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CHURCH FINISHING INDIAN CULTURE: says Karmali Some sections of the Press have reported that Naguesh Karmali so called freedom fighter says that the Church is finishing Indian culture and I quote that Adv. Uday Bhembre a self style intellectual calls for 75% “ to rise up” against the domination of 25% which is not correct and not acceptable. There were a number of Goa freedom fighters who fought against the Portuguese dictatorship in Goa and liberated Goa in 1961. Those two are visible and active pseudo leaders on the MOI issue, Adv. Bhembre and Karmali. Both at times have claimed that the Church is promoting English medium at the primary level as part of a design to suppress the Indian culture and ethos. Also they say it has been suppressing it in a larger way than the Portuguese suppressed it in the 16th and 17th centuries. They should understand that we owe our children better education to a quality to enable them to get a good start in life and empowerment in competitive world on a global scenario for over 500 years, the crooked among the upper casts have suppressed the Bahujan Samaj who constitute 95% of the down trodden and suppressed majority. Unlike the 25% who should rise up against the 75% which Bhembre claims, we the 95% of the Bahujan Samaj should throttled the evil design of the 5% upper cast who are represented by Bhembre and Karmali put together. It is English alone which would liberate the Bahujan Samaj and I salute the Church and its leadership for looking into the evil game plan of suppressing the 95% of Goans depriving them the choice of empowerment in the form of English. Do Karmali and Bhembre realize the essence of Indian culture exist, in promoting cast discrimination, encouraging sati and empowering the upper casts? The Catholic community by and large and the Church in particular is hell bent on removing injustice, inequality, discrimination, suppression and exploitation, whereas the essence, so called Indian culture, promoted by Bhembre and Karmali. The Church has liberated mankind through the teachings of Jesus Christ and we Catholics will do our best to empower and liberate the Bahujan Samaj from the clutches of these Hindu Brahmanism. I understand and allegedly Bhembre and Karmali have empowered their children and their grand children in English and are involved at Post Graduate teaching at Goa University. Goans will be obliged if Bhembre’s and Karmali’s children write their books on higher education in Physics, Maths and other sciences and humanities in Konkani so that their books can be used to empower our children to study KG to PhD in Konkani . Practice what you Preach and involve your children, kit and kin and your dear ones to improve Konkani literature, science, sociology, etec , etec. so that we can feel the need to get quality education in Konkani and be at par with English. Charity begins at home. Please sacrifice the interest of your children to promote Konkani before trying to sacrifice the future of Bahujan Samaj children at the altar of competitive approach to economic development where English alone reigns supreme. We can teach our children Konkani at home and in school but for children who want to study on college or above level, English should be the medium of instruction (MOI), right from the start. The issue about MOI ( English) is pursued by the parents of the school going children and by no stretch of imagination by the Church, so why the Church should be brought into the picture? They should talk to the youth of today and see first hand the impact on a child’s confidence and competitiveness when the child moves from Konkani or Marathi medium to English when they move to higher studies which they will need to in order to achieve success in life. I repeat, why don’t understand why the Church is being blamed for English being the MOI. Rests of the masses are denied empowerment to English as they cannot afford high fees in private English schools. In fact I believe that by denying easy access to English MOI schools, both Karmali and Bhembre are instrumental in denying a large section of the poor and middle class the ability to meet their better off counterparts on an equal footing. Lastly, what does the MOI has to do with culture. Our children spend the largest portion of the day at home. If we cannot share our culture with them, how do we expect schools to do it? Stephen Dias Dona Paula
