indian Constitution · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"
Meaning
Shankarrao Deo was a Congress member of the Constituent Assembly from Bombay. In the language debate of 1949, he spoke as a Congressman and a follower of Gandhi. He had accepted Hindustani as the language of the nation. But he warned that aggressive pressure for Hindi would make non-Hindi speakers suspicious and afraid. His speech helped show that a forced solution would divide India rather than unite it.
Example
In the Constituent Assembly, Deo told the supporters of Hindi not to "raise my suspicions" or "strengthen my fears" by pushing too hard. Members like him helped bring about the Language Committee's compromise. Under it, Hindi became the official language, not the national language, and English continued for fifteen years.
Don't confuse with
- R.V. Dhulekar: he wanted Hindi declared the national language. Deo stood for going slowly and keeping the trust of non-Hindi speakers.
Related concepts
- Hindustani
- R.V. Dhulekar
- Language Committee
- Official language debate
- G. Durgabai
- T.A. Ramalingam Chettiar