Dear Josebab, I cannot tell you what to think. But even if Samir favors Marathi over English, which I don't believe to be true, I would not automatically conclude that his position is a communal one. It could simply be because he favors the promotion of indigenous Indian languages, with the understanding that kids would learn English in high school no matter what. If I remember correctly, Samir did his primary education in Konknni, and his entire extended family fought against relegating Konknni to be a dialect of Marathi.
My other observation is that non-Catholics are not by default predisposed to be against English. In fact, my informal conversations with friends, relatives and politicians in Goa on a recent visit, convinces me that non-Catholics are not a monolithic group when it comes to most political issues like this. I would venture to say that those who have a strong opinion against government support of English primary education are in the minority. Cheers, Santosh --- On Tue, 5/31/11, J. Colaco < jc> <[email protected]> wrote: > > My dear Santoshbab, > > I would have had NO problem IF Samir's "strong support" was > for > Konkani primary education without a proviso. > > If I have read him correctly, he is also in "strong > opposition" of > English primary education. > > All this - as it relates to NOT supporting the provision of > grants for > English medium primary schools. > > His primary reason for denying grants for English is that > Konkani (or > whatever is being taught as Konkani) is the mother tongue > of Goans. > > If that is so, WHY are grants for Marathi medium schools > NOT objected > to by Samir? Is it because Marathi is the mother tongue of > Goans? > > I have thought about which community is interested in > Marathi medium > schools and which English medium schools ..... and come to > the > conclusion that the position taken by the English > antagonists > including Samir ....is a communal one. > > I would love to hear why I am likely to be wrong. > > jc >
