http://timesofindia
Dalits see English as social leveller
TNN, 16 January 2010, 03:11am IST
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court may have touted English as the flagbearer
of knowledge economy but the role of the Queen's language as a "social
leveller" is witnessing a renewed push for English education among
weaker sections.
Six decades after independence, there is a newfound zeal among
intellectuals that English will not only equip SCs/STs for "new
economy jobs" but also aid them in breaking free from the pernicious
caste system.
The love for English as the new lingua franca is visible. In her
fourth tenure as CM of UP, Mayawati made English compulsory in primary
education in the state. While importance of foreign language in a
globalised world is valid for all, the SC leader's decision could be
seen as flowing from her icon Ambedkar's thoughts.
Her move stands out in the face of opposition from well-heeled rivals
who see it as "cultural subversion". SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and
MNS leader Raj Thackeray have made a strong pitch for mother tongue
over English.
Their opposition contrasts with acceptability of English among dalits.
"If some people have to join the process of modernity, they have to
learn the tricks of the trade. English is one of them," says Vivek
Kumar, a faculty in JNU and a keen follower of dalit trends.
Chandrabhan Prasad, who celebrates the birthday of Macaulay on October
25 in respect for the man who introduced English education, plans to
put English in the pantheon of dalit gods. "I will build a temple to
English in a school of a dalit this year," he told TOI.
The pro-English mood has its roots in Ambedkar who saw "English" and
"urban landscape" as the twin tools for social liberation. For him,
English was the game changer - before its advent, dalits saw their
destinies as "preordained" which later they saw as "man made".
The foreign language is seen as the catalyst in social transition.
Educationist Bhalchandra Mungekar says, "Jobs create vertical and
horizontal social mobility while caste, which is immobile, played an
ascriptive role. With English came new skills and the system is fast
becoming achievement-
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