The ‘Anti-National’ English speaking Hindustani. Sort of.

This is how I was recently labeled by a pro-Hindi local neta. Not because I now have a small ‘pony’ and wear an ear-ring, but more out of my support for introducing English as a compulsory language across government schools, across grades.

The discussion started at a common friend’s residence by this gentleman asking me where all I’ve been and done. I told him about the various industries I’ve worked for…Retail, Outsourcing, Travel, Manufacturing and recently Training and Development; and how I marvel at India’s ability to take on substantial outsourced work from many an English speaking country. He immediately took the ‘pro-Hindi’ position, as if anybody who takes a ‘pro-English’ stand is automatically ‘anti-hindi’.

Neta Ji believed that Hindi; being the language of the common people, should be used everywhere, including where it’s hopelessly inefficient. He also used Hindi in a way that most people at the gathering found him extremely difficult to understand. He avoided any word that was even remotely from Urdu or English. That worked very well in establishing him as a real ‘son of the soil’, making us all look ‘mere-mortals’ who speak a language that everybody understands.

I tried very hard to explain why English is the reason why our kids today compete with the best in the world, and the question isn’t weather it’s originally our language, or weather my mother and grand mother spoke this language. The simple truth is that one needs to be really good at English to communicate effectively with the rest of the world …and communication runs economies. It also doesn’t mean that we can’t be good at both the languages at the same time. Exactly the reason why people send their children to ‘English medium’ schools, and when the children may have missed this opportunity, they swarm to ‘learn English in 30 days’ kind of places. The point is everybody knows its importance, but it is still politically incorrect to be seen advocating adopting the language fully. The pressures of being a neta; in India’s Hindi speaking belt I guess.

Imagine if the simple farmer’s son in the interiors of Garhwal could read and write both Hindi and English. Does it not open more opportunities for him? The current difference between average salaries of people with the same qualification, but differing on English language capabilities is about 65 %.

Sixty five percent. (Said again just for affect.)

The conversation later drifted to other things and ‘who is in the family’ etc. I asked Neta Ji about his. “Oh! I have a son and a daughter. My daughter is married to a software engineer and lives in New Jersey. The son is in Australia doing his MBA. Small family, you see.”

My mouth opened an inch or so to say something… then immediately shut without saying anything. I finished my drink and left for the dinner table. God bless politicians, says the ‘Anti-National’ English speaking Hindustani. Well sort of.