When Nehru and Harivansh Rai Bachchan had a dispute over the translation of the speech, this story is very funny

New Delhi: There was a dispute between the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the great Hindi poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan over the translation of the President’s speech from English to Hindi. Nehru believed that Bachchan’s Hindi translation of President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan’s English speech was very complicated, while the poet insisted that his/her translation was not complicated but correct. Neither of them was ready to relent on this issue.

When Bachchan became angry with Nehru
This incident has been mentioned in senior journalist Kallol Bhattacharya’s book ‘Nehru First Recruits’. Referring to this incident in the book, it has been told that Nehru got angry with Bachchan over the Hindi translation of the speech. Nehru had appointed Bachchan as Special Officer for Hindi in the Ministry of External Affairs. According to this book, Bachchan, the author of the much-discussed work ‘Madhushala’, joined the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) in 1955 at a monthly salary of Rs 1,000. Earlier, he/she used to work in Akashvani, where his/her salary was Rs 750 per month.

Used to translate the speeches of the President and Vice President
One of Bachchan’s major responsibilities in the Ministry of External Affairs was to translate the speeches of the President and the Vice President. In fact, the term ‘Ministry of External Affairs’ was coined by Bachchan. The debate between Nehru and Bachchan took place when the poet translated the President’s English speech into Hindi, which was to be read by Vice President Zakir Hussain as per regular practice.

Nehru expressed displeasure over the translation
According to the book, Nehru expressed his/her displeasure over the Hindi translation and said, “Do you know who will read this speech? Dr. Zakir Hussain – and he/she will not be able to pronounce some of the words you have used.” Bachchan replied, “Panditji, language cannot be changed according to a person’s pronunciation convenience, why don’t you get the speech translated into Urdu?”

Nehru’s patience gave the answer
This clash of pride between the two giants of their respective fields of politics and literature turned into a verbal debate and Nehru lost his/her patience. The conversation between the two giants has been mentioned in detail in the book. Nehru expressed his/her displeasure and said to Bachchan, ‘There are many problems in this country. Even if we get it translated into Urdu, we will still have to call it Hindi – and what is the difference between the two anyway?’

According to the book, while translating the speech into Hindi, Bachchan forgot the then realities of India and his/her effort could have put the Vice President of India in trouble. Vice President Zakir Hussain’s stuttering while reading a speech in Parliament would not have been liked by the media and critics of the government. According to the book, ‘Nehru was also right to some extent in his/her own way, because the speech could not possibly have been translated into Urdu, as the Indian Constitution allows the use of only Hindi speeches in such sessions. And therefore, a Hindi speech containing many Urdu words would have been called a ‘speech in Hindi’ and not a speech in Urdu.’

Nehru got the translation changed with restraint
Finally, Nehru showed restraint and persuaded Bachchan to produce a translation that Zakir Hussain would not have any difficulty reading, and Bachchan did so. Hussain, who was Vice President from 1962-67 during President Radhakrishnan’s tenure, later became the third President of India. The book states that Nehru knew Bachchan long before he/she joined the IFS, and both were from Allahabad. In fact, Nehru helped Bachchan get scholarships after he/she joined Cambridge and Oxford University in the early 1950s. While the then Education Secretary Humayun Kabir and Education Minister Maulana Azad refused to help Bachchan several times.

According to the book, ‘Bachchan sought time from Prime Minister Nehru and met him/her in Parliament. Nehru patiently listened to poet Bachchan. When he/she came to know that he/she had failed to get a scholarship, Nehru called his/her private secretary BN Kaul in Parliament and asked him/her to arrange a scholarship of Rs 8,000 for Harivansh Rai Bachchan.’ The book titled ‘Nehru’s First Recruits’ has been published by Hachette India.