Analyzing the Use of English Medium in Primary Level Schools

While on an attempt to teach my brother a chapter that he had missed in class, I realized that the first sentence of the lesson was long enough with tough vocabularies to make me read it again before turning the dictionary. He studies in class six in a private school. Being an student of BA in Katmandu University, and still not being able to understand the sentence made me doubt if those books were readable for my brother and most of his classmates. It made me wonder about the readability of the book and if they could manage to reach to the message of the chapter by themselves. Remembering the fact that most of the time he spoilt his exams not for not-knowing the answer but for not being able to manage to make a sentence out of what he knows, made me think whether English itself has made it difficult for him to understand his class. So, I searched on the different aspects of medium of instruction in school including its academic and cultural dynamics.

English is the most widely spoken language and thus also considered the international language in today’s globalizing world. Gradually English has also been the medium of instruction among the schools around the world specially the developing countries with no exception in Asian countries including Nepal. Even government schools have gone English medium to compete with the private schools. But the probable pros and cons of it has not been well thought or seriously considered in the present context of Nepal. Analyses should be done on the different aspecta of using English medium in school, especially on elementary education. The issue of its impact on cultural dimensions, the probable consequences on the level of understanding of the subject matter or the readability of the books in foreign medium should be considered while making educational policies.

English medium schooling has been the new trend and change in today’s scenario in the development of the educational field particularly among Asian countries and in Nepal.

“..it has become the true world language of science, technology, media and business...” describes Abram de Swaan, a University Professor in Social Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. In his article ‘English in Social Sciences’ he states that English “.. allows to reach each and everyone who counts in the field of the natural sciences, advanced technology, mass entertainment and corporate affairs.”

In today’s mediated and globalised world English has become a must even in the local context. With English being the widely accepted language of education and medium of instruction with its other dynamics it has become the symbol of a dynamic personality in today’s society. In Nepal’s contest all private schools have taken English as their medium of education and instruction. So English has been associated as a better alternative medium of education in Nepal. With students of private school performing better in academics and being highly accepted in respective fields compared to the government school students, the trend of students shifting from government school to private schools started long ago. But in addition to it, in recent times even government schools have also started turning into English medium as a necessary step to make their students more competitive with the students of private schools.

In an article ‘Back into English’ Mahabir Paudyal, on the news about community schools in Sindhupalchok turning English medium, argues that such unprepared decisions taken to fight the dominance of private English medium schools would bring pernicious effect on the students’ performance. He further asserts that the distinction between private school and community school graduates is as good as the distinction between natives and foreigners in terms of English language proficiency stating that more than 50 percent of the students who fail the SLC exams fail in English while their counterparts from private schools fare excellently in English. He states that English was the medium of school education until the 1950s and criticizes its removal after the 1956 National Education Planning Commission’s recommendation, citing its association with the production of clerical manpower rather than instilling vocational values in people. To justify his point, he takes the issue of Madhav Nepal’s recent address at 16th SAARC summit held in Thimpu where his English was horrible. He argues if our ministers were educated in English medium, neither them nor the nation would have to face such same. But there are many more issues our minister need to learn then to address the international society and there are many ways to address the issue including the provision of a translator or a special tutor.

Troubling question is whether medium of instruction is the only reason that has caused the difference in students’ performance. Learning English as a second language is essential, but making it the primary language of instructions can also have adverse consequences.

Anirban Das in one of his article, ‘How Important Is the Medium of Education’ describes the importance of medium of instruction in every level of education and emphasizes its importance during the elementary education stating it as the time when a child is exposed to the vast world of knowledge. He further talks of the long-held debate in India on if the medium of education should be universally recognized English language or the regional language. Further explaining the pros and cons of both aspects, he explains that English is important when one grows up and goes into a professional life while regional language has an advantage of being easily understood, thus helping the students grab the right information and understand better.

So the question arises if a student who has just understood some vocabulary and few phrases and sentences, would understand different subjects in the language that isn’t familiar to them. How much would its readability be and will those books be for them or for their instructors?

Das further states of a study conducted in the US in Ramirez et al in 1991 with 2352 students which compared three sets of Spanish-speaking minority students. The first set had studied only through the English medium, the second group had started education in the Spanish medium but switched to English in one or two years, while the third group started education in the Spanish medium and switched to English after four to six years. The three groups, when tested to find out which group showed the best results in English and in educational achievement in general, showed that the third group showed the best results while the other two groups were falling way behind. He claims that this completely quashes the accepted conviction that English is the best medium of instruction all the time. He presents that for the students who don’t know English, the pressure doubles on them as they are expected to learn a foreign language with the concepts simultaneously.

In an article ‘BM vs English: a never ending debate’ written in response to the Malaysian government’s decision to stop teaching Science and Mathematics in English, Dr. Mana writes of the obvious unhappy parents who realize the advantage of using English to learn the sciences. He further confirms that using English to teach these subjects would be advantageous, especially for those who have the intention to pursue abroad studies. He further have shown that over 80 percent of the teachers were not ready to teach Science and Mathematics in English despite the huge sum spent on it. He argues that thought the students with English speaking parents have gained a lot from the previous policy, the majority of those non-English speaking students, especially in the rural areas, were completely lost for clues and had failed to grasp the subject matter in a language quite difficult for them to use or master. Even the teachers had admitted that they themselves are not prepared to teach the subjects effectively in English. He states that the majority of students at primary school level are not equipped enough to learn the subjects in English, although students have desire to learn.

“The Punjab government’s plan to introduce English as the medium of instruction in all the government schools of the province, in a phased manner, has become a heated subject as academic session 2010 approaches.” writes Khalid Khattak in his news report ‘Plan to introduce English medium sparks debate.’ He further writes that it has invited criticism on the grounds that the plan is ignoring the ground realities and that it will infringe upon rights of those who want to seek education in Urdu.

Abram de Swaan writes in his article ‘English in the Social Sciences’ that “When it comes to English as a language of science, its advantages for global communication are even more striking than in other domains. Practically the entire scholarly community in the natural sciences reads English, and the vast majority publishes articles in that language.” On his opinion about English for social science he writes “Things, however, are much more problematical when it comes to English as the language of the social sciences and the humanities. These disciplines are much more strongly bound to language. In these fields, technical terms are often very close to terms in everyday usage such as role, class and civilization.” He implies that students cannot effectively be taught the social sciences in one language only and must be intimately familiar with the language used.

The effect of such pressure on the students, their understanding of the different subjects and the quality of the class and schooling should be reanalyzed from this prospect. The whole issue of effects of such enforcement of a second language in the cultural domain still remains to be considered.

In an interview to ‘New Age Extra’ Kabir Chowdhury a National Professor, educationist and the chairman of the education policy 2009 of Bangladesh has talked about the different aspects of the education policy on the medium of education in the then newly formed constitution. He stated “In the English medium education system, there is little opportunity to develop patriotism among students … students know about England’s birds, culture ... more than they know about something elementary in our local culture…” Maximum emigration of students for further studies or work opportunities and lack of local level initiative among youth are the consequences we have already been facing. The present state of huge generational gap on cultural and traditional activities, insufficient contributions in nepali literature, music and other field can be correlated too. Degraded view about Nepalese culture and tradition among the new generations is also a very visible example that can be related to this context right now.

Arguing that the system is creating class divisions among students in our country Chowdhury has clarified “We recommend that there should be no English medium system at the primary level. If anyone wants to, they can go for Ordinary Level or Advanced Level examinations after the primary level.” Agreeing on difficulties to make English Medium authorities follow the instruction he claimed to have recommended the promulgation of an education law.

Combining the conclusions of the above research articles and text brings us to a common point. Enforcing English as medium of instruction could degrade the overall essence of the class, creating extra burden among the students. Minimum exercise of the national or native language in class activities can cause cultural deviation and degradation and creates little opportunity to develop patriotism among students. Medium of instruction of the subjects should be fixed according to the nature of the subject; like science can be preferred in English whereas social sciences and humanities should be preferred in national or mother tongue.

In today’s competitive world, it is advisable to get higher education in the English language and prepare a base for it from school only. But it should be made compulsory that at least at the primary school level everyone should learn the subjects in their national or native language.

A uniform standard for the both private and community schools should be established to avoid division among the youths and create uniformity and patriotism. Though the constitution of Nepal has provision for the right for parents to teach their children in their mother tongue, such educational policies should be properly defined in the new constitution of Nepal. Recommendation in the promulgation of an education law should also be initiated.

Work Cited

Das Anirban. “How Important Is The Medium Of Education” Insiderreports.19 Jun. 2010 <http://www.insiderreports.com/storypage.asp?StoryID=20028201>

Dr. Mana. “BM vs English: The never-ending debate.” Malaysiakini. 18 Jun. 2010. 19 Jun. 2010 <http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/134910>

Khattak, Khalid. “Plan to introduce English medium sparks debate” The news. 25 Jan, 2010. 19 Jun, 2010

<http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=220662>

Paudyal, Ahabir. “Back to English” The Katmandu Post. 13 May, 2010. 19 Jun 2010

<http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/05/13/oped/back-to-english/208252/>

Swaan, Abram de. “English in social sciences” Biennial Yearbook 2004. Critical Topics in Science and Scholarship (2004):135-146

Wadud, Mushfique. Personal interview. Dec, 2009. <http://www.newagebd.com/2009/dec/18/dec18/xtra_inner5.html>

Ethics through Christianity

Ethics is the branch of philosophy which examines the question of what actions are morally right or wrong and why. The Bible contains numerous prescriptions or laws and many narrative accounts of ethical relevance.

Christianity (from the Greek word Khristos, "Christ", literally "anointed one") is a monotheistic religion. Christians believe Jesus is the son of God, God having become man and the savior of humanity. Christians believe that there is only one God, but that there are three elements to this one God:

· God the Father

· God the Son

· The Holy Spirit

Christian holy days such as Easter and Christmas are important milestones in the Western secular calendarThe gem of Jewish Bible ethics is the Biblical command to "love thy neighbor as thyself".

Christian Ethics by Georgia Harkness

Christian ethics may mean (1) the best in the moral philosophy of all ages and places, (2) the moral standards of Christendom, (3) the ethics of the Christian Church and its many churches, (4) the ethics of the Bible, (5) the ethics of the New Testament, and (6) the ethical insights of Jesus.

Christian ethics means a systematic study of the way of life exemplified and taught by Jesus, applied to the manifold problems and decisions of human existence.

Christian ethics and moral philosophy

Teaching of Jesus with regard to man’s moral duty is found in "obedient love."To seek to do the will of God by loving God supremely and one’s neighbor as one’s self. Agape love (the love of God or Christ for mankind in Christian theology ) means, rather, an uncalculating, outgoing spirit of loving concern which finds expression in deeds of service without limit. Its supremacy over any ordinary love comes to clear expression in the words: You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Formation of Christian ethics has been the process of incorporation and amalgamation. It therefore involves mutuality in love. Its modern correlate is the quest for "the good life" through self-realization. Aristotle’s eudemonism, with its emphasis on a life of moderation with every man fulfilling the function for which he is fitted by nature, and thereby ensuring happiness. Duty ethics of Kant with its categorical imperative, or unconditional demand, to treat all persons as ends, never as means, and to act only in such a way that one’s conduct could be universalized. "Social adjustment" philosophy of John Dewey which measures right conduct by the ability to take one’s place as a good citizen in an ordered, democratic society.

Christian ethics and the churches The Church exists to be the carrier of the gospel in a fellowship of Christians. But the Church exists also as a human institution, a social group with a common center of professed loyalty to Christ, yet a social group made up of fallible(likely to make mistakes) human beings.

Christian ethics and the Bible

The Bible is the fountainhead of Christian theology. The Old Testament, we must remember, was Jesus’ Bible. He did not repudiate it; he loved it and learned from it and often quoted it. Yet in matters of complexity and doubt as to the right thing to do, he tends to follow his own course of action and find a proof text in the Bible to support it. He usually defends a traditional point of view in which an attempt is made to preserve the status quo, not infrequently with harsh words and attitudes toward those who differ.

It is the systematic study of the way of life set forth by Jesus Christ, applied to the daily demands and decisions of our personal and social existence.

The economic ethics

Jesus had very little to say about specific social institutions of any kind. His concern was chiefly with individuals in their person-to-person, face-to-face relationships.

New Testament there are scattered economic references, such as the obligation to work in self-support and not become a burden to others (II Thess. 3:6-12) and the injunction to slaves to obey their masters with due docility (Col. 3:22; Eph. 6:5; Tit. 2:9). Yet there is no clear focusing on any social system as good or evil, a fact which made it possible for slavery to go unchallenged by Christians for many centuries.

Christian message centers so largely in faith and love that justice in social relations tends to be overshadowed. In the gospel of redemption there is no overlooking of divine justice. But in the call to love one’s neighbor and even one’s enemy, to pray for one’s persecutor and to accept injury with nonresistance, to give freely and beyond necessity to those in need, the emphasis is on uncalculating love and not on the correction of unjust systems or the punishment of evildoers.

New Testament records for us the historical revelation of God in Christ.

What is economic justice?

Principles

First, the welfare of persons should be paramount over all other interests.

Second, due consideration must be given to the realities of economic life.

Third, a proper balance must be maintained between individual freedom and social control.

Fourth, economic justice must be viewed in a world setting.

MEDIA AND ETHICS

Christian tradition and the reflection of Christians today bear directly on the social role of communication. They include:

• Creation and stewardship; Media are powerful forces. The importance of exercising stewardship in their use means educating others about their power and their limitations. It also involves making wise use of media.
• Sin and redemption; People are not thrust into sin by events; rather, they sin as they do not live up to God's expectations and their God-given potential. We humans constantly misuse the power that God has given us over creation. The communication media are major sources of power with great potential for good as well as evil. Because we depend upon them for information, media hold key elements for many other forms of power: economic, social, and political. The primary manifestation of sin within mass media is based on their ability to manipulate persons, treating them as objects and turning them into passive recipients rather than helping them become active participants in society. Taking something that is a gift of God and treating it as if it were God, is the sin of idolatry.
• The newness of life; Christians take seriously the concept that God makes all things new and that novelty and creativity are essential elements of God's world. Therefore, we resist attempts to constrict communication, which might limit the choices that an individual can make. New relationships, new ideas, new values, new understandings can be essential to growth and to development of human potential. Censorship must be avoided, since it allows one person or group to determine the information available to all others.
• Good news and proclamation; In the Bible, God's promise of a new future for the people is central and must be communicated effectively. Communication — a genuine, open give-and-take of ideas and feelings — is what connects and binds people together in community.
• Christian witness; Christians challenge falsehood. It has a bias toward truth and liberation through the Gospel and a bias away from untruth and bondage. Christians must witness to the truth as we perceive it and still be open to hear the truth as it is perceived by others. The church acknowledges that women, racial/ethnic minorities, lesbian and gay persons, and people with disabilities historically have been excluded from or negatively stereotyped in the media.

Work Cited

· Harkness, Georgia. Christian Ethics by Georgia Harkness. Abingdon Press. 1957

· Ramsey, Paul. Paul Ramsey’s Basic Christian Ethics. New York: Chas. Scribner’s Sons, 1950.

Sadharanikaran Model of Communication for Media Ethics

Abstract
This paper examines to the different dimension of the hindu perspective of communication, Sadharanakaran and the SMC(Sadharanakaran Model of Communication) and its implication on the field of media ethics. The study of all the articles related to Sadharanikaran as a theory and its implications in different field of media has been done. The attempt of this paper is to gain a hindu persective of communcition and its implication in the field of media ethics.
Background
Sadharanikaran is a proposed form of communication from eastern perspective that implies on hindu prospect of a communication process. The term sadharanikaran is derived from the Sanskrit word sadharan; and has been translated into English as “generalized presentation”, “simplification” and “universalization”. This concept is bound with another concept, sahridayata, that is, a state of common orientation, commonality or oneness and thus sadharanikaran is the attainment of sahridayata by communicating parties. When senders and receivers accomplish the process of sadharanikaran, they attain saharidayata and become sahridayas. In other words, communicating parties, for e.g., actor and audience, become sahridayas when they are engaged in a communicative relation leading to the attainment saharidayata; and it is in this stage sadharanikaran is accomplished. Thus the essence of sadharanikaran is to achieve commonness or oneness among the people. With the main theme of the communication to attain commonness and mutual understanding, it can be implied to encourage and create a harmonious relationship as a resultant affect of a positive communication process and there by emphasizing in ethical standards as an objective of the communication.

Ethics
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and bad, noble and ignoble, right and wrong, justice, and virtue.
Major branches of ethics include: meta-ethics, about the theoretical meaning and reference of moral propositions and how their truth-values may be determined; normative ethics, about the practical means of determining a moral course of action; applied ethics, about how moral outcomes can be achieved in specific situations; moral psychology, about how moral capacity or moral agency develops and what its nature is; and descriptive ethics, about what moral values people actually abide by.
Ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy; we use it to criticize, defend, promote, justify and suggest moral concepts and to answer questions of morality, such as: How should we live and treat one another? What are right and wrong? How can we know or decide? Where do our ethical ideas come from? What are rights? Who or what has them? Should we coerce one another? Can we find an ethical system that applies to everyone? What do we mean by duty, justice and other similar concepts?
On the basis of traditions ethical practice can be categorized into Philosophical traditions
and religious traditions.
Philosophical traditions include Greek philosophical traditions among others. At the center is the value of using human reason to get beyond appeals to authority or circular religious arguments. Plato emphasized the ideal. His allegory of the cave was meant to show that we live in a world of illusion and that we must shed our illusions to find the truth. Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics held that reason used to create happiness (human telos) gives us moral and intellectual virtues. The moral virtues include moderation, courage and mmagnanimity; the intellectual virtues include art, science and philosophical wisdom. Epicurian and Stoic traditions of ethics followed both traditions. The Golden Mean, the idea that we should seek moderation in all things and that good is usually found between the extremes, is an Epicurian ethical idea. Utilitarian, or consequence ethics, the greatest good for the greatest number, John Stuart Mill and many other Enlightenment philosophers. However, taken to its extreme, the greatest good for the majority might be bad for a minority. Duty Ethics. Another Enlightenment philosopher, Immanuel Kant, said that we should do what would be right if everyone did it. He called this the categorical imperative. John Rawls, Theory of Justice (conceived as a new alternative to utilitarian and duty ethics; Social choices should be made in non-self-serving way from an unbiased original position or "veil of ignorance.").
Religious traditions include the beliefs and philosophy of good in the religious terms. Buddhist religion fallows Eightfold path: (Right views, Right aspirations, Right speech, Right conduct, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right meditational attainment). Christians follow Golden Rule (Love your neighbor; Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.). Hinduism follows Ahimsa, do no harm to any living thing. Jewish believes Ten Commandments (also Christian and Islamic) and Islam believe "Surrender" to the will of God.
When making these difficult moral choices, there are many places to turn for guidance, including: first, your own conscience, and in addition, your religion, your professional society, your company policy, and governmental laws and regulations. According to Gerald Corey, Issues and Ethics in the Helping Professions, (NY: John Wiley & Sons, 1999), some basic principles found in ethical traditions are: Autonomy, people make their own choices without manipulation; Nonmaleficence, do no harm; Benificence, help people; Justice, fairness, treat all people alike; Fidelity’ honor commitment to those you serve; Veracity’ truthfulness.

Media Ethics
“Media Ethics is branch of philosophy seeking to help journalist and other media people determine how to behave in their work. In its practical application, it is very much a normative science of conduct, with conduct considered primarily self determined, rational and voluntary.” (Adhikary,2007d, p. 1). It is the subdivision of applied ethics dealing with the specific ethical principles and standards of media, including broadcast media, film, theatre, the arts, print media and the internet. The field covers many varied and highly controversial topics, ranging from war journalism to Benetton advertising. Some important concerns of media ethics are News manipulation, truth and conflict with the law.
News manipulation. News can manipulate and be manipulated. Governments and corporations may attempt to manipulate news media; governments, for example, by censorship, and corporations by share ownership. The methods of manipulation are subtle and many. Manipulation may be voluntary or involuntary. Those being manipulated may not be aware of this.
Truth. Truth may conflict with many other values. Public interest. Revelation of military secrets and other sensitive government information may be contrary to the public interest, even if it is true. The definition of public interest is hard. Privacy. Salacious details of the lives of public figures is a central content element in many media. Publication is not necessarily justified simply because the information is true. Privacy is also a right, and one which conflicts with free speech. See: paparazzi. Fantasy. Fantasy is an element of entertainment, which is a legitimate goal of media content. Journalism may mix fantasy and truth, with resulting ethical dilemmas. Taste. Photo journalists who cover war and disasters confront situations which may shock the sensitivities of their audiences. For example, human remains are rarely screened. The ethical issue is how far should one risk shocking an audience's sensitivities in order to correctly and fully report the truth.
Conflict with the law. Journalistic ethics may conflict with the law over issues such as the protection of confidential news sources. There is also the question of the extent to which it is ethically acceptable to break the law in order to obtain news. For example, undercover reporters may be engaging in deception, trespass and similar torts and crimes. See undercover journalism, investigative journalism. Ethics in journalism is an utopia, can never be applied in practice.
Media Ethics from Hindu Perspective
In 1980, the East-West Communication Institute in Hawaii hosted the first International Symposium on ‘Communication Theory: Eastern and Western Perspectives’. J.S. Yadava presented a paper in the seminar and argued that Sadharanikaran is that concept which, in Hindu perspective, refers to what is meant by Communication today. He termed Sadharanikaran as the “Indian Communication Theory.” The term Sadharanikaran is derived from the Sanskrit word Sadharan and has been translated into English as “generalized presentation” (Vedantatirtha, 1936, p. 35) and “simplification” (Yadava, 1998, p. 187). However, the conceptual meaning is quite broader. Conceptually it means achieving oneness or commonness through sharing and comes close to the Latin word communis or its modern English version communication. But the characteristics and the philosophy behind Sadharanikaran are somewhat different from communication concept as developed in the Western societies. The term has its root in Natyashastra of Bharat Muni. It “has been used for communication philosophy expounded in this treatise on … Natya (drama) and Nritya (dance)” (ibid.). In other words, “Bharat Muni, who is credited with the writing of Natyashastra codified the principles of human expression. … Besides giving practical description of various aspects of dance and drama to the minutest details, the document is reach about the basics of human communiation” (op. cit., p. 188). After Bharat Muni and especially Bhattanayak, the term Sadharanikaran has been extensively used in Sanskrit and allied literary circles for explaining poetics, aesthetics and drama.
The Sadharanikaran model, being a non-linear model, is free from the limitations of Aristotle’s model. It incorporates the notion of two-way communication process resulting in mutual understanding of the Sahridayas. Thus the interrelationship between those communicating becomes unique. Its non-linear structure and inclusion of elements such as context has profound consequences.
The scope of Sadharanikarn model is too broad. Sadharanikaran “is total communication and communication at its best. It is a more integrated approach to communication” (IGNOU, 2005, p. 30). It can extend from intra-personal to interpersonal to mass communication. Its scope is not confined to human communication only, rather its scope has been considered even in case of spiritual concerns including the attainment of Moksha.6
Although the purpose of Sadharanikaran is to achieve commonness or oneness the process itself is an asymmetrical one. There is unequal sharing between communicator and receiver; there is a greater flow of communication from the former to the later. … they are not equal. The source is viewed as ‘higher’ and the receiver as ‘lower’. The relationship is hierarchical and that of ‘dominance’ and ‘subordination’. However, the source is held in high esteem by the receiver of communication, a relationship, idealized and romanticized in guru-chela relationship. Sadharanikaran model emphasizes the relationship itself too. For instance, the guru-shishya relationship is always considered sacred in itself.
In Hindu concept, communication is not mere external event. Rather, much emphasis has been given to intrapersonal aspects. In Hindu concept “meaning should necessarily lead to selfawareness. … then to freedom and finally to truth. Here, by freedom we mean the liberation of persons from ignorance, from illusion of the world, and the web of the artificial categories constructed all around us” (IGNOU, 2005, p. 26).
In the context of human communication, the goal of communication in Sadharanikaran model is achieving sharing of Bhavas and achieving mutual understanding. Here, sender and receiver are Sahridayas in true sense. But the goal of communication in the Hindu concept would not be limited to just this extent. Hinduism always emphasizes to achieve all of the purushartha chatustayas, that is, four goals of life: Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.
In brief, following points present the outline of the SMC:
1. The structure of the model is non-linear. It incorporates the notion of two-way communication process resulting in mutual understanding of the communicating parties. Thus it is free from the limitations of linear models of communication.
2. The model illustrates how successful communication is possible in Hindu society where complex hierarchies of castes, languages, cultures and religious practices are prevalent. Sahridayata helps those communicating to pervade the unequal relationship prevailed in the society and the very process of communication is facilitated.
3. The interrelationship between the communicating parties is of crucial importance in sadharanikaran. Here, not the cause of the relationship but the relationship itself is significant. For instance, the guru-shishya relationship is always considered sacred in itself. And, unlike in case of most communication theories and models from the West, this does not emphasize on dominance by the sender. Rather, the model gives equal importance to both the communicating parties.
4. The model shows that abhivyanjana (encoding) and rasaswadana (decoding) are the fundamental activities in communication. In other words, they are decisive junctures in sadharanikaran (communication).
5. It shows that Hindu perspective on communication emphasizes more on internal or intrapersonal activity. For instance, both the processes of encoding and decoding consits of four-layer mechanism in its ideal form. Communication involves more experience within than objective rationality of the sensory organs.
6. With the provision of sandarbha (context), the model clarifies how meaning could be provided to the message even if the sender is not identified to the receiver. The intended meaning of any message can be ascertained due to the context, without determining the actual intention in the mind of the speaker just by taking contextual factors into account. Thus due to the context a text can retain its ‘objective’ meaning.
7. The scope of communication from Hindu perspective is broad. As envisioned in the model, communication is broader enough to deal with all of the three dimensions of life: adhibhautika (physical or mundane), adhidaivika (mental) and adhyatmika (spiritual). In social or worldly context, communication is such process by which, in ideal conditions, humans achieve sahridayata. In mental context, communication is the process of gaining true knowledge as well as similar mutual experience. But that is not the whole story; it has spiritual dimension too.
8. The goal of communication as envisioned in the model is certainly achieving commonness or mutual understanding. But, the goal would not be limited to just this extent. Just as Hinduism always emphasizes to achieve all of the purushartha chatustayas (i.e., four goals of life: artha, kama, dharma and moksha), the model also conceives communication capable of attaining all these goals. Thus, the model is in perfect consonance with Hindu World View. (Adhikary, 2009,pg. 84)

The Sadharanikaran model, being a non-linear model, is free from the limitations of Aristotle’s model. It incorporates the notion of two-way communication process resulting in mutual understanding of the Sahridayas. Thus the interrelationship between those communicating becomes unique. Its non-linear structure and inclusion of elements such as context has profound consequences.
The scope of Sadharanikarn model is too broad. Sadharanikaran “is total communication and communication at its best. It is a more integrated approach to communication” (IGNOU, 2005, p. 30). It can extend from intra-personal to interpersonal to mass communication. Its scope is not confined to human communication only, rather its scope has been considered even in case of spiritual concerns including the attainment of Moksha.6
Although the purpose of Sadharanikaran is to achieve commonness or oneness the process itself is an asymmetrical one. There is unequal sharing between communicator and receiver; there is a greater flow of communication from the former to the later. … they are not equal. The source is viewed as ‘higher’ and the receiver as ‘lower’. The relationship is hierarchical and that of ‘dominance’ and ‘subordination’. However, the source is held in high esteem by the receiver of communication, a relationship, idealized and romanticized in guru-chela relationship. Sadharanikaran model emphasizes the relationship itself too. For instance, the guru-shishya relationship is always considered sacred in itself.
In Hindu concept, communication is not mere external event. Rather, much emphasis has been given to intrapersonal aspects. In Hindu concept “meaning should necessarily lead to selfawareness. … then to freedom and finally to truth. Here, by freedom we mean the liberation of persons from ignorance, from illusion of the world, and the web of the artificial categories constructed all around us” (IGNOU, 2005, p. 26).
In the context of human communication, the goal of communication in Sadharanikaran model is achieving sharing of Bhavas and achieving mutual understanding. Here, sender and receiver are Sahridayas in true sense. But the goal of communication in the Hindu concept would not be limited to just this extent. Hinduism always emphasizes to achieve all of the purushartha chatustayas, that is, four goals of life: Artha, Kama, Dharma and Moksha.
In a complex society of pluralistic languages, castes, class and dialects, Sadharanikaran has the answer for a successful communication. It is all about creating an environment conducive for the transmission and reception of messages. The Indian model is not about persuasion and convincing but is a participative model where both the parties involved are in mutual anticipation of each other thereby becoming Sahridayas or people having common sympathetic hearts. Thus the essence of sadharanikaran is to achieve commonness or oneness among the people. With the main theme of the communication to attain commonness and mutual understanding, it can be implied to encourage and create a harmonious relationship as a resultant affect of a positive communication process and there by emphasizing in ethical standards as an objective of the communication. Ethical concerns in relevance to sadharanikaran model, makes a way for the media person to seek the best and highest good in the practice of media as a profession. This means, the sender ( media institution or media person) should never undermine the emotions and mental being of the receivers( audience).

Reference:
• Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. (2006) Understanding Mass Media Research; Prashanti Pustak Bhandar, Kathmandu.
• Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. (2007a) “Exploring New Paradigm in Mass Media Ethics.” MBM Anthology of Media Studies (pp. 57-72). Kathmandu: CSC, Madan Bhandari Memorial College.
• Adhikary, Nimala Mani. (2007b). "Mimamsa-Philosophy and Mass Media Ethics" BODHI- An Interdisciplinary Journal ( pp. 24-33). Dhulikhel: Department of Languages and Mass Communication.
• Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. (2007d). Studying Mass Media Ethics Kathmandu: Prashanti Prakashan.
• Adhikary, N. M. (2008a). Communication, media and journalism: An integrated study. Kathmandu: Prashanti Prakashan.
• Adhikary, N. M. (2008b). The sadharanikaran model and Aristotle's model of communication: A comparative study.
• Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. (2009). “Introduction to Sadharanikaran model of communication” Bodhi, 3 (1), (pp. 69-91). Kathmandu University.
• Adhikary, Nirmala Mani. (2010). Explorations Within: Theorizing Communication and Positing Media Ethics Paradigm from Hindu Perspective
Media Research Conference 2010, Katmandu
• Adhikary, N.M.(2010) “Sadharanikaran Model of Communication and Conflict Resolution”
• Mukherjee madhavi “PR with Sahridayas” India PR Blog. 2008