Its all over the news and continues to be a much debated subject even today. For a city that boasts of being The Technology Hub for India and attracting eyeballs worldwide, this appears to me as regressive. I support the school of thought that emphasizes the importance for mid-long term residents of a place to respect and make an honest attempt to understand its culture and live in harmony with it. This is more so for kids who need to cultivate relationships at school, fit in and therefore need to understand the language as well. However, it is shocking that the government has taken steps that would deprive 100,000 little children of a decent school education and a potentially bright future. Why ban a global language at all when development seems to lie in the hands of an increasing global economy? Closing schools that do not teach in the native tongue but in English based on a OMG-I-forgot-that-it-existed mandate is unpardonable. Regressive seems like an understatement. The reasons for such mandates are many, to me some of them appear well thought out, some of them rather fanatical. This kind of thinking seems to create a further divide in an already fractured society. Politicos and government reps do nothing to alleviate the already festered wounds of the ordinary citizens.
There have been more than one occasions where we have been subjected to vilification by strangers on the street & autorickshaw drivers for the traffic/pollution and the numerous civic problems that plague any growing city that in its current state cannot support the burgeoning population and the boom in the economy. Being "outsiders" of the state have brought us several pains, but beyond that, being part of the prosperous and booming technology industry here seems to a punishable offense ! This may appear rather cynical, but we also love the city and face the same problems on our way to work, in shops, markets and everyday nothings. I think tolerance is something that has faded away with development.
I am sure that these peaceful folks who continue brooding over the long gone glory of the Garden City must feel tortured but I wish they'd wake up and pick the real fights to fight !
There have been more than one occasions where we have been subjected to vilification by strangers on the street & autorickshaw drivers for the traffic/pollution and the numerous civic problems that plague any growing city that in its current state cannot support the burgeoning population and the boom in the economy. Being "outsiders" of the state have brought us several pains, but beyond that, being part of the prosperous and booming technology industry here seems to a punishable offense ! This may appear rather cynical, but we also love the city and face the same problems on our way to work, in shops, markets and everyday nothings. I think tolerance is something that has faded away with development.
I am sure that these peaceful folks who continue brooding over the long gone glory of the Garden City must feel tortured but I wish they'd wake up and pick the real fights to fight !
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