Please permit us to congratulate Mr Soter Dsouza for his inteprid writing on
this issue, and also may we point out that in India, that is Bharat the
Constitution of India is the SUPREME DOCUMENT on which the POLITY of India is
based, supported and sustained.
The Form of Oath taken by Officers of the Armed Forces of India on being
commissioned is to the Constitution of India and not to the President or Prime
Minister or the Chief Justice or Governor or to any other person. The said Oath
goes along the following lines " I...... do hereby swear in the name of God
("most solemnly affirm" in case of those who wish to do so) that I shall bear
true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India, as by law established
and that I shall protect and defend the sovereignty and integrity of India,
even to the peril of my life"
Is it any wonder then that the Armed Forces of India have continued to remain
loyal to the Constitution of India and unlike Armed Forces in our neighbourhood
or in other parts of the world intermeddled in the politics of the country?
The Constitution of India mandates that Hindi in the Devanagri script will be
the Official language of India whilst also making special provisions for
English and other languages.Perhaps the Constituent Assembly found it utterly
neccessary to do so in their wisdom to protect the pluraralist, multi-hued,
variegated ,demograpical,climatic,cultural composition our our country.The
Constitution of India also made English as the language of the High Courts and
the Supreme Court, as also made English the language in which all its Official
Notifications ,Orders, Laws will be published. Perhaps this too, with the
import that these would have in the External Affairs & Relations of the
country.(Detailed provisions are provided in my post on Goanet "The Status of
English under the Constitution of India") Nay, the Constitution of India under
Article 30 provides for the State to support any language of a substantial
portion of the people in any territory of India,
that is Bharat.
It becomes neccessary for a multi hued variegated country such as ours to agree
with the views of Voltaire to the effect that " I may not agree with what you
say, but will defend unto death your right to say it" Accordingly we accept the
right of the Konkani in the Devanagri script protagonists to air their views,
raise thunder and brimstone,pussyfoot and prophesise scenarios quite quaint and
far-fetched.
We recollect that many years ago there was a Demand raised in some quarters
that India, that is Bharat, should CHANGE to a PRESIDENTIAL form of democracy
from its PARLIAMENTARY form of democracy!!! The said Demand died a natural
death in the face of the wisdom of the teeming mass of citizens of India,
whilst the protagonists continue to live and avail of the gerontological
medical faculties of renowned hospitals in India, U.K , U.S. A. and other
countries.
Quite along similar lines we are confident that the demand made to abolish
English and not to provide Grants to Schools in the English medium will wither
away. Let us not get caught in the vile agendas of persons who wish to divide
society so as to cause an agglutinisation of votes.After all the CONSTITUTION
OF INDIA is the BULWARK of the people of India.
May we pray for light not heat to be generated in any discussion, knowing fully
well that " A candle burns brightest before going off"
Regards,
Gerry.
