wrt the Freddy Fernandes post on this subject JC1: I am delighted to learn that Freddy benefited from Loyola High School, Margao. Loyola is a well known Jesuit institution like my alma mater St. Vincent's, Poona. Jesuits have done brilliant stuff for education in India and many other parts of the world. Thanks to individuals like Ignatius Loyola and Francis Xavier, millions of people have benefited. Education was and remains the key to breaking the 'caste-barrier' in India. The main reason why so many casteists hate Francis Xavier. More about this at: http://www.colaco.net/1/sfx.htm (esp page 2)
Freddy Fernandes also wrote: "Dr. Barad is a doctor by profession and I am sure he did not buy his degree or trying to bullshit his creditiantials like our elite Education Minister:" JC2: I am not sure about any 'elite' Education Minister or his qualifications. Aires Rodrigues may or may not be right about him.When Aires speaks, I automatically doubt - even though he may be right this time around. Accordingly, I prefer to wait for the Minister to explain himself. JC3: I am pretty confident that UG Barad is NOT a doctor 'by profession'. I could be wrong about this and stand corrected if that is indeed the case. JC4: There are three possibilities why the speaking of Konkani in an English medium school may have been punished. a: The chaps spoke English poorly (as is common among the guys in Goa - not the girls) and needed language immersion techniques. b: The Konkani itself was badly spoken.(this is common too) c: It is INDECENT to speak in a different language in company which may not understand the language. It is quite embarrassing when in a public meeting (in the West) with professionals from different countries, some desis insist on speaking to you in Hindi or Kannada. I have got past this nonsense by responding to the Hindiwallas in English or not at all. Mercifully, I do not understand too much Kannada - si I can quite easily shrug my shoulders. BTW: At St. Vincent's (Poona): In class, we all spoke English. On the play ground, we spoke English, Hindi or Marathi. At home, my parents spoke to me in Portuguese, Konkani and English. I remember managing quite fine - and never being fined for anything. We knew that it was impolite to speak in 'tongues' while in the company of strangers. So, we adapted to the circumstances. BTW2: The polite and courteous Konkani my parents spoke and which, I believe, I speak is quite different from this hyperSanskritised S-Konkani that has been imposed upon post 1970 Goan students. It sounds like an awful sounding nasal variety of a badly spoken dialect of Marathi with a tinge of an equally badly spoken dialect from Mangalorean Konkani. In short, it sounds quite rude and so different from the polite Konkani spoken by the present Goa CM Digambar Kamat. I would fine myself if I spoke that rude sounding S-Konkani even to myself. good wishes to all. jc
