Many illogical steps in the below. One thing that struck me is that the choice for most people is not between herding goats or being a doctor in America. The choice is between herding goats or assembling circuit boards, herding goats or filling orders for Victoria's secrets. Given those choices, I would rather herd goats. Healthier.
Joanna
uvj at vsnl.com wrote:
>The Times of India
>
>SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2004
>
>A rant against English
>
>TALKING TERMS/DILEEP PADGAONKAR
>
>We have it on the authority of RSS chief K.S. Sudershan that to educate our
>children in English is to expose them to lesbianism and free sex. No less.
>This ominous warning comes as part of his rant against the 'alien tongue.'
>
>Along the way he asserts that English simply cannot rival the rich
>vocabulary and emotional texture of our regional languages. These must
>therefore be used right up to the research level.
>
>Sudershan does not say why the entire world runs the risk of corrupting the
>morals of youth when it encourages the teaching of English.
>
>Nor does he explain where he is going to find Indian words to impart
>instruction in the physical and social sciences, not to speak of management
>studies and information technology.
>
>Presumably he would search for equivalents in Sanskrit. The ensuing chaos is
>best not imagined.
>
>The targets of the RSS chief are in reality Christian missionaries (who
>allegedly spread their faith in the guise of promoting English), liberals
>under the spell of Jawaharlal Nehru and Communists.
>
>All three supposedly espouse ideals that are at variance with the 'spirit',
>'ethos', 'mood' or 'feeling' of the nation. (Sudershan is slightly off the
>mark here. The Communists and Lohiates have wantonly indulged in
>anti-English
>parochialism as well. The result in the states they have governed is there
>for all to see.)
>
>Sudershan's rage brings to mind an incident which took place in Mumbai a few
>years ago. At a public meeting a famous Marathi poet held forth on the scant
>interest that Maharashtrian youth took in their language.
>
>He cited the example of his grand-daughter. She lived and studied in
>America. Over the years she had forgotten her Marathi. Cut off from her
>roots, the poet said, she was an Indian only in name.
>
>Echoing Martin Luther King the poet then turned lyrical:
>
>"I have a dream. I'm walking through the forest adjoining my native village.
>Suddenly I hear
>a haunting melody. I approach a clearing where I find a young girl tending
>half a dozen goats. It was her voice that I had heard. And she was singing
>one of my very own poems. At that instant I knew that if Marathi survives at
>all it will be thanks to people like that shepherdess."
>
>The audience was moved to tears. Just then a man seated at the far end of
>the hall asked for the floor.
>
>This is what he had to say to the poet: "I belong to the shepherd community.
>I would want my daughter to live in a comfortable house in America and study
>to become a doctor. I would not mind if she forgets her Marathi. Let your
>grand-daughter live in a hut in my village, tend goats all day and sing your
>poems to her hearts content. Is that a deal?" The audience sat dumbfounded
>while the poet wore a sheepish look.
>
>More and more OBCs, Dalits, tribals and minorities now realise that it is
>felicity in English alone that will equip their children to face a highly
>competitive world.
>
>Knowledge of the mother-tongue is doubtless useful to grasp the essentials
>of their culture. But that is about it. Why should they be compelled to
>remain mired in poverty to fulfil the 'cultural' ambitions of the RSS?
>
>The saffron outfit's drive against English would indeed lead to the closing
>of the Indian mind. Many leaders of the Sangh Parivar are aware of this. Why
>else would they send their children to English-medium schools? It is time to
>end the double-speak.
>
>Rajasthan's education minister, Ghanshyam Tiwari, has shown the way. He has
>ensured that children in the state will begin to learn English from the
>first standard.
>
>Copyright © 2004 Times Internet Limited. All rights reserved.
>
>
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