It looks like the MoI controversy is stemming more from business concerns of private English medium primary schools than all the crap of threats to the mother tongue. Unfortunately Goa's mother has two tongues with one lashing out at the other and in the end both will land up cutting off each other. The mother tongue never perished during 500 years of Portuguese rule as it was kept alive in the homes and will not succumb to English as long as Goans use it. The decision of diocesan schools to opt for primary instruction in the mother tongue had opened up a minefield for private operators to commercialise and politicise education. Parents leave their village schools to travel long distances to give their children an English education and often land up paying pay hefty sums. If the diocesan schools revert to English as the medium of primary education there is a fear within the managements of private schools (many of which also have political patronage and other motives) that their numbers will dwindle considerably. These commercial interests are being camouflaged as 'Love for Mother Tongue and its survival' and exploited politically by BJP-MGP combine. The PTAs in private schools are often happy hunting grounds for aspiring politicians. A cocktail of Communalism and Politics is being systematically hired to protect commercial interests. The controversy is all about Pockets and Power, isn't it?
-Soter D.
