MBBS books in Hindi: Teachers will need time to teach in local languages

“Learning in one’s own language will enhance the abilities of the students. Students across the country should come out of their linguistic inferiority complex and showcase their abilities in their language,” Shah said while launching the books.

A High-Powered Committee for the Promotion of Indian Languages under the Ministry of Education has initiated dialogues with the National Medical Commission (NMC), state medical councils, medical universities and colleges, and also doctors and professors, on preparing medical syllabi in Hindi and other regional languages, Chamu Krishna Shastry, the committee’s chairman, said.

Incidentally, the books were launched even as south Indian states have been demanding the Centre to desist from imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states.

Medical fraternity sceptical

The medical fraternity was sceptical. “China, Russia, and Japan are teaching medicine in their own language and there is nothing wrong with it. But in India, the scenario is different. The country has several dozens of languages. English will be better as we are more comfortable teaching in English teaching than in other languages,” Dr BN Rao, President-elect of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) of Telangana unit, told South First.

“Students from different linguistic background and cultures, too, can understand English easily,” he added.

Dr M Sampath Rao, President, IMA-Telangana, felt teachers would need time to teach in local languages. “Language is the tool for communication. Most teachers are trained in English. If teaching in local languages is applied everywhere, it will take three years for teachers to teach properly,” he opined.

Dr Mahesh of the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association, however, has a different take. “When I was pursuing MBBS, there were many friends who had done their schooling in Telugu. They struggled to read English and they suffered. They were also under stress. If books in the regional language will help such students,” he told South First.

The translation should be in all the regional languages so that students across all states can access these text books, he added.

He, however, added that English being the global language, research papers and study materials are mostly published in English.

“If there are books in the regional language, it will bridge the language gap. If a student wants to study only in English, then make primary education in English compulsory,” Dr. Mahesh said.

He, however, added that the examination should be in English since the examiners are from different states.

Devanagari or transliteration?

The launch of the Hindi textbooks has sparked a row with several people questioning whether the books are in Hindi or transliterated.

“Changing the script does not change the language. Hindi is the language and Devanagari is its script. There is only one Hindi word in the name of this book — “Aur”. The rest is just bad transliteration,” tweeted senior journalist Om Thanvi.

लिपि बदल देने से भाषा नहीं बदल जाती। हिंदी भाषा है और देवनागरी उसकी लिपि। इस किताब के नाम में हिंदी का सिर्फ़ एक शब्द है — “और”। बाक़ी ख़राब लिप्यंतर भर है। “ऐनैटॅमि: ऐब्डोमन और लोअर लिंब” को “शरीर-रचना: पेट और निचले अंग” लिखना होगा। पर केवल इससे क्या ऐलोपैथी सध जाएगी? pic.twitter.com/UbBicFSyMP

— Om Thanvi | ओम थानवी (@omthanvi) October 17, 2022

Om Thanvi was not the only one to point out the anomaly.

So the Hindi Text Book for MBBS on Anatomy is titled ‘एनाटोमी’. ???‍♂️

Anatomy, Biochemistry etc have their own terms in German, French & Japanese. Just rewriting the same English terms into Hindi is not learning in Hindi.

‘एनाटोमी’ is neither Hindi nor English, it’s Hinglish. pic.twitter.com/lBoF7SREct

— Advaid അദ്വൈത് (@Advaidism) October 16, 2022

Dr Mahesh further said that it would be foolish to expect a complete change. “Nomenclature, basic structure, and concepts cannot be changed while using regional languages. Otherwise it will alter even the meaning. It is medicine, and people’s lives are dependent on it,” he added.