Reuben Coutinho
I ‘pen’ my mind in these few words in response to a letter written by Rajendra Bhobe in the Herald newspaper (dated Aug 1) wherein he briefly extolled the importance of Goa’s Mother tongue.
It makes me wonder in this globalized and technocratic world of the 21st century, that we still conspicuously find narrow minded nationalists and traditionalists who wish to live in the past, instead of moving ahead with the changing times. That’s all right, it’s a democratic nation after all; everyone possesses the right to free speech, freedom of religion, etc. But what riles me is when people and groups (e.g. the RSS and the BBSM) seek to their utmost in interfering in our lives and telling us what food we ought to consume, what dress we should wear, what religion we must follow and what language we need to speak.
It is by now clear from the baseless and blind ideology of this outfit (the BBSM) that goes all the way in attempting to force the Government to deny grants to English medium schools in order to promote Konkani (elsewhere a group which strives to make Marathi the State language) that these weird individuals harbor some vested interest, which could range from reasons like the Bharat-based dictatorial rule to animosity towards the western world.
If we (whose Mother tongue is English) can manage to decently travel and work to a high degree of satisfaction today in foreign lands, it is because of our open minded cultural conditioning and language adaptability. It’s a crying shame that post-independent governments fall dismally flat on their faces in providing a decent level of living and suitable employment to the nation’s children. We would probably still be living as tribal hunters and gatherers had the erstwhile Imperialist empires not arrived to uplift and upgrade us centuries back. And so, if anyone wishes to speak or educate their children in English, Konkani, Marathi or Portuguese, let that personal decision for reason best known rest with her/him. Nobody has the right to meddle in these private matters. To all those “ Hindutva vigilantes” who denounce the English language and the culture of the West, please “Live and let live.” Stop this selfish hypocrisy before it becomes apparent to everyone and please refrain from “poking your noses” in others lives.
