How Hinglish bridges language divide in medical education

More than a radical departure, the new MBBS texts in Hindi are an attempt to ensure that English does not prove to be a stumbling block in learning

- Durgesh Nandan Jha & Jamal Ayub

Leg ka pichla bhag" may not exactly be a remarkable stride in terms of enriching language, but the message isn't lost in translation as India's medical fraternity seeks to make an informed prognosis regarding the future of MBBS textbooks in Hindi. The first such set of textbooks, released in Bhopal on October 16 by Union home minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is packed with common to complex medical terminology written in the Devanagari script and meant to be pronounced in English.

The glossy cover of the book on "anatomy" retains the English term of Greek origin, albeit in bold, white Devanagari font set in blue. "Abdomen" and "lower limb", too, keep their DNA intact barring a change in script. While "sole of the foot" doesn't tread Hindi territory, "back of the leg" partly does. The diagrams are all annotated in English while the phrases are in Hindi.

The Demand Factor

The "Hinglish" strategy is supposedly deliberate and presumably a hit, going beyond the novelty factor. The Kolkata-based publisher has had its print order tripled because at least three predominantly Hindi-speaking states Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar have approached it via the MP government, which holds the copyright to the books, sources said.

Several other states have written to the MP government for information as part of their groundwork to launch medical education in the vernacular. In MP, the first MBBS batch to have the option of studying in Hindi the option to write exams in the language has existed for some years -begins in November.