Shah's take on English has serious repercussions
P Victor Selvaraj,
Tirunelveli- 627002
Unbecoming of Shah
A new controversy is likely to start following the statement of Union Hoe Minister Amit Shah on languages, which is a sensitive issue in India where states have come into existence based on language. This is evident from Maharashtra, where a controversy is underway over adoption of Hindi. Shah warned of a day when speakers of English in India would feel ashamed, but the question is why make such a damaging statement, in the firstplace. By all accounts, it is a shameful remark from a leader of Shah's stature. It reeks of prejudice and myopia, elements that knowledgeable politicians ought to shun. English's centrality to the Indian context is undeniable. To make matters worse, he said 'our culture, our history, and our religion cannot be understood in foreign languages. We will run our country in our own languages and lead the world too.' Earlier this month, Shah launched the Bharatiya Bhasha Anubhag (BBA), or Indian Languages Section, to provide an organised platform for all Indian languages to move towards 'freeing the administration from the influence of foreign languages'. States like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have witnessed protests on the imposition of Hindi. The Tamil Nadu government has opposed the three-language formula in the National Educational Policy (NEP) tooth and nail, claiming it was an attempt to bring Hindi to the State 'through the backdoor'. In a country that speaks in many tongues and where linguistic tensions are quite common, English has served as the veritable lingua franca, bridging segments of the population. In this globalised world, English is the bridge that connects India to the world and its economy. Shah's demonisation of English needs to be located within a broader ideological and epistemic thrust. But the spirit of the idea of India - linguistically or otherwise - is a celebration of pluralism and accommodation: English, with its many virtues and uses, has a firm place in the Indian ethos. It is expected that the government will see the pros and cons before implementing ill-conceived initiatives.
Yash Pal Ralhan,
Jalandhar-144003
Shah's shameful statement
It was a shameful statement that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah made during a book launch event in Delhi where he spoke of a time "when those speaking English in the country would feel ashamed". English is one of the global languages and helps to understand our living world, especially in the AI era. When we study in our mother tongue, we understand well. But when we need to exchange what we learned, English is the tool. It may help unite the world but not to lead.
Unnikrishnan Mangalasseri,
Manjeri PO, Kerala-676121
Union Minister should eat his words
Ourministers and senior politicians should always talk using measured words and not in an irresponsible manner (Those who speak English will soon feel ashamed: Shah). English (the lingua franca) is an international language. Undermining its importance in our country is like cutting one's nose to spite one's face. It is widely used in businesses, education and judiciary and provides ample opportunities for global communication as well as career advancements. A good command over English boosts our students' prospects not only in India but also abroad. Amit Shah should eat his own words.
Dr Sunil Chopra,Ludhiana
Shah's gaffe is regrettable
AmitShah's statement that "those who speak English in this country would soon feel ashamed" deserves to be taken with a fistful of salt. English, as we all know, is the aspirational language of India's rising middle class. On that count, regional languages, even Hindi, serve a limited purpose. English is the sine qua non of today's India that has set out to claim its place on the global high table. Even the Prime Minister with his RSS/Hindi background, thought it fit to give English a brief hug while driving home a point about terrorism, and that too in Bihar. Mignon McLaughlin, American journalist and author, had said, "Every American child should grow up knowing a second language, preferably English." And that perhaps holds water for every Indian child living in these times. Amitji, are you listening?
Avinash Godboley, Dewas (MP)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
'No surprise': Cuomo camp says Zohran Mamdani claiming himself Black in college application 'just the tip of iceberg'
The camp of former Governor Andrew Cuomo doubled down on the NYT exposé that New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declared himself 'Black' in a Columbia application form, despite having no African blood. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Mamdani was not accepted by Columbia but he marked both 'Black or African American" and "Asian" on his 2009 application. He said that he checked both the boxes to capture the fullness of his background, as Indian-Ugandan was not an option. 'This should come as no surprise as Mamdani, his proposals, his funding, and his background received absolutely no scrutiny from the press,' Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said, adding that this could just be the tip of the iceberg. Mamdani said he does not consider himself as black or African-American but he is proud to be an Ugandan-American of Indian origin. Mamdani's father, Mahmood Mamdani, was born in India to Indian parents and migrated to Uganda, where he was raised. Mamdani's mother Mira Nair was also born in India to Indian parents. Zohran Mamdani was born and lived in Uganda until 7 years of age before they all migrated to New York. Mamdani told the NYT that he did not choose Black to get any advantage, but he felt that if he did not choose that option, he could not explain his racial makeup. An earlier video of Mamdani saying that he would never identify as an African-American like Elon Musk as that would be misleading, went viral. But Mamdani supporters said that he maintained his stance even while reacting to the NYT article. The revelation triggered a major debate over whether Mamdani indulged in fraud by checking a box knowing that he could not claim his race to be African. "Everyone also knows that the purpose of checking a race on a college application is to confer racial preference benefits to underrepresented groups. He is not black. He knows what the box is for and who is supposed to check it. He was trying to get a racial preference consideration despite not belonging to an underrepresented group," one wrote. Some social media users pointed out that while he checked the African-American box, he was neither an African, nor an American, as he became a US citizen in 2018.
The Wire
29 minutes ago
- The Wire
Five Key Revelations from Army's Deputy Chief on Operation Sindoor
New Delhi: The statements made by Lieutenant General Rahul R. Singh, deputy chief of army staff (capability development and sustenance), at the FICCI 'New Age Military Technologies' event on Friday (July 4) make it clear that Operation Sindoor was not just a bilateral India-Pakistan conflict, but a complex multi-actor engagement involving sophisticated intelligence sharing, real-time battlefield support and coordinated military assistance. Here are the five most significant revelations made by Lieutenant General Singh about Operation Sindoor: 'One border, three adversaries' Lieutenant General Singh revealed that during Operation Sindoor, India faced not just Pakistan, but effectively three adversaries on one border. 'Pakistan was the front face. We had China providing all possible support … Turkey also played a very important role in providing the type of support that was there,' he stated. This exposed the collusive nature of threat faced by India, where it faces multiple state actors working in concert, even if as a proxy conflict. This fundamentally changes India's strategic calculus and defence planning, as it confirms the two-front collusive threat is not a theoretical construct for the Indian military but an operational reality. Pakistan had full real-time intelligence visibility into India The most shocking revelation made by Lieutenant General Singh was that Pakistan had full visibility into Indian military deployments, which was made evident during the director general of military operations (DGMO)-level talks. 'When the DGMO-level talks were going on, Pakistan actually was mentioning that 'we know that your such and such important vector is primed and ready for action. I would request you to perhaps pull it back'. So he was getting live inputs … from China,' he disclosed. This represents a huge vulnerability and demonstrates China's direct involvement in providing strategic military intelligence against India, fundamentally altering the nature of the conflict. Indigenous equipment performance issues Lieutenant General Singh acknowledged that while some indigenous systems performed well during Operation Sindoor, others revealed critical gaps. He also highlighted supply chain vulnerabilities, noting that equipment scheduled for delivery by January or October-November was not available during the operation. Providing a specific example on the requirement of drones and his meeting with Indian drone manufacturers, he said he had asked these manufacturers in April how many of them would be able to 'provide the equipment that you're supposed to in the stipulated time'. 'A lot of hands went up. But when again I called them after one week, nothing came by. The reason is because our supply chains–we are still dependent on a lot of things from outside,' the officer continued. He added that 'had all [that] equipment been made available, the story may have been a little different, right'. This issue adversely affects India's defence preparedness and highlights the urgent need for robust indigenous defence manufacturing with reliable supply chains. Pakistan as China's 'live laboratory' for testing weapons The lieutenant general revealed that 81% of Pakistan's military hardware acquired in the last five years is from China. He described the situation as China using Pakistan as a 'live lab' to test its weapons against various other weapon systems. 'China perhaps has seen that he's able to test his weapons against, say, various other weapons systems that are there. It's like a live lab which is available to them,' he stated. This indicates that any conflict with Pakistan is also a test ground for Chinese military technology, which allows them to improve and upgrade their product for the next conflict. These upgrades will be available to Pakistan, which will be better prepared for the future. Turkey's direct military support to Pakistan with drones He also disclosed that Turkey provided substantial support to Pakistan, including Bayraktar drones and trained personnel. 'Turkey also played a very important role in providing the type of support that was there. Bayraktar, of course, he's been giving from before. We saw numerous other drones also coming in, landing in the face of war, during the war, along with trained sort of individuals who were there,' he revealed. This brings out Turkey's active role in supporting Pakistan against India, indicating a broader geopolitical alignment that extends beyond traditional Pakistan-China cooperation. Lieutenant General Singh's revelations are the first public official acknowledgement of China's real-time support to Pakistan and of Turkey's direct involvement in Operation Sindoor. He candidly revealed Pakistan's unprecedented visibility into Indian deployments and acknowledged critical shortcomings in indigenous equipment and supply chains. These revelations collectively underscore the immediate strategic challenges for India's defence posture. The multi-front threat reality and intelligence compromise are the most critical concerns requiring immediate attention and strategic response.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
New NHS plan will slash foreign recruits from 34% to less than 10% of workforce
UK PM Keir Starmer TOI Correspondent from London: UK PM Keir Starmer has announced plans to cut the number of overseas staff recruited for the NHS from its current level of 34% to under 10% by 2035, according to the 10-year NHS health plan unveiled this week. The largest cohort of foreign doctors and nurses in the NHS are Indian nationals. As of June 2023, there were 60,533 Indian nationals working as staff in the NHS. Of these, 10,865 hospital doctors and 31,992 nurses were Indian. 'While the NHS has always welcomed recruits from abroad, today, the NHS disproportionately relies on international recruitment…We will need to reduce the NHS' dependence on overseas staff from its current level — where 34% of new recruits have a non-UK nationality. It's our ambition to reduce international recruitment to less than 10% by 2035,' the plan states. It also says UK medical graduates will be prioritised above overseas recruits for foundation training, and will be prioritised, alongside those who have worked in the NHS for a significant period, for specialty training. It said that the 2020 decision to open competition for postgraduate medical training to international trainees on equal terms with UK-trained graduates meant the competition ratios for postgraduate places had increased to a level which was 'unacceptable'. Ramesh Mehta, president of BAPIO, which represents Indian-origin doctors and nurses, is opposed to the plan. He said a third of UK-trained medical graduates left the country last year and went to places like New Zealand, Canada and Australia. 'The number of medical staff required will continue to grow and will be impossible to have enough local graduates to fill the roles, especially if they continue to move abroad,' he said. He said the authors of the plan are 'living in dreamland' because unless things in the NHS change, local graduates will continue to emigrate. 'Last year almost 10,000 Indian doctors came to the UK to take the screening exam to work in the NHS. But many have no jobs and some have gone back. There are no jobs in the NHS at a junior level. Many doctors can't get postgraduate training in India so that's why they want to come to the UK,' he said, explaining training posts should be given on merit to those already working in the NHS, not on nationality.
