In the age of MNS style politics that wreak fear in the name of language, it is with some unease that one reads about `Convent' school teachers punishing children for speaking in their mother tongue.
We know English language gets us that much needed exposure to the world and its politics.
We know too, that in the recent years, it is unthinkable to let our children stay behind in the rat race without the knowledge of English.
We've heard the IT Czars of Bangalore and knowledge advocates of Delhi stress on the language in curriculum many a time.
But punishing children in the name of language! What's the difference between a violent political party bashing up drivers from a particular state or those who speak a particular language, and teachers who beat up children in the name of language at school?
Those in the know will tell you that it was their native knowledge that took them places - on the global map I mean. Where we as Indians should pride ourselves in our local culture, we love to impose an overly Western system in the name of education, and ask our children to become English speaking machines of the future.
For the moment, the incident has grabbed political mileage for the concerned politicians. What happens to the children who suffered humiliation? With the noise dies down, will they still be able to hold their heads up in their classroom?
Will their confusion about what the right language to speak is, clear too? My hunch is, it definitely will not. God save today's children.
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