Concern over Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad

I arrived from Delhi yesterday evening. On Saturday evening I met Ashok Vajpayee and Om Thanvi for the proposed Agyeya Centenary Celebrations in Kolkata.

From the moment I shook hands with Ashok Vajpayee, the first thing he talked of was about Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad. I had written about the Parishad fiasco in this column earlier.

Vajpayee ji mentioned that he had met Suresh Neotia, Parishad's member Trustee during a meeting in Jaipur. He told me that he had, at the airport, given to Mr Suresh Neotia the full set of documents that was prepared by the staff of the Parishad and requested him to sort out the issue.

I, meanwhile, learnt from my sources in Kolkata that Suresh Neotia and Pratibha Agarwal had mediated with the staff representatives and sorted out the matter and that the doors of Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad would open soon.

I came to know from the media reports that the issue had been settled with the management agreeing to increase the staff salary by 45 per cent. Thanks to Suresh Neotia for taking the initiative and saving one of the great institutions in this part of the country, which is part of our heritage, from closing down.

During my conversation with Ashok Vajpayee and Om Thanvi, I learnt that there were rumours that other Trustee members and some of the management cadre weren't happy with this decision and they strongly felt that the management had not been able to present their point of view and position before the society. There is a strong feeling in certain sections of the management that the literary figures, who favoured the staff members, have only heard one part of the story.

I also spoke to Geetesh Sharma, an activist, who, while endorsing the fact that the staff demands were absolutely okay, felt that the management's version too should have been heard properly. Geetesh was also a part of the meeting of a literary group that was called to discuss the problem at the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad.

One very relevant question was raised in the meeting – “Why a particular group of people are always vocal whenever things go wrong in Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad and are absolutely mum when it comes to other issues of the Society. He also said in the meeting that why the group, that is so bothered about Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, did not utter a word on the Hindi Academy in the state that was closed down and is defunct for over 10 years.

The state Hindi Academy, housed in the Sanskrit College in College Street doesn't have a single permanent staff. Only last week, thank to Mamata Banerjee government, the Governor has officially constituted the committee for the Academy. In a meeting, questions have been raised as to - Why there were no protests against the misdoings in the last so many years?

As a well wisher, I understand that the literary group had to be neutral. Actually not many of us know for sure who is right or who is wrong. We should take a deep breath that, at least for now, the Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad is functional.

Who knows what’s next?

ess bee