Very little of this will be understood by the child in a primary school, for whom this fight over grants to primary schools is meant for. The fortunes of the BJP, was never linked to the language issue as much it has become now, forcing Chief Minister Parsekar to make a shift, and almost speak the language of FORCE (Forum for Rights for Children in Education). But it is a welcome voice, and the constant stand that Herald has been taking that the freedom of choice for parents, is an undeniable right is vindicated by this stand.
If we play back some of the remarks made by the Chief Minister, at a public function on September 18, they are welcome as a pleasant shock. Let’s look at them.
(i) Though the government is of the view that primary education has to be in the mother tongue, ultimately it is the choice of the parents to decide in which language the child should learn
(ii) It is not possible for us to stop the grants just because a particular section is demanding it. The move it not at all secular and the BJP believes in taking all sections together and move ahead.
(iii) The party has managed to weed out the thinking that the BJP is a “Hindu” party.. and that’s the reason why we have six Catholic MLAs and three ministers.
While it is certainly true that notwithstanding the criticism it has faced by not issuing a notification for giving grants to English primary schools, the government has maintained that it would not withdraw grants to Diocesan (church run) schools which have English as its MoI. But the latest tone of the Chief Minister is far more direct and emphatic, insisting that it is the parents who must be given a choice to decide the mother tongue of their children.
The tone of his statements marks a shift which would even make the FORCE (demanding the right of choice and grants to the English schools) extremely happy. But the reason for this pro- active shift towards pushing the narrative of choice and blanking out the narrative of “religion” is interesting and politically significant.
The reasons aren’t very far to seek. The BBSM and its initial posturing which has turned into a full-fledged threat which could very well turn into the execution of the threat by RSS cadres. While that may affect them in a dozen odd constituencies, the party has realised that this will not get them back the support of the those pushing for English, with a majority of them being minorities, unless there is a change of tone.
One must keep in mind that there are 22 constituencies out of 40 which have a minority population of 30% and above. In 2012, the BJP or its allies won 11 of them. In addition, the Goa Vikas Party won 2 seats, backed by the BJP. The GVP is not with the BJP now. Therefore the BJP conceded only 9 out of these 22 seats to the opposition. Therefore it is seriously worth salvaging some of these seats, where the BBSM influence will not affect the BJP.
Hence these statements are two-fold. Get FORCE which is leading the agitation for grants to be not just given, but notified into an Act, not campaign against the government. Which in other words, means addressing the displeasure of the Church, in the hope that, in minority dominated pockets like Salcete, where the BBSM influence may not be very high, it can win back some of the trust of FORCE which runs 130-odd schools and therefore has a large number of parents it can influence. And secondly, reach out to the large gamut of minority as well as non-minority parents that the government will not buckle to the BBSM pressure tactics.
Of course, it’s a tall order to get all the lost ground back overnight. But it is still the BJP’s best option to neutralise the damage of the BBSM , at least in some pockets, for in 2017, every seat will count. But the CM and the Government must now, not go back on this stand, in future. That will be its test.
