The most obvious non-English language would be Hindi (along with other regional languages). What is the likelihood that the consortium (with HQ in Bangalore) will agree to hold CLAT in Hindi given the language issues (anti-Hndi) currently going on in Karnataka?
A very pertinent question, and many others that come to mind:
Does look awkward for the consortium to hold the test in regional languages (e.g. Bangla and Manipuri) and expect those states to agree?
With non-English languages, the overall number of test takers in increase leading to greater revenue for the consortium. The biggest revenue contribution will be from those who take the test in Hindi. Given the stance of the Karnataka state government towards Hindi, will the consortium be allowed to profit from Hindi test takers? Is this hypocritical? After all you oppose a language but are OK to financially benefit from it.
With all this bickering between the states (and their respective NLUs) will some states break-away? For e.g. nothing stops Maharashtra to bring the three MNLUs under the ambit of MHCET. Will the NTA be brought in, as a consortium based in Karnataka as a state entity does not have the remit to conduct a "national" test?
Please stop this language bullshit! CLAT will be in vernacular languages the day IIM CAT is also in vernacular languages and the day Microsoft and Apple draft contracts in Hindi and Tamil. Socialism and populism are dragging tue country down!
Please stop this language chauvinism. NEET is conducted in 13 languages, and JEE in 11 languages. Before Microsoft and Apple draft contracts, they have to conceive the idea of building something, design it, develop it, and then roll it out (all while they might have engineers to took the JEE in Urdu or Telugu). They do so quite easily. Excuses do not help.
But surely proficiency in English is not required to be an excellent engineer or designer in the same way that it is required in the legal profession? English proficiency is a soft skill for an engineer but a minimum requirement for a person to be a competent lawyer. Of course, I am not trying to claim that students who crack the vernacular version of CLAT will not be able to become competent lawyers. It is just that they will need to become proficient at English if they aren't already.
This is the argument used to ensure that a start is never made. The initial inertia to make a start is what is holding us back. Before JEE was made multi-lingual the same argument was used. All technical books and other content are in English (they still are). Even AIBE is held in Hindi, so why not CLAT? Both BCI and NTA are agreeable to holding it in other languages. Where does this leave the consortium (coming back to the original questions)?
It will create a controversial sh*t storm and probably won't be implemented. How does one decide which languages CLAT should be held in? If it is conducted in Assamese then why not Bodo or Meitei or Mizo? If Hindi then why not Urdu or Bhojpuri or Maithili? What makes Kannada more important than Tulu or Marathi more important than Konkani? The North-Eastern states are largely multilingual, with each tribe using different languages to communicate, how do you decide which ones to prioritize? If you do something in favour of one group, others will say they are being put at a disadvantage.
The medium of instruction at NLUs is still English, important legal texts are mostly in English, the courts use English, recruiters look for candidates with good English proficiency.
Even if the govt considers holding CLAT in regional languages, what about the aforementioned issues? I'm not saying it's a bad idea but there is a long way to go before it can be implemented, we are not ready for it now.
JEE and NEET will be used as examples. They are in multiple, but not all languages. Over time add more languages. The key point however is that the most obvious non-English language will be Hindi, given that within the legal ecosystem, there is already precedence of AIBE in Hindi besides English. The medium of instruction for both medicine and engineering is still in English. All text and reference books are also in English. So saying that everything in the legal discipline is still in English is a non-issue. Usually, in the first two semesters, there's a course on English (to bring non-English students up to speed); kind of a remedial course. This move is inevitable. It is better that the ecosystem prepares and readies for this voluntarily, instead of being asked by the courts and then doing a shoddy rush job of this.
Where does this leave the consortium given the aforementioned issues?
Does look awkward for the consortium to hold the test in regional languages (e.g. Bangla and Manipuri) and expect those states to agree?
With non-English languages, the overall number of test takers in increase leading to greater revenue for the consortium. The biggest revenue contribution will be from those who take the test in Hindi. Given the stance of the Karnataka state government towards Hindi, will the consortium be allowed to profit from Hindi test takers? Is this hypocritical? After all you oppose a language but are OK to financially benefit from it.
With all this bickering between the states (and their respective NLUs) will some states break-away? For e.g. nothing stops Maharashtra to bring the three MNLUs under the ambit of MHCET. Will the NTA be brought in, as a consortium based in Karnataka as a state entity does not have the remit to conduct a "national" test?
The medium of instruction at NLUs is still English, important legal texts are mostly in English, the courts use English, recruiters look for candidates with good English proficiency.
Even if the govt considers holding CLAT in regional languages, what about the aforementioned issues? I'm not saying it's a bad idea but there is a long way to go before it can be implemented, we are not ready for it now.
Where does this leave the consortium given the aforementioned issues?