hick discusses also in these terms and his argument is that it is rational to believe in the reality of god. alvin plantinga argues on these manifestation - experiences that they are properly basic. 515 that is to say, it is as rational for religious persons to hold these basic religious beliefs as it is for all of us to hold our basic perceptual beliefs. but, more basically, it is the biblical assumption translated into philosophical terms. according to plantinga this experience is what justifies me in holding ( the belief ) that is the ground of my justification, and by extension, the ground of the belief itself. he then applies this principle to religious beliefs. in philosophy, experience is generally what we perceive by the senses what we learn from others, or whatever comes from external sources or from inner reflection. in the sense, experience is associated with observation and experiment. empiricism stresses that our knowledge must be based on experience, but rationalism claims that experience is a potential source of error and prefers rational certainty to mere empirical generalization. in ordinary usage, for every experience there must be something experienced that is independent of the subject of experience. but in philosophy, the relation between experience as a state of consciousness and independent objects of experience becomes a focus of debate. there are many different kinds of experiences, but it is religious experiences that interest me here. from the point of view of epistemology the modifications of consciousness consisting our apparently perceptual experience are of importantly different kinds. in addition to true perceptions there are misperceptions, illusions, and hallucinations. therefore, if anyone misled by any of these forms of perceptual error, he or she is then deluded. in each case the delusion consists in a mistaken implicit belief about the cause of the experience : applying this concept of delusion to the realm of religious experience, we have to ask whether those who assume that their experience of living in god ’ s presence is caused by their being in god ’ s presence are believing truly or are, on the contrary, under a delusion. in modern philosophy of mind a major theme which bears on many theoretical issues, concerns the alleged privacy of an experience as an event knowable only to its possessor and 515 see alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff, reason and belief in god, in faith and rationality, 78 - 91. see also john hick, philosophy of religion, 76. 191 the possibility of public access to that experience. there is much philosophical debate concerning


nicholas wolterstorff, reason and belief in god, in faith and rationality, 78 - 91. see also john hick, philosophy of religion, 76. 191 the possibility of public access to that experience. there is much philosophical debate concerning precisely how perception is to be analyzed. in particular, questions are raised concerning the status of the phenomenon. but there is general agreement that in perception, objects present themselves to us in ways that enable us to know them. similarly, in religious experience god presents himself in ways that enable us to know him and his actions. for alston there are, it seems, important differences between ordinary perceptual or sense experience and religious experience. sense perception is a common experience, whereas religious experience is less common, perhaps, even rare, sense perception yields a great deal of information about the world, whereas religious experience yields apparently little information about god, all humans have the capacity for sense perception, but many seem not to have the capacity for religious experience. these differences, however, do not show that religious experience has a structure unlike perception. for one thing, neither the frequency of an experience nor the amount of information it yields tells us anything about its structure. on the other hand, the limitation of the rationalist way is that the only truths capable of being strictly proved are analytic and ultimately tautological. but we cannot by logic alone demonstrate any matter of fact and existence ; these must be known through experience. for sure if nothing were given through experience in its various modes, we should never have anything to reason about. this is as true in religion as in other fields. if god exists, god is not an idea but a reality outside us, in order to be known to men and women, god must therefore become manifest in some way within their experience. this conclusion is in line with the contemporary revolt against the rationalist assumptions which have dominated much of western philosophy since the time of descartes. 516 descartes held that we can properly be said to know only truths that are self - evident or that can be reached by logical inferences from self - evident premises. therefore, those who stress faith and attack reason often place a great deal of emphasis on religious experience. however, religious experience is by no means a purely emotional “ happening ” ; rather, it involves concepts and beliefs about the being that is experienced. if we tried to separate religious experiences from such concepts and beliefs - from the religious belief - system, as we shall call it - then there would be no way saying who or what is


, it involves concepts and beliefs about the being that is experienced. if we tried to separate religious experiences from such concepts and beliefs - from the religious belief - system, as we shall call it - then there would be no way saying who or what is that is experienced, or of explaining what sort of difference the experience ought to make to the person who has it. however, such a religious belief system needs to be understood ; at least to 516 john hick, philosophy of religion, 69. see also descartes, discourse on method and meditation. 192 some degree - it is hard to see how understanding it is not going to involve the use of reason. for rationalisms, in order for a religious belief - system to be properly and rationally accepted, it must be possible to prove that the belief - system is true. rationalism in this sense implies a reliance on reason, or intelligence, in deciding our beliefs and actions. the central idea of strong rationalism was stated forcefully by w. k. clifford. according to his opinion, no religious belief - system is capable of meeting the high standard of proof that should govern all of our believing, and so a reasonable ( and moral ) person must do without religious beliefs. among the objections to christian belief, as well as to judaic and muslim, characteristic of the modern intelligentsia is the objection that it is no longer rational, if ever it was, to believe that god exists. therefore, the rational person will have to make his way in the world without supposing that there exists any god in whom he could trust. 517 however, according to nicholas wolterstorff, to believe in god is our fundamental human obligation. central to christianity, judaism, and islam alike is the conviction that we as human beings are called to believe in god to trust in him, to rely on him, to place our confidence in him. central also is the conviction that only by believing in god can the deepest stirrings of the human heart be satisfied. duty and fulfillment here coalesce. the rationality of trusting someone presupposes the rationality of believing that person exists. john locke was among the first to formulate articulately the evidentialist challenge to theistic belief. reason is reasoning for locke, and clearly he thinks of it as one among others of our belief - forming processes. faith is another belief - forming process. it, by contrast, consists in accepting something “ as coming from god. ” 518 however, for locke it still belongs to


clearly he thinks of it as one among others of our belief - forming processes. faith is another belief - forming process. it, by contrast, consists in accepting something “ as coming from god. ” 518 however, for locke it still belongs to reason to judge of the truth of its being a revelation, and of the signification of the words wherein it is delivered. for evidentialist, one ’ s belief that god exists is rational only if it is formed or sustained by good inference by inferring it from others of one ’ s beliefs, which in fact provide adequate evidence for it. but, wolterstorff, see no reason what so ever to suppose that by the criterion 517 see william k. clifford, the ethics of belief, in george i. mavrodes, ed., the rationality of belief in god, ( englewood cliffs, nj : prentice - hall, press, 1970 ), 159 - 60. see also michael peterson, william hasker, bruce reighenbach, david basinger ; reason and religious belief, 34. 518 see alvin plantinga and nicholas wolterstorff, faith and rationality, 137. 193 offered the evidentialist challenge is tenable. he see no reason to suppose that people who hold as one of their immediate beliefs that god exists always have adequate reason to surrender that belief or ought to believe that they do. however, for him those abstract and highly general theses of evidentialism no longer look very interesting, once we regard them in the light of the criterion offered. therefore, for him the fact that it is not rational for some person to believe that god exists does not follow that he ought to give up that belief. but can we accept the principle of credulity? one problem is that whereas there is a fundamental uniformity about the way we report both ordinary perceptual experiences and the beliefs about objects of those experiences, there is quite a diversity of reports about religious experiences and the claim based on them. person give incompatible descriptions of the reality experienced. therefore, where perceptions yield conflicting testimony, we must turn to other experiences and rational arguments to determine the truth of the various claims. that is, where there are different accounts, additional considerations must be introduced to help decide which, if any, of the religious experiences are veridical. although the reports provide a prima facie ground for their acceptance, not all beliefs based on such experiences are true. just as we at times doubt perceptual claims for good reason,


if any, of the religious experiences are veridical. although the reports provide a prima facie ground for their acceptance, not all beliefs based on such experiences are true. just as we at times doubt perceptual claims for good reason, we might do the same for claims based on religious experience. according to hick, religion constitutes our varied human response to transcendent reality. religious experience then is structured by religious beliefs which are implicit within religious experience. but the question is if this complex of experience and beliefs that takes place in different shapes within the different traditions, is to be regarded simply as a human creation or as our response to a transcendent reality, even if a response whose particular forms always involve the creative activity of the human imagination. of course the problem of terminology is obvious as we see in many parts of philosophy, and without explanatory gloss none of the available descriptive labels for these two possibilities is entirely adequate. much of the philosophical discussion of religious diversity continues to centre on the work of john hick. 519 he is not interested in the question of what can justifiably be affirmed in the face of such diversity, rather, he is primarily concerned with the question of which justified response is most reasonable. moreover, on this question, he leaves no doubt as to his opinion : 519 see john hick, an interpretation of religion : human response to the transcendent, ( new haven : yale university and london : macmillan press, 1989 ), 172. 194 religious pluralism is by far the most plausible explanation for the pervasive religious diversity we encounter. many westerners will best understand the emergence of inclusivism and pluralism in terms of the history of christianity. for most of its history, christianity has been resolutely exclusivist. in late antiquity, it was a new religion, struggling to establish itself in the face of criticism and persecution. it is not surprising to find it making exclusive claims on behalf of its charismatic founder, jesus of nazareth. of course, christianity is not the only religion to have fostered exclusivist attitudes. in their more militant movements, muslims have done the same. some jews cherish an ethnically exclusive identity as god ’ s chosen people, and some hindus revere the vedas as a source of absolute truth, buddhists often see in the teachings of gautama the only dharma that can liberate humans from illusion and suffering. hick has set forth a philosophically sophisticated pluralistic hypothesis that may avoid problems


vedas as a source of absolute truth, buddhists often see in the teachings of gautama the only dharma that can liberate humans from illusion and suffering. hick has set forth a philosophically sophisticated pluralistic hypothesis that may avoid problems of this sort. 520 as he sees it, each of the major religious traditions offers a path to salvation or liberation that involves a transformation of human existence from self - centeredness to reality - centeredness. religious plurality is simply a fact. there are religious traditions that differ deeply in terms of their doctrines, practices, institutions, scriptures, experiences, and hope. according to pluralism, a single ultimate religious reality is being differently experienced and understood in all the major religious traditions ; they all, as far as the philosophers can tell, offer equally effective paths to salvation or liberation. according to harold coward, judaism is an appropriate tradition in which to begin the stay of religious pluralism and the world religions. the experience of being a minority group in other cultures, which becoming more common place for all the world religions as religious pluralism spreads, has been the norm for judaism for countless generations. from the biblical period to the present, judaism has had to formulate its beliefs and practices in the face of challenges from other cultures and religions. the viewpoint of the modern jew opens the way for relations with christianity, islam, and perhaps hinduism ; however, buddhism - especially mahayana buddhism may prove to be in a separate category. the buddhist consciousness in which no transcendent god is recognized and the mahayana awareness of the divine in the 520 ibid. 195 secular may be judged by the jewish philosopher as a modern idolatry. therefore, perhaps the most serious challenge for judaism comes in its response to buddhism. as long as a religion is founded on the experience of a transcendent god, judaism seems to be able to enter into spiritual partnership with it. but if that experience does not hold true for the buddhist - if it is not a transcendent god that is being experienced - can the jew still embrace the buddhist as a spiritual partner? this question has yet to be faced by judaism. 521 the relationship between christianity and the other religions is one of the key issues in christian self - understanding. perhaps pluralism is so pressing a challenge because of the exclusivist missionary approaches adopted by christianity over the past several hundred years. in the rapidly expanding body of literature resulting from the encounter with other religions, many christian theologians are concluding that christian theology cannot continue to be formulated in isolation from the other religions,


challenge of religious pluralism is to encourage the inquiring spirit and devotion to truth that is larger than any individual tradition. the buddhist attitude to other religions has been described as “ critical tolerance ” 523 combined with a missionary goal. buddhism has demonstrated a remarkable degree of tolerance and flexibility throughout the course of its expansion. unlike some other religious expansions, the spread of buddhism has been accomplished more through the dissemination of ideas than by migration of peoples. buddhism rejects the worship of god or gods and the performance of religious rituals as a means to release. it also rejects speculations about ultimate beginnings, especially about whether the self and the world were eternal, and a number of speculations about the ultimate state of the self in the future. the tolerant but critical attitude of the buddha toward the plurality of religious views is shaped into a rigorous philosophic approach by the madhyamika buddhists. if, as the buddha discovered, the goal of religion is compassion, then, say the madhyamika, the biggest obstacle to realizing that goal is attachment to our own religious beliefs in such a way as to make them absolute. based on this understanding, the madhyamika buddhist ’ s attitude towards other religions is one of openness and indeed a “ missionary desire ” 524 to enter into dialogue. the inherent desire to conceptualize and share religious experience is too deeply ingrained in 522 ibid., 63 - 80. 523 see k. n. jayatilleke, the buddhist attitude to other religions ( kandy, sri lanka : buddhist publication society, 1975 ). and see also harold coward pluralism : challenge to world religions, 81. 524 see harold coward, pluralism : challenge to world religions, 88. 197 human nature to render silence an acceptable answer. in fact the madhyamika himself has been far from silent. his prescription of silence was only intended to apply to claims of absolute knowledge. as long as the limitation is honored, then discussion, including theological discussion, could take place. the dialogical approach opens the way for the meeting of christians with jews, muslims, and hindus. however, the theocentric premise could become an obstacle to meaningful encounters with buddhists and advaita vedantists. therefore, an unresolved problem for all of these approaches is the buddhist and even those with considerable exposure to buddhism and hinduism seem almost willfully to turn a blind eye to this problem. one possible exception might be found in tillich ’ s formulation of the “ god above gods ” as the “ ground of being.


forging a new linguistic identity : the hindi movement in banaras, 1868 – 1914 christopher r. king indo - persian and hindu culture queen abode - of - truth is speaking, testifying before the court of maharaja righteous - rule on behalf of queen devanagari : here ' s where nagari dwells, here her own dear country, here our queen was born, in sacred, holy kashi. a little later begam urdu speaks on her own behalf before the maharaja : persian is my mother, urdu is my name. here my birth took place, and here i will remain. each woman claims india as her birthplace, and each asserts her right to rule ( see fig. 14 ). as this late - nineteenth - century hindi drama develops, the reader soon realizes that the verdict will favor queen devanagari, and that the author, pandit gauri datta of meerut, has passed chiefly " moral " rather than technical judgments in presenting the dispute between the two personified languages and scripts. the entire action of the play, a short one - act work in the folk theatre tradition of svang [ * ] ( see chapter 2 in this volume ) takes place in a courtroom over which maharaja righteous - rule presides. babu moral law singh argues for queen devanagari, and mirza cunning ali khan for begam urdu. queen devanagari complains that begam urdu has usurped her former rule over all works of wisdom and virtue, as well as letters, papers, account books, bonds, notes, and official documents. she testifies that she teaches righteousness and removes falsehood, and that under her rule people could make merry, become wealthy, carry on their business, and learn wisdom. bribery, continues the queen, would weep at the very sound of her name, and fabrications and fraud would disappear should she rule again. her witnesses all attest to her good name, sterling character, and indigenous origins. indeed, as we saw above, her birth takes place in the hallowed location of kashi — an older name for the largest of the several sacred zones of banaras ( eck 1982 : 350 ). in short, queen devanagari embodies many of the moral and religious values of the hindu merchant class described by bayly, especially the core value of credit ( sakh ) ( bayly 1983 : 375 – 93 ). " the behaviour and ideals of the merchant family firm were... directed to survival first and foremost


of the hindu merchant class described by bayly, especially the core value of credit ( sakh ) ( bayly 1983 : 375 – 93 ). " the behaviour and ideals of the merchant family firm were... directed to survival first and foremost, but survival here meant above all the continuity of family credit within the wider merchant community " ( 381 ). queen devanagari, through her righteousness, guarantees the continuing " credit " of business and government records, while begam urdu, through her corruptness, threatens the inextricably combined moral and economic well - being of society. begam urdu defends herself by arguing that although her mother, begam persian, was foreign, her own birth took place in india, and therefore she has a right to stay. she describes her own work, however, in terms hardly calculated to make a good impression on her judge : this is my work — passion i ' ll teach, tasks of your household we ' ll leave in the breach. we ' ll be lovers and rakes, living for pleasure, consorting with prostitutes, squandering our treasure. give heed, you officials, batten on graft, deceiving and thieving till riches you ' ve quaffed. lie to your betters and flatter each other. write down one thing and read out another. her witnesses, too, bear names unlikely to mollify the judge : begam twenty - nine delights, prince passion - addict khan, begam wanton - pleasure, and emperor ease - lover. urdu ' s witnesses all testify to the licentiousness and depravity of their mistress and the pleasures that follow in her train. the climax of the play sees queen devanagari ' s lawyer making an impassioned plea for his client. by restoring the former monarch to her rightful place, the age of falsehood would become the age of truth, fraud would vanish, good deeds would multiply, people would feed brahmins, hatred and strife would disappear, enemies would become friends, everyone would become clever, and every child would study nagari in school. begam urdu ' s lawyer in his final summation points to the british recognition of urdu and claims that should nagari try to perform the work of courts and offices, everything would become topsy - turvy. in an inversion of the actual power structure of society at the time ( typical of the svang [ * ] — see chapter 2 ) maharaja righteous - rule brings the


the work of courts and offices, everything would become topsy - turvy. in an inversion of the actual power structure of society at the time ( typical of the svang [ * ] — see chapter 2 ) maharaja righteous - rule brings the case to a close with his judgment, made in accordance with the sacred law of the hindus : let urdu be cast out and nagari take her place ( datta 188? : 13 – 14, 16 ). language and the formation of community identity many studies of the hindi movement have focused on the political aspects, especially at the national level, and have dealt primarily with the twentieth century ( for example, brass 1974 ; das gupta 1970 ; gopal 1953 ; harrison 1960 ; kluyev 1981 ; lutt 1970 ; s. misra 1956 ; narula 1955 ; nayar 1969 ; smith 1963 ; tivari 1982 ; l. varma 1964 ). the great majority of these have used chiefly english sources, and few of them have thoroughly surveyed the relevant sources for the nineteenth century. almost no studies have attempted to trace the detailed history of the voluntary language associations that played such major roles in the development of hindi. in this essay i examine not only the political but also the social and cultural aspects of the hindi movement, particularly on the local and provincial levels, and deal chiefly with the nineteenth century. moreover, i have made extensive use of both hindi and english sources, including a thorough search of official records, such as education reports, publication statistics, and the like. finally, i stress the importance of voluntary language associations, which both reflected and intensified the hindi movement ( see also king 1974 ). the play described above well illustrates the social, cultural, and political matrix from which the hindi movement arose, namely, the growing split between indo - persian and hindu merchant culture characteristic of the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century in north india. as bayly ( 1983 ) has shown in his analysis of eighteenth - and nineteenth - century north india, these two " conflicting forms of urban solidarity " served as the foundations of the later - developing nationalism and religious communalism, which so dramatically affected events in the twentieth century. urdu effectively symbolized the dominant indo - persian culture of north india in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, for it formed one of the major parts of this blend. the attack on urdu and the strong support for nagari ( a term that encompassed both language and script ) evident in the play became important elements in the process by which a self - conscious hindu nationalism emerged in north india.


major parts of this blend. the attack on urdu and the strong support for nagari ( a term that encompassed both language and script ) evident in the play became important elements in the process by which a self - conscious hindu nationalism emerged in north india. part of this process involved the separation from and rejection of earlier symbols of joint hindu - muslim culture, and part entailed the definition and affirmation of newer communal symbols. moreover, this process also involved the complete disregard or rejection of various forms of written or oral popular culture, such as hindustani, the regional dialects ( e. g., braj bhasha and bhojpuri ), and variant scripts ( e. g., kaithi ). this process of separation and differentiation between the indo - persian and hindu merchant cultures led to a shift : the overlapping literary cultures came to function separately, following a new identification of " hindu " with hindi and of " muslim " with urdu. this shift came about through a wide variety of means, many of which lend themselves to some form or other of measurement. among these are the development of voluntary organizations to promote languages and scripts ; the standardization of languages through dictionaries, grammars, and other publications ; newspaper campaigns for or against languages and scripts ; systematic searches for, and publication of, old manuscripts ; the introduction of large numbers of sanskrit and arabic and persian words into hindi and urdu respectively ; the publication of books and periodicals, especially elementary - and secondary - school texts ; and the production of vernacular literature attacking the joint hindu - muslim cultural tradition, especially as it was expressed in urdu. the " hindu " and " muslim " of this shift, however, do not include the hindu and muslim masses, but rather refer to a " vernacular elite, " that is, indians educated in the vernaculars and in competition for government service. likewise, " hindi " and " urdu " refer not to the regional and local dialects of the bulk of the population, but rather to carefully cultivated literary dialects, strongly linked to the corresponding classical languages of sanskrit, persian, and arabic. during our period banaras played the leading role in the process outlined above. long famed in india as a center of hindu learning and religious pilgrimage, by the early nineteenth century the city had also become a major center of hindu literature ( grierson 1889 : 108 – 9 ). bharatendu harishchandra and raja shiv prasad were only two of the most eminent literary figures of the second half of the century to live in banaras


center of hindu literature ( grierson 1889 : 108 – 9 ). bharatendu harishchandra and raja shiv prasad were only two of the most eminent literary figures of the second half of the century to live in banaras. the peak of the city ' s influence on the gradual process of the emergence of modern sanskritized hindi as an important symbol of hindu nationalism came with the founding of the nagari [ * ] pracharini [ * ] sabha [ * ] ( society for the promotion of nagari ) in 1893. this organization, the majority of whose membership came from the eastern part of the north - western provinces and oudh ( nwp & o ), remained the single most influential force for hindi until the eve of world war i, when a gradual decline in membership, and an increasing concern for things literary and a decreasing concern for things political in the sabha ' s leadership, allowed the hindi sahitya sammelan ( society for hindi literature ) of allahabad to become the premier hindi institution. this shift from banaras to allahabad also roughly coincided with a shift in the scope of the controversy between hindi and urdu from the provincial ( nwp & o ) to the national level. significantly, one of the ironies of the hindi movement is that neither of these organizations promoted popular culture in the form of the re - gional and local dialects that surrounded them, though both spoke for the welfare of the hindu majority of the population in the " hindi - speaking " areas of north india. let us now focus on the process of linguistic and social change in the nwp & o and other parts of north india, and on some of the most important means through which this came about. the terminus a quo in 1847 a noteworthy encounter took place between dr. j. f. ballantyne, principal of the english department of benares college, and several students of the sanskrit college ( also part of benares college ). after various unsuccessful attempts to " improve " the hindi style of his students, ballantyne lost his patience and directed them to write an essay on the question " why do you despise the culture of the language you speak every day of your lives, of the only language which your mothers and sisters understand? " ( nwp educ rpt 1846 – 1847 : 32 ). the ensuing dialogue produced several striking statements that clearly indicated that sanskritized hindi had not yet become a symbol of hindu as opposed to indo - persian culture. ironically, this situation existed among students of


city the standard of all india, by writing books which should attract the attention and form the taste of all their fellow countrymen. ( nwp educ rpt 1846 – 1847 : 32 ) ballantyne ' s uncannily accurate vision of the future of hindi struck no responsive chord in the thoughts or feelings of his students. the disappearance of hindi into urdu aroused no sense of alarm in these hindi scholars of sanskrit, nor did they see any necessary connection between being hindu and speaking hindi. moreover, since the very term " hindi " struck them as vague and ambiguous, no standard having emerged, we may tentatively conclude that these students would have included the regional and local dialects, the vehicles of popular culture, under this rubric. ballantyne, on the other hand, clearly intended to separate hindi from the confused mass of popular dialects, to reject any conceivable influence of villagers on " the national language, " and to define and affirm hindi in terms of a standardized and sanskritized language created by a vernacular elite. a decade before ballantyne ' s encounter with his students, english and various local vernaculars had replaced persian in british india. in north india, with one or two exceptions, this meant that urdu in modified form of the persian script became the official vernacular. the original purpose of replacing persian had been to make the official proceedings of courts and offices intelligible to the people at large ; thus in 1830 the court of directors of the east india company had intoned that " it is easier for the judge to acquire the language of the people than for the people to acquire the language of the judge " ( malaviya 1897 : 497 ), overlooking or ignoring the fact that the great bulk of the population had no acquaintance with either spoken or written urdu. very soon, however, the excessive persianization of the new court - language of north india made a mockery of the supposed reason for which the change had been made. as early as 1836, for example, the sadar board of revenue of the north - western provinces ( n. w. p. ) had warned division commissioners that the replacement of persian by urdu did not mean " the mere substitution of hindee verbs and affixes, while the words and idiom remain exclusively persian " ( nwp lt - gov prgs sbrd 19 july to 2 august 1836 : range 221, volume 77, number 52 ). yet nearly two decades later, exactly this had happened, for the then lieutenant - governor of the n. w. p.


and muslim camps must be dated much earlier than is commonly supposed " ( bayly 1983 : 455 ). similarly, as we shall see, considerable evidence indicates that the potential for linguistic controversy stretched back to the early nineteenth century and before. we must ask, then, what influences kindled underlying differences into open conflict in the 1860s. in general, the pace of economic and social development in the province quickened after the rebellion of 1857 in a wide variety of ways ( see bayly 1983 : 427 – 40 ). most important for our purposes, however, was the rapid post - rebellion expansion of the three closely related areas of government service, education, and publication ( all discussed below ). each of these institutionalized the most refractory difference between hindi and urdu — script — and each became an arena of competition in a mutually reinforcing and ever - expanding spiral. definition against external rivals : the hindi - urdu controversy the hindi - urdu controversy, as the long and heated exchange of opinions between opposing supporters of hindi and urdu came to be known, began in the 1860s and continued right up to independence. confined largely to u. p. in the nineteenth century, the controversy gradually assumed national proportions in the twentieth. on both the provincial and the national level, a major portion of the debate focused on the question of the proper language and script for government courts and offices. the center of the hindi side of the controversy lay in the eastern districts of the province and especially in the cities of banaras and allahabad. the themes announced early in the controversy appeared again and again with wearying consistency. the protagonists of hindi argued : the bulk of the population used hindi ; the urdu script had a foreign origin, and also made court documents illegible, encouraged forgery, and fostered the use of difficult arabic and persian words ; the introduction of the nagari script into government courts and offices would give considerable impetus to the spread of education by enhancing the prospects for public service ; and experienced hindi scribes could write just as fast as their urdu counterparts. the supporters of urdu maintained : even the inhabitants of remote villages spoke urdu fluently ; the urdu language had originated in india even though its script may have come from outside ; any script could lend itself to forgery ; the numerous dialects of hindi lacked standardization ; and hindi had an impoverished vocabulary, especially in scientific and technical terms. one of the most often repeated arguments for hindi appeared in blunt numerical terms, where speakers were identified by religious community. an 1873 issue of the kavi vachan such


lacked standardization ; and hindi had an impoverished vocabulary, especially in scientific and technical terms. one of the most often repeated arguments for hindi appeared in blunt numerical terms, where speakers were identified by religious community. an 1873 issue of the kavi vachan sucha [ * ], a hindi newspaper of banaras, argued that the government ' s duty lay in yielding to the demand of the general public for the introduction of hindi. although the muslims might suffer from the change, they constituted only a minority of the population, and the interests of the few always had to yield to those of the many ( nwp & o svn 1873 : 528 ). such arguments, of course, ignored the fact that the great bulk of the population used nonliterary regional and local dialects, and not the sanskritized hindi and persianized urdu of the vernacular elite. throughout the controversy the participants tended to identify language and religion. in 1868, babu shiv prasad, a prominent advocate of the nagari script, castigated british language policy, " which thrusts a semitic element into the bosoms of hindus and alienates them from their aryan speech... and... which is now trying to turn all the hindus into semi - muhammadans and destroy our hindu nationality " ( prasad 1868 : 5 – 6 ). professor raj kumar sarvadhikari, appearing before the hunter education commission in 1882, remarked that in awadh " urdu is the dialect of the muhammadan inhabitants and hindi of the hindus " ( educ comm rpt nwp & o : 462 ). conversely, in 1900, a correspondent of the punjab observer expressed fears that the recent decision of the provincial government to recognize the nagari script would eventually lead to the abolition of urdu, which would in turn cause muslim boys to become hindu in thought and expression ( khan 1900 : 79 ). from the very beginning the different parties to the debate consistently confused the names for language and script. " hindi, " " hindi character, " " nagari, " and " nagari character " seemed interchangeable, as did " persian, " " persian character, " and " urdu. " sir george grierson, author of the massive linguistic survey of india, remarked that " these fanatics have confused alphabet with language. they say because a thing is written in deva - nagari [ sic ] therefore it is hindi, the language of the hindus, and because a thing is written in the persian character therefore it is urdu, the language of the musalman


language. they say because a thing is written in deva - nagari [ sic ] therefore it is hindi, the language of the hindus, and because a thing is written in the persian character therefore it is urdu, the language of the musalmans " ( grierson 1903 – 1928, vol. 9, part 1, xiv, 49 ). yet script was the critical issue. more than any other linguistic fact, the radically different nature of the two scripts rendered any solution to the hindi - urdu controversy intractable. while the grammars of hindi and urdu, derived from the regional dialect of khari [ * ] boli [ * ], were almost identical, and while the vocabularies of the two on the everyday level of discourse overlapped considerably, the two scripts focused and heightened the differences between the hindu and the indo - persian cultures. like different channels to different cultural reservoirs, deliberately opened, they allowed the influence of sanskrit, on the one hand, and of arabic and persian, on the other, to pour separately into hindi and urdu, bypassing the existing mixture of indo - persian culture. the results of this artificial irrigation, highly sanskritized hindi and highly persianized urdu, not only served to distinguish the rival hindu and indo - muslim cultures from each other, but also sharply differentiated both from the surrounding ocean of popular culture. definition against internal rivals : hindustani, braj, and kaithi the processes of separation and rejection, and of definition and affirmation, occurred not only between hindi and urdu, but also within the world of hindi itself. considerable controversy took place among hindi supporters over the question of the proper style for literary works. whatever the merits or demerits of the various styles current among hindi authors, however, the reading public showed a definite preference for a simple style. the most popular author of the period, devki nandan khatri ( 1861 – 1913 ), wrote in a clear and readable hindi that made ample use of common arabic and persian words. his two best - known series of novels, chandrakanta and chandrakanta santati, which he started writing in 1888, won him fame and fortune. within ten years he had earned enough to found his own press in his native city of banaras. for a few years khatri became a member of the nps, but found the atmosphere there uncongenial. from the viewpoint of the sabha, although khatri ' s works ( published in the nagari script ) had won more readers than


few years khatri became a member of the nps, but found the atmosphere there uncongenial. from the viewpoint of the sabha, although khatri ' s works ( published in the nagari script ) had won more readers than any other author ( up admin rpt 1914 – 1915 : 72 ), his style did not deserve to be considered literary hindi, but rather only merited the designation " hindustani, " a vehicle fit merely for light and frothy creations and too close to urdu to be respectable ( r. c. shukla 1968 : 476 – 77 ). in the nps the whole vexed question of the proper style for hindi came to a head in a controversy between the sabha and one of its own officers, pandit lakshmi shankar mishra, who served as president from 1894 until his resignation in 1902. mishra possessed impeccable credentials : he held a high position in the provincial educational department, he had made efforts for the increased use of hindi in government schools, and he had published in hindi on the subject of science before most of his fellow scholars. the heart of the dispute appeared in a letter sent by mishra to the provincial text - book committee at the time of his resignation. after speaking of a " widening gulf " between hindi and urdu, mishra went on to say : as the grammer of both urdu and hindi is identical, they should not be considered as separate languages, and hence for ordinary purposes, in such books as are not technical and which are intended for the common people, [ an ] attempt should be made to assimilate the two forms into one language, which may be called hindustani, and may be written either in the persian script or the nagari character. ( nps ann rpt 1894 : 35 – 36, 40 41 ; up educ progs may 1903 : 31 – 32 ) yet the raison d ' etre of the sabha was the distinct and separate existence of hindi vis - a - vis urdu. any attempt to combine them or to reduce or eliminate their differences undermined the whole purpose of the organization. views such as those put forth by pandit mishra must have been anathema to the other leaders of the sabha, and they could hardly tolerate the open expression of such opinions by their own chief officer. the leaders of the sabha felt obliged both to differentiate their language and script from others and to reject any actual or potential rivals. in sanskrit plays, characters of loftier social rank speak sanskrit, while those of lower ranks


opinions by their own chief officer. the leaders of the sabha felt obliged both to differentiate their language and script from others and to reject any actual or potential rivals. in sanskrit plays, characters of loftier social rank speak sanskrit, while those of lower ranks speak lesser languages. similarly, the sabha gave great importance to preserving the sanskritic purity of an important cultural symbol. in this way, the organization consciously chose to maintain linguistic contact with hindu vernacular elites in other areas of india, rather than encourage popular culture and enlist the support of the masses of its own area ( see das 1957 : 251 – 52 ). the rejection of braj bhasha in its first annual report the sabha presented a picture of the rise and development of hindi literature which showed a basic ambiguity ( nps ann rpt 1894 : 1 – 3 ). while claiming braj bhasha and other literary dialects as part of hindi literature in the distant past, when speaking of the origins of hindi prose in the nineteenth century, the sabha clearly meant only khari [ * ] boli [ * ] hindi. the sabha ' s use of the term " hindi " expanded while moving toward the " glorious " past and contracted while moving toward the present. behind the sabha ' s attitude lay the fact that braj bhasha remained the most important medium of " hindi " poetry in large areas of north india until the 1920s. ironically, several of the leading braj poets lived in banaras, some of whom joined the sabha, and even bharatendu harishchandra, widely acclaimed as the father of modern hindi, had written most of his poetry in braj. many members of the sabha felt that this situation presented a great obstacle to the progress of hindi ; the language of prose and poetry ought to be the same. instead, most prose appeared in khari boli hindi and most poetry in braj bhasha or awadhi. even primary - level hindi school books used braj for their poetic selections, wrote shyam sundar das ( one of the founders of the nps ) in 1901, urging the use of khari boli poetry instead ( misra 1956 : 209 ). nevertheless, braj remained the language of poetry in hindi school books for more than another decade ( up svn 1913 : 1254 ). years earlier the opening salvo of a controversy between the advocates of braj bhasha and those of khari boli had appeared in a work entitled khari boli ka padya ( khari boli prose )


: 1254 ). years earlier the opening salvo of a controversy between the advocates of braj bhasha and those of khari boli had appeared in a work entitled khari boli ka padya ( khari boli prose ) by ayodhya prasad khatri, a resident of bihar. khatri published and distributed his book at his own expense to scores of well - known hindi supporters. he hoped to persuade urdu poets to use the nagari script, and hindi poets to use khari [ * ] boli [ * ]. he wished all concerned to meet on the common ground of khari boli written in the nagari script ( misra 1956 : 158, 179 ). although khatri ' s efforts met with little success, they did serve to touch off a vigorous debate between two noted hindi supporters in the pages of hindustan, the province ' s only hindi daily at the time. shridhar pathak, the champion of khari boli, had earned a reputation in both of the rival literary dialects and had authored the first poem of any importance in modern khari boli hindi in 1886, only a year before the publication of khatri ' s book. radha charan goswami, the defender of the opposing literary dialect, edited a hindi newspaper in brindaban in the heart of the braj area ( r. c. shukla 1968 : 436, 559 ). he argued khari boli and braj bhasha were one language ; no poetry worthy of the name had appeared in khari boli ; khari boli did not allow the use of the best hindi metrical forms ; people over a wide area understood braj ; and poetry and prose could never use the same language. most important, goswami claimed that should poets accept khari boli, as khatri had suggested, their efforts would only serve to spread urdu. pathak countered that khari boli and braj were two languages ; the future possibilities for khari boli poetry were great ; khari boli did allow the use of a wide variety of metrical forms ; many more people understood khari boli than braj ; and poetry and prose could and should use the same language. although pathak did not reply directly to goswami ' s most important charge, unlike khatri he neither spoke of hindi and urdu as the same nor excluded braj bhasha from the realm of hindi poetry ( misra 1956 : 175 –


pathak did not reply directly to goswami ' s most important charge, unlike khatri he neither spoke of hindi and urdu as the same nor excluded braj bhasha from the realm of hindi poetry ( misra 1956 : 175 – 82 ). goswami had pinpointed an important issue, namely, khari boli poetry seemed suspect to many hindi supporters because almost all of its recent creations were in persianized urdu. the real answer to goswami ' s imputation appeared in the work of mahavir prasad dwivedi, editor of saraswati, the most influential periodical in the hindi literary world in the first two decades of the twentieth century. dwivedi used sanskrit words and metrical forms in his own khari boli poetry and encouraged the same approach in those who wrote for his journal ( misra 1956 : 211 ; r. c. shukla 1968 : 583 ). after dwivedi, no one could seriously oppose khari boli hindi poetry on the grounds that this would further the spread of urdu. dwivedi had succeeded in sanskritizing the new poetic medium. more than twenty years later the conveners of the first hindi sahitya sammelan in banaras in 1910 called on pathak and goswami to come forward and reiterate their previous arguments. the situation had changed, for now the question had become not whether khari boli should become a medium of hindi poetry, but rather to what extent braj bhasha should remain one ( misra 1956 : 213 – 24 ). in the second session of the sammelan a year later in allahabad, one advocate of khari [ * ] boli [ * ] had harsh words for braj. badrinath bhatt, later to become professor of hindi at lucknow university, told his listeners that in an age when india needed men, the cloying influence of braj had turned indians into eunuchs. during the fifth meeting of the sammelan in 1914, the prominent hindi poet maithili sharan gupta, a protege of dwivedi, spoke even blunter words. he called the supporters of braj bhasha enemies of india ' s national language, khari boli hindi ( misra 1956 : 225, 228 – 29 ). part of the process of defining " hindi, " then, involved affirming the earlier literary heritage of other regional dialects in the past, but rejecting literary creations in the same


boli hindi ( misra 1956 : 225, 228 – 29 ). part of the process of defining " hindi, " then, involved affirming the earlier literary heritage of other regional dialects in the past, but rejecting literary creations in the same dialects in the present. because they added lustre to hindi ' s past, written traditions in these dialects at least merited attention. on the other hand, because they were presumably considered too vulgar and unrefined, oral traditions, such as the biraha [ * ] of the ahirs of the bhojpuri - speaking area, received no notice. thus the records of the nps ( for at least the first twenty years ) make no mention of bhojpuri, although its speakers constitute the great majority in banaras and environs. nor do they mention the reputed creator of biraha, bihari lal yadav ( 1857 – 1926 ) ( see chapter 3 ). nagari yes, kaithi no script as well as language was subject to these internecine conflicts. the kaithi script, one of several cursive forms of nagari used by merchant castes, led a precarious existence in the official infrastructure of british india, though surviving and even thriving in more ordinary surroundings. with a few notable exceptions, british officialdom in the province opposed the use of kaithi in courts, offices, and schools, even though this script had much greater popularity than nagari, especially in the eastern districts. officials in the neighboring province of bihar, however, displayed very different attitudes. believing kaithi to be the most widespread script in the province, as evidenced by the flourishing condition of the indigenous schools teaching it, the government ordered the creation of a font of kaithi type, and by 1881 had prescribed kaithi for primary vernacular schools. kaithi texts soon began to appear, and the schools and courts of bihar continued to use the script until at least 1913 ( see king 1974 : 162 – 64, 166 – 70 ). these policies met with bitter criticism from dr. rajendralal mitra, a distinguished bengali educator, in his testimony before the hunter education commission. he noted that hindi textbooks for bihar schools printed in nagari had previously come from banaras, and that for every textbook bihar could produce, the u. p. could produce a hundred. this flow of books had kept the people of bihar linguistically united with their fellow hindus to the west. the use of kaithi, on the other hand, would eventually deprive


could produce, the u. p. could produce a hundred. this flow of books had kept the people of bihar linguistically united with their fellow hindus to the west. the use of kaithi, on the other hand, would eventually deprive biharis not only of the literature created by their ancestors but also of that more recently created by their kinsmen in the u. p. ( educ comm rpt bengal 1884 : 334 ). mitra spoke of kaithi as the nps had written about hindustani : kaithi threatened the linguistic and religious identity of bihari hindus. agreeing with mitra, the nps also rejected nagari ' s rival. in its ninth year the sabha, at the suggestion of a member, considered the question of improving kaithi ' s shortcomings. after some deliberation, the sabha declared : in the opinion of the sabha there are no letters more excellent than the nagari, and in its opinion it is useful and proper for the aryan languages of india to be written only in their nagari letters. for this reason the sabha cannot aid in any way in promoting the progress of kaithi letters, nor can it display any enthusiasm for this. ( nps ann rpt 1903 : 14 – 15 ) although the sabha had earlier expressed the need for a shorthand system for hindi, it apparently never considered the possibilities of kaithi for this ( nps ann rpt 1895 : 10 ; nps ann rpt 1899 : 20 ; nps ann rpt 1900 : 21 – 22 ). moreover, the sabha made numerous and mostly unsuccessful attempts to establish nagari court writers in every district of the province, largely because the organization ignored the fact that almost no writers knew nagari, especially in the eastern districts, though many knew kaithi, and the indigenous schools teaching this script were thriving. contemporary sources indicate that other hindi supporters thought kaithi to be as illegible and ambiguous as the urdu script, no easier or more widely used than nagari, and unsuitable as a medium of education. certainly kaithi lacked the auspicious association with sanskrit possessed by nagari ; rejecting kaithi meant indirectly affirming hindi ' s close connection with sanskrit. to hindi supporters, rejecting kaithi also meant separating hindi and nagari from a more popular but lower level of culture. thus, a writer in a 1900 issue of the hindi newspaper bharat jiwan of banaras argued that those hindu trading classes who used the muria script ( another cursive form of nagari


a more popular but lower level of culture. thus, a writer in a 1900 issue of the hindi newspaper bharat jiwan of banaras argued that those hindu trading classes who used the muria script ( another cursive form of nagari similar to kaithi ) could not hope to better their condition until they received their education through the nagari script ( nwp & o svn 1900 : 183 ). moreover, a strong association existed between kaithi and rural life : government policy in awadh allowed, and in bihar encouraged, the widespread use of kaithi by patwari s or village record keepers ( educ comm rpt bengal 1884 : 46 – 47 ; nwp & o educ rpt 1886 – 1887 : 77 – 78 ; oudh educ rpt 1873 – 1874 : 150 ). definition through print : the growth of publications in 1868 several provincial governments began to issue quarterly statements of books and periodicals published or printed in the territories under their jurisdictions. although these statements had several short - comings, especially in their earlier years, they constitute by far the most complete and detailed source for the publishing history of india during our period. according to these records, by 1914 banaras had become the major center for hindu - heritage languages, well ahead of allahabad in hindi and in sanskrit - hindi publications, and far ahead of any other center in sanskrit, while lucknow led in islamic - heritage - language publications. moreover, while the number of urdu publications had grown substantially in both relative and absolute terms between 1868 and 1914, the number of hindi publications had grown even more rapidly, so that the latter outnumbered the former by nearly three to one ( see table 6. 1 ). up to 1900 the ratio between hindi and urdu publications had remained roughly constant, about fourteen or fifteen books in hindi for every ten in urdu. by 1914, however, the ratio had changed dramatically to nearly twenty - seven to ten, almost double the previous ratio. it is not coincidence that this literary expansion accompanied an increasing articulation of the differences between hindi and urdu. the british - sponsored development of the lower levels of education beginning at about mid - century played a crucial role in this expansion. the new educational system demanded hundreds of thousands of hindi texts in the nagari script and created thousands of career opportunities that depended on literacy in hindi. the government ' s recognition of hindi and urdu as separate subjects in its schools as early as the 1850s, and the printing of textbooks in both the nagari and the urdu script, only heightened existing differences


of career opportunities that depended on literacy in hindi. the government ' s recognition of hindi and urdu as separate subjects in its schools as early as the 1850s, and the printing of textbooks in both the nagari and the urdu script, only heightened existing differences and helped to create opposing vernacular elites. in the nearly five decades between 1868 and 1914 several other trends emerged. publications in the classical islamic - heritage languages of arabic and persian slowly diminished, with the most rapid decline occurring in the period 1900 – 1914. arabic, comprising about 2 – 3 percent of total publications previously, dropped to 0. 1 percent, while persian publications went from about 10 percent to less than 1 percent. hindu - heritage languages, on the other hand, after remaining on roughly equal terms with islamic - heritage languages in the nineteenth century, showed the same striking increase as hindi in the first years of the twentieth century, especially dual - language works in sanskrit - hindi, suggesting a trend toward the popularization of sanskrit texts. ( see also the discussion of the publishing history of the awadhi manas [ * ] in chapter 1. ) the geographical distribution of publication in various languages showed striking shifts during the same period. the proportion of hindi works in the total output of the eastern part of the province remained practically constant ( 56 – 57 percent ), as did the proportion of urdu works ( about 29 percent ) in the west. after 1900, however, the proportion of urdu works in the east fell to about half the former level, while that of hindi works in the west rose to almost twice the previous level. in short, it was as if an increasing tide of hindi works had pushed a diminishing flow of urdu works back into the western part of the province. on the level of the vernacular elite, the differences between hindi and urdu had become greater. at the same time, the gap between hindi and urdu, on the one hand, and the regional dialects, on the other, had widened. the who of hindi supporters : patterns in education and employment the vernaculars and education in the mid - 1840s the government of the n. w. p. conducted a survey of educational institutions, which presented a clear picture of the social backgrounds of students and teachers in persian, hindi, arabic, and sanskrit schools in many districts. the distribution of students and teachers in the persian and hindi schools ( the great majority of the total ) of agra district fairly represented the general situation in other districts. muslims and kayasths composed the great majority of teachers and students of persian, and brahmins


of students and teachers in the persian and hindi schools ( the great majority of the total ) of agra district fairly represented the general situation in other districts. muslims and kayasths composed the great majority of teachers and students of persian, and brahmins, baniyas, and rajputs, of hindi. moreover, all but a handful of muslims studied persian, while most hindus ( with the notable exception of kayasths ) studied hindi ( nwp educ rpt 1844 – 1845 : appendix i ). another aspect of language study patterns appears in statistics for government schools in 1859 – 60. in the western part of the province students learning islamic - heritage languages were a slight majority, while in the central and eastern parts those learning hindu - heritage languages were large majorities ( nwp educ rpt 1859 – 1860 : appendix a, 2 – 62 ). similar figures for awadh in 1869 show a pattern very close to that of the western n. w. p., with slightly more than half the students learning islamic - heritage languages, a little more than a third, hindu - heritage languages, and the remainder, english ( oudh educ rpt 1868 – 1869 : appendix a ). in both awadh and the n. w. p. another pattern appeared in education statistics during this period : the higher the level of education, the greater the proportion of students taking islamic - heritage languages and english, and the smaller the proportion taking hindu - heritage languages ( see king 1974 : 84 – 91 ). when we put these patterns together, a picture emerges which correlates quite well with the distribution of hindi and urdu publications discussed above : hindi in a subordinate position in government institutions, contrasted with urdu well entrenched in the higher reaches of education and administration ; hindi supported by castes associated with sanskrit learning and resistance to muslim rule in the past, versus urdu upheld by muslims and those hindu castes ( chiefly kayasths ) with a vested interest in indo - persian culture ; hindi whose stronghold lay in the eastern part of the province where the hindu merchant tradition was more powerful vis - a - vis urdu, whose strength lay in awadh and the western part of the province where the indo - persian service tradition was more dominant ( bayly 1983 ) ; and finally, hindi and urdu studied almost entirely by high - caste hindus and muslims. the vernaculars and employment in 1877 the provincial government first prescribed a successful performance in either the middle class vernacular or the middle class anglo - vernacular examination as a qualification for government service.


hindi and urdu studied almost entirely by high - caste hindus and muslims. the vernaculars and employment in 1877 the provincial government first prescribed a successful performance in either the middle class vernacular or the middle class anglo - vernacular examination as a qualification for government service. by the mid - 1880s the sizable increase in the numbers of candidates showed that the order had begun to take effect. lists of those passing the examinations were sent to each collector or deputy commissioner, and in many districts vacancies were filled from them. by the late 1880s these examinations had come to be the educational event of greatest interest to many hopefuls for government service. their popularity began to wane toward the end of the century, however, as graduates with higher qualifications offered increasing competition. the statistics for these two examinations plainly show the dominance of certain castes, especially kayasths, in the struggle for government service. they also show that the chief rivals of the kayasths and muslims were high - caste hindus, namely, brahmins, rajputs, khatris, and baniyas ( nwp & o educ rpt 1885 – 1886 : orders of government, 6 ; nwp & o educ rpt 1886 – 1887 : 15 – 17, 19 ; king 1974 : 186 – 94 ). the 1877 order had a significant effect on the numbers of candidates opting to study one or the other of the two vernaculars. in the twenty - year period between 1875 and 1895 the proportions of candidates taking hindi and urdu reversed themselves. in the mid - 1870s hindi candidates accounted for more than three - quarters of those taking the examinations ; by 1887 urdu candidates made up more than three - quarters of the total, and this ratio remained nearly the same for the rest of the century ( malaviya 1897 : 31 ). the reason for this shift was clear : as a result of the 1877 orders, the candidates chiefly valued the examinations as a means to government service, and naturally preferred to take them in the vernacular language that dominated in courts and offices. let us imagine a picture based on the preceding data. a pair of gates labeled vernacular middle and anglo - vernacular middle examinations stands before us. through them pours a crowd of thousands, moving in the direction of more distant gates. a small portion of the crowd, mainly muslims and kayasths, succeeds in passing through one of these more distant gates, labeled subordinate judicial and executive services, but many others are turned aside. among these, numbers of brahmins, rajputs, khatris, and baniya


and kayasths, succeeds in passing through one of these more distant gates, labeled subordinate judicial and executive services, but many others are turned aside. among these, numbers of brahmins, rajputs, khatris, and baniyas, as well as a few muslims, succeed in crossing the portals of a large gate labeled educational department. others, among them many muslims, manage to enter a smaller gate labeled police department. some of the remaining crowd enter through other, smaller gates, but many fail to pass through any gate and straggle off into the surrounding countryside. here live millions unacquainted with either sanskritized hindi or persianized urdu who come from the lower levels of hindu and muslim society — ahirs, chamars, bhangis, and many others. this fanciful portrait is meant to suggest that many non - kayasth hindus found that their best hope for government service lay in the newer educational department rather than in the older, more presti - gious, and more remunerative revenue or judicial departments. from the ranks of such hindus came many leaders of the hindi movement. the three founders of the nps, for example, included a brahmin, a rajput, and a khatri ; all three made their careers in education — two in government service, and one in both government and private service. our portrait also suggests that the great majority of the population, the repository of popular culture, did not share the concerns of the vernacular elite. yet another aspect of the relationship between education, language, and employment appeared in the results of an investigation ordered by the provincial lieutenant - governor in may 1900, a month after he had issued a resolution ostensibly granting equal status to the two vernacular languages and scripts. this investigation, which included the courts and offices of the judicial and revenue departments from the highest to the lowest level in each district, aimed at determining the respective numbers of hindu and muslim clerks familiar with hindi or urdu or both ( nwp & o gen admin progs october 1900 : 111, 119, 122 – 24 ). the results showed that most hindus knew at least some hindi, and even more knew at least some urdu. on the other hand, fewer than half of the muslims knew at least some hindi, while all knew at least some urdu. to put matters differently, almost all the hindus knew urdu well, and the majority knew hindi well too. while almost all the muslims knew urdu well, only a small minority knew hindi well. contemporary observers suggested with


while all knew at least some urdu. to put matters differently, almost all the hindus knew urdu well, and the majority knew hindi well too. while almost all the muslims knew urdu well, only a small minority knew hindi well. contemporary observers suggested with good reason that the results were very likely skewed in favor of hindi. even so, the investigation clearly indicated that muslims had a strong vested interest in urdu, the dominant language of the courts and offices, while hindus, though rivaling muslims in urdu, could easily turn to hindi, where they far outstripped muslims. in sum, muslims stood to lose much more from any change than did hindus. for the thousands of hindus and muslims educated in the vernaculars — that is, those who constituted the vernacular elite — language identity and economic well - being were bound together inseparably, a fact that intensified the rivalry between supporters of hindi and urdu. the role of voluntary organizations : the nagari pracharini sabha if pandit gauri datta had expressed himself visually, his play might have taken the form of the picture that appeared in the november 1902 issue of saraswati ( r. k. das 1902 : 359 : see figure 14 ). on the left stood a muslim prostitute, decked out in all the finery of her profession. on the right, facing her rival, sat a hindu matron, modestly clothed in an ordinary sari. the caption " hindi - urdu " and the verses below made it clear that on the left stood urdu personified and on the right sat hindi. the author of the verses was radha krishna das, a member of one of the great merchant families of banaras, a relative of bharatendu harishchandra, and the first president of the nagari [ * ] pracharini [ * ] sabha [ * ] of banaras. as the nexus of relationships embodied in the picture suggests, the sabha both reflected and contributed to the process of change discussed above. founded in 1893 by schoolboys of queen ' s college in banaras, the sabha soon acquired influential patrons such as madan mohan malaviya, played the leading role in mobilizing support for the resolution of may 1900, gave prizes for nagari handwriting in schools, granted awards for hindi literature, carried out extensive searches for old hindi manuscripts and published the results, started two influential journals ( the nagari pracharini patrika and saraswati ), attracted a membership of many hundreds, received donations of thousands


granted awards for hindi literature, carried out extensive searches for old hindi manuscripts and published the results, started two influential journals ( the nagari pracharini patrika and saraswati ), attracted a membership of many hundreds, received donations of thousands of rupees, founded the hindi sahitya sammelan of allahabad, constructed a major headquarters building, published many important works ( including grammars and dictionaries ), and lobbied the provincial text book committee and other government organizations for nagari and hindi ( see king 1974 : 243 – 377, 455 – 79 ). through all these activities, the sabha played the leading role in affirming and defining hindi during our period, a hindi separate and distinct from urdu, other literary dialects, hindustani, and the popular culture of oral tradition. the social and geographic origins of the early membership of the sabha, not surprisingly, showed patterns that strongly correlated with the patterns of publication, education, and employment we have already examined. brahmins, khatris, rajputs, and baniyas [ * ] ( mainly agarwals ) accounted for more than two thirds of the total membership of 84 in 1894. in the same year provincial residents composed 80 percent of the membership, and residents of banaras 56 percent. the eastern portion of the province provided 68 percent of the membership, awadh and the western portion only 6 percent each. the remainder of the membership came from rajasthan, punjab, the central provinces and central india, bihar, and bengal ( king 1974 : 251 – 68 ). by 1914, the peak year before a prolonged decline in membership, the proportions had shifted. the province had dropped to 64 percent and banaras to 16 percent of the total of 1, 368 members, though the leadership remained firmly in the hands of the same banaras castes. while the share of the eastern portion of the province fell to about 33 percent, that of the western part rose to 20 percent, and that of awadh to 12 percent, mostly in the two or three years before 1914. rajasthan, the central provinces and central india, and bihar made up 23 per - cent. the sabha remained an almost entirely north india and hindu organization throughout our period : the first of a handful of south indians joined in 1908, and only tiny numbers of muslims ever became members ( king 1974 : 445 – 51 ). while much of the financial support for the sabha came from membership donations and the sale of publications, especially school textbooks, a


of south indians joined in 1908, and only tiny numbers of muslims ever became members ( king 1974 : 445 – 51 ). while much of the financial support for the sabha came from membership donations and the sale of publications, especially school textbooks, a significant portion came from large donors, many of whom were princes. in the first thirty years the organization ' s twenty largest donors contributed close to rs. 100, 000, or approximately 30 percent of the total income. twelve of these donors were princes, seven of whom became official patrons of the sabha, namely, the maharajas of gwalior, rewah, baroda, bikaner, chatrapur, alwar, and banaras ( king 1974 : 452 – 54, 456 – 59 ). whereas the sabha ' s first decade brought significant successes in both political and literary endeavors, the second decade saw continuing progress in the latter but little or no advance in the former. from about 1914 on, the sabha devoted most of its energies and funds to literary efforts and turned away from political activities. so politically conservative did the organization become that the government even allowed the sabha to keep proscribed books. in the decades to come, not the sabha but the hindi sahitya sammelan played the preeminent political role on both the provincial and the national level in the promotion of hindi and the nagari script. the sabha remained content to embellish hindi literature. new identities — the terminus ad quem the picture in saraswati provides a convenient departure point for summarizing, analyzing, and speculating about what we have learned of the hindi movement. by the early twentieth century, as the distance between the two women suggests, the indo - persian and hindu cultures had become separate clusters of symbols for many members of what we have called the vernacular elite. from the more extreme hindu view - point, the two figures stood for virtue versus vice ; from the more extreme muslim viewpoint, for barbarism versus refinement ( see rahmat - ullah 1900 ). as one scholar of north india has suggested, various symbols of communal identity gradually clustered around the master symbol of religion in a process designated as " multi - symbol congruence " ( brass 1974 ). we need not restrict ourselves to models from western sources to analyze the hindi movement, however, for the process of linguistic " purification " has a venerable social and cultural history in india. just as certain standards for social behavior, especially for those castes wishing to elevate their position in the


from western sources to analyze the hindi movement, however, for the process of linguistic " purification " has a venerable social and cultural history in india. just as certain standards for social behavior, especially for those castes wishing to elevate their position in the hierarchy, have been embodied in brahmins for many centuries, so standards for language behavior have resided in sanskrit, whose very name means " perfected. " thus we can explain much of the hindi movement as a process of " sanskritization " in which the excellence of a language was judged by the degree to which it incorporated the standards of sanskrit. at the same time, we must not overlook the influence of english, which provided a not necessarily antithetical model of a modern language. the supporters of hindi could choose or reject, and they did ; roman letters proved unacceptable, while dictionaries of scientific terms were deemed acceptable. through the processes of separation and rejection hindi supporters determined what hindi was not and what hindi should not be. through the more positive processes of affirmation and definition they decided what hindi was and what it should be. hindi was certainly not urdu ( separation ) nor should it be ( rejection ). on the other hand, hindi had descended from sanskrit ( definition ), something good for religious and cultural reasons ( affirmation ). these admittedly imprecise terms suggest the active approach of the vernacular elite to the creation of a new language style, what we might tentatively call the sanskritization of khari [ * ] boli [ * ] ( the common grammatical base of both hindi and urdu ). from this viewpoint we can argue that the rejection of hindustani, kaithi, and popular oral traditions rested primarily on their relatively " impure " natures as compared to a shuddh ( pure ) hindi. in the cases of braj bhasha and awadhi, however, such an explanation does not suffice. here more practical reasons seem to have prevailed : though both acted as bearers of a glorious literary tradition and parts of hindi ' s past, neither possessed the necessary characteristics for a potential national language. only sanskritized hindi, sharing the same grammatical base as the already widespread urdu, had both the necessary purity and practicality. while the vernacular elite played an active, not passive, role in the sanskritization of khari boli, they forged sanskritized hindi within arenas — the educational system, the press, the publishing industry, voluntary associations, and the government itself — largely introduced through british rule. this external framework displayed fundamental ambi


in the sanskritization of khari boli, they forged sanskritized hindi within arenas — the educational system, the press, the publishing industry, voluntary associations, and the government itself — largely introduced through british rule. this external framework displayed fundamental ambiguities, however : thus, a close study of the period reveals that british officials authored language policies with massive contradictions ( see, for example, king 1974 : 383 – 93 ) which exacerbated the very conflict they decried and left considerable room for the vernacular elite to maneuver. by the eve of world war i, then, a class ( the hindi vernacular elite ) had appeared in north india, especially in eastern u. p., whose commu - nity identity centered on shuddh hindi, hinduism, and an urban alliance of service and merchant interests. the harmonious working relationship between two leading members of the sabha, radha krishna das, merchant, and shyam sundar das, educator, beautifully illustrates this alliance. the intensity of the struggle with the urdu vernacular elite in the province expanded to the national level in the twentieth century. the emphasis on the purity of hindi widened the gap between hindi and urdu as well as between elite and popular culture. the final result came after independence, when hindi became one of the two official languages of india, and the only official language of the u. p., thus at last fulfilling the judgment of maharaja righteous - rule in pandit gauri datta ' s svang [ * ]. truly, queen nagari, born in sanskrit - rich banaras, ruled again.


understanding alcohol ’ s impact on your health table of contents a brightly colored cosmopolitan is the drink of choice for the glamorous characters in sex and the city. james bond depends on his famous martini — shaken, not stirred — to unwind with after confounding a villain. and what wedding concludes without a champagne toast? alcohol is part of our culture — it helps us celebrate and socialize, and it enhances our religious ceremonies. but drinking too much — on a single occasion or over time — can have serious consequences for our health. most americans recognize that drinking too much can lead to accidents and dependence. but that ’ s only part of the story. in addition to these serious problems, alcohol abuse can damage organs, weaken the immune system, and contribute to cancers. plus, much like smoking, alcohol affects different people differently. genes, environment, and even diet can play a role in whether you develop an alcohol - related disease. on the flip side, some people actually may benefit from drinking alcohol in small quantities. sound complicated? it sure can be. to stay healthy, and to decide what role alcohol should play in your life, you need accurate, up - to - date information. this brochure is designed to offer you guidance based on the latest research on alcohol ’ s effect on your health. a little goes a long way : know the amounts knowing how much alcohol constitutes a “ standard ” drink can help you determine how much you are drinking and understand the risks. one standard drink contains about 0. 6 fluid ounces or 14 grams of pure alcohol. in more familiar terms, the following amounts constitute one standard drink : - 12 fluid ounces of beer ( about 5 % alcohol ) - 8 to 9 fluid ounces of malt liquor ( about 7 % alcohol ) - 5 fluid ounces of table wine ( about 12 % alcohol ) - 1. 5 fluid ounces of hard liquor ( about 40 % alcohol ) research demonstrates “ low - risk ” drinking levels for men are no more than 4 drinks on any single day and no more than 14 drinks per week. for women, “ low - risk ” drinking levels are no more than three drinks on any single day and no more than seven drinks per week. to stay low - risk, you must keep within both the single - day and weekly limits. even within these limits, you can have problems if you drink too quickly, have health conditions, or are over age 65. older adults should have no more than three drinks on any day and no more than seven drinks


single - day and weekly limits. even within these limits, you can have problems if you drink too quickly, have health conditions, or are over age 65. older adults should have no more than three drinks on any day and no more than seven drinks per week. based on your health and how alcohol affects you, you may need to drink less or not at all. people who should abstain from alcohol completely include those who : - plan to drive a vehicle or operate machinery - are pregnant or trying to become pregnant - take medications that interact with alcohol - have a medical condition that alcohol can aggravate effects on the brain you ’ re chatting with friends at a party and a waitress comes around with glasses of champagne. you drink one, then another, maybe even a few more. before you realize it, you are laughing more loudly than usual and swaying as you walk. by the end of the evening, you are too slow to move out of the way of a waiter with a dessert tray and have trouble speaking clearly. the next morning, you wake up feeling dizzy and your head hurts. you may have a hard time remembering everything you did the night before. these reactions illustrate how quickly and dramatically alcohol affects the brain. the brain is an intricate maze of connections that keeps our physical and psychological processes running smoothly. disruption of any of these connections can affect how the brain works. alcohol also can have longer - lasting consequences for the brain — changing the way it looks and works and resulting in a range of problems. most people do not realize how extensively alcohol can affect the brain. but recognizing these potential consequences will help you make better decisions about what amount of alcohol is appropriate for you. what happens inside the brain? the brain ’ s structure is complex. it includes multiple systems that interact to support all of your body ’ s functions — from thinking to breathing to moving. these multiple brain systems communicate with each other through about a trillion tiny nerve cells called neurons. neurons in the brain translate information into electrical and chemical signals the brain can understand. they also send messages from the brain to the rest of the body. chemicals called neurotransmitters carry messages between the neurons. neurotransmitters can be very powerful. depending on the type and the amount of neurotransmitter, these chemicals can either intensify or minimize your body ’ s responses, your feelings, and your mood. the brain works to balance the neurotransmitters that speed things up with the ones that slow things down to keep your body operating


these chemicals can either intensify or minimize your body ’ s responses, your feelings, and your mood. the brain works to balance the neurotransmitters that speed things up with the ones that slow things down to keep your body operating at the right pace. alcohol can slow the pace of communication between neurotransmitters in the brain. discovering the brain changes there still is much we do not understand about how the brain works and how alcohol affects it. researchers are constantly discovering more about how alcohol interrupts communication pathways in the brain and changes brain structure, and the resulting effects on behavior and functioning. a variety of research methods broaden our understanding in different ways : - brain imaging – various imaging tools, including structural magnetic resonance imaging ( mri ), functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fmri ), diffusion tensor imaging ( dti ), and positron emission tomography ( pet ), are used to create pictures of the brain. mri and dti create images of brain structure, or what the brain looks like. fmri looks at brain function, or what the brain is doing. it can detect changes in brain activity. pet scans look at changes in neurotransmitter function. all of these imaging techniques are useful to track changes in the alcoholic brain. for example, they can show how an alcoholic brain changes immediately after drinking stops, and again after a long period of sobriety, to check for possible relapses. - psychological tests – researchers also use psychological tests to evaluate how alcohol - related brain changes affect mental functioning. these tests demonstrate how alcohol affects emotions and personality, as well as how it compromises learning and memory skills. - animal studies – testing the effect of alcohol on animals ’ brains helps researchers better understand how alcohol injures the human brain, and how abstinence can reverse this damage. defining the brain changes using brain imaging and psychological tests, researchers have identified the regions of the brain most vulnerable to alcohol ’ s effects. these include : - cerebellum – this area controls motor coordination. damage to the cerebellum results in a loss of balance and stumbling, and also may affect cognitive functions such as memory and emotional response. - limbic system – this complex brain system monitors a variety of tasks including memory and emotion. damage to this area impairs each of these functions. - cerebral cortex – our abilities to think, plan, behave intelligently, and interact socially stem from this brain region. in addition, this area connects the brain to the rest of


emotion. damage to this area impairs each of these functions. - cerebral cortex – our abilities to think, plan, behave intelligently, and interact socially stem from this brain region. in addition, this area connects the brain to the rest of the nervous system. changes and damage to this area impair the ability to solve problems, remember, and learn. alcohol shrinks and disturbs brain tissue heavy alcohol consumption — even on a single occasion — can throw the delicate balance of neurotransmitters off course. alcohol can cause your neurotransmitters to relay information too slowly, so you feel extremely drowsy. alcohol - related disruptions to the neurotransmitter balance also can trigger mood and behavioral changes, including depression, agitation, memory loss, and even seizures. long - term, heavy drinking causes alterations in the neurons, such as reductions in the size of brain cells. as a result of these and other changes, brain mass shrinks and the brain ’ s inner cavity grows bigger. these changes may affect a wide range of abilities, including motor coordination ; temperature regulation ; sleep ; mood ; and various cognitive functions, including learning and memory. one neurotransmitter particularly susceptible to even small amounts of alcohol is called glutamate. among other things, glutamate affects memory. researchers believe that alcohol interferes with glutamate action, and this may be what causes some people to temporarily “ black out, ” or forget much of what happened during a night of heavy drinking. alcohol also causes an increased release of serotonin, another neurotransmitter, which helps regulate emotional expression, and endorphins, which are natural substances that may spark feelings of relaxation and euphoria as intoxication sets in. researchers now understand that the brain tries to compensate for these disruptions. neurotransmitters adapt to create balance in the brain despite the presence of alcohol. but making these adaptations can have negative results, including building alcohol tolerance, developing alcohol dependence, and experiencing alcohol withdrawal symptoms. what factors make a difference? different people react differently to alcohol. that is because a variety of factors can influence your brain ’ s response to alcohol. these factors include : - how much and how often you drink – the more you drink, the more vulnerable your brain is. - your genetic background and family history of alcoholism – certain ethnic populations can have stronger reactions to alcohol, and children of alcoholics are more likely to become alcoholics themselves.


often you drink – the more you drink, the more vulnerable your brain is. - your genetic background and family history of alcoholism – certain ethnic populations can have stronger reactions to alcohol, and children of alcoholics are more likely to become alcoholics themselves. - your physical health – if you have liver or nutrition problems, the effects of alcohol will take longer to wear off. are brain problems reversible? abstaining from alcohol over several months to a year may allow structural brain changes to partially correct. abstinence also can help reverse negative effects on thinking skills, including problem - solving, memory, and attention. other alcohol - related brain conditions liver damage that affects the brain not only does alcoholic liver disease affect liver function itself, it also damages the brain. the liver breaks down alcohol — and the toxins it releases. during this process, alcohol ’ s byproducts damage liver cells. these damaged liver cells no longer function as well as they should and allow too much of these toxic substances, ammonia and manganese in particular, to travel to the brain. these substances proceed to damage brain cells, causing a serious and potentially fatal brain disorder known as hepatic encephalopathy. hepatic encephalopathy causes a range of problems, from less severe to fatal. these problems can include : - sleep disturbances - mood and personality changes - shortened attention span - coordination problems, including asterixis, which results in hand shaking or flapping doctors can help treat hepatic encephalopathy with compounds that lower blood ammonia concentrations and with devices that help remove harmful toxins from the blood. in some cases, people suffering from hepatic encephalopathy require a liver transplant, which generally helps improve brain function. fetal alcohol spectrum disorders alcohol can affect the brain at any stage of development — even before birth. fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are the full range of physical, learning, and behavioral problems, and other birth defects that result from prenatal alcohol exposure. the most serious of these disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome ( fas ), is characterized by abnormal facial features and is usually associated with severe reductions in brain function and overall growth. fas is the leading preventable birth defect associated with mental and behavioral impairment in the united states today. the brains of children with fas are smaller than normal and contain fewer cells, including neurons. these deficiencies result in life - long learning and behavioral problems. current research is investigating whether the brain function of children and adults with fas can be improved with


brains of children with fas are smaller than normal and contain fewer cells, including neurons. these deficiencies result in life - long learning and behavioral problems. current research is investigating whether the brain function of children and adults with fas can be improved with complex rehabilitative training, dietary supplements, or medications. effects on the heart americans know how prevalent heart disease is — about 1 in 12 of us suffer from it. what we don ’ t always recognize are the connections heart disease shares with alcohol. on the one hand, researchers have known for centuries that excessive alcohol consumption can damage the heart. drinking a lot over a long period of time or drinking too much on a single occasion can put your heart — and your life — at risk. on the other hand, researchers now understand that drinking moderate amounts of alcohol can protect the hearts of some people from the risks of coronary artery disease. deciding how much, if any, alcohol is right for you can be complicated. to make the best decision for yourself, you need to know the facts and then consult your physician. know the function : your cardiovascular system consists of your heart, blood vessels, and blood. this system works constantly — every second of your life — delivering oxygen and nutrients to your cells, and carrying away carbon dioxide and other unnecessary material. your heart drives this process. it is a muscle that contracts and relaxes over and over again, moving the blood along the necessary path. your heart beats about 100, 000 times each day, pumping the equivalent of 2, 000 gallons of blood throughout your body. the two sides, or chambers, of the heart receive blood and pump it back into the body. the right ventricle of the heart pumps blood into the lungs to exchange carbon dioxide from the cells for oxygen. the heart relaxes to allow this blood back into its left chamber. it then pumps the oxygen - rich blood to tissues and organs. blood passing through the kidneys allows the body to get rid of waste products. electrical signals keep the heart pumping continuously and at the appropriate rate to propel this routine. know the risks : long - term heavy drinking weakens the heart muscle, causing a condition called alcoholic cardiomyopathy. a weakened heart droops and stretches and cannot contract effectively. as a result, it cannot pump enough blood to sufficiently nourish the organs. in some cases, this blood flow shortage causes severe damage to organs and tissues. symptoms of cardiomyopathy include shortness of breath and other breathing difficulties, fatigue, swollen legs and feet,


pump enough blood to sufficiently nourish the organs. in some cases, this blood flow shortage causes severe damage to organs and tissues. symptoms of cardiomyopathy include shortness of breath and other breathing difficulties, fatigue, swollen legs and feet, and irregular heartbeat. it can even lead to heart failure. both binge drinking and long - term drinking can affect how quickly a heart beats. the heart depends on an internal pacemaker system to keep it pumping consistently and at the right speed. alcohol disturbs this pacemaker system and causes the heart to beat too rapidly, or irregularly. these heart rate abnormalities are called arrhythmias. two types of alcohol induced arrhythmias are : - atrial fibrillation – in this form of arrhythmia, the heart ’ s upper, or atrial, chambers shudder weakly but do not contract. blood can collect and even clot in these upper chambers. if a blood clot travels from the heart to the brain, a stroke can occur ; if it travels to other organs such as the lungs, an embolism, or blood vessel blockage, occurs. - ventricular tachycardia – this form of arrhythmia occurs in the heart ’ s lower, or ventricular, chambers. electrical signals travel throughout the heart ’ s muscles, triggering contractions that keep blood flowing at the right pace. alcohol - induced damage to heart muscle cells can cause these electrical impulses to circle through the ventricle too many times, causing too many contractions. the heart beats too quickly, and so does not fill up with enough blood between each beat. as a result, the rest of the body does not get enough blood. ventricular tachycardia causes dizziness, lightheadedness, unconsciousness, cardiac arrest, and even sudden death. drinking to excess on a particular occasion, especially when you generally don ’ t drink, can trigger either of these irregularities. in these cases, the problem is nicknamed “ holiday heart syndrome, ” because people who don ’ t usually drink may consume too much alcohol at parties during the holiday season. over the long - term, chronic drinking changes the course of electrical impulses that drive the heart ’ s beating, which creates arrhythmia. a stroke occurs when blood cannot reach the brain. in about 80 percent of strokes, a blood clot prevents blood flow to the brain. these are called ischemic strokes. sometimes, blood accumulates in the brain,