The Great Indian Language Debate!

The recent debates over language somehow make me uncomfortable and also fearful of the time to come.

The whole language thing was a good debate when in the old days there was barely any migration across the country. Today, with immense amount of migration, one simply cannot assume and more importantly force a certain language on people.

I am a Maharashtrian by birth can speak decent Marathi, born and brought up in suburban Mumbai, grew up with Tamil brahmins as my best friends (some of them friends for life now), spoke Hindi (Bambaiya, tapori Hindi :))

I always wrote in Hindi, thought in Hindi and then moved on to Gujarat, i almost fell in love (with the place and the language too). I can speak Gujarati and can do it well too. I was in Karnataka for some 9 years and could pick up bits of Kannada and like the language, but was a little difficult for me to pick up.

What language should i know, assuming that in my profession i am well versed with English which gets used as the language of operation?

The "Right" Mandate - Elections 2009

The Indian elections are a major “mahotsav” and the sheer size and volume of the electorate make it the biggest circus that takes place in our part of the world, every 5 years.

The election commission does a fantastic job of ensuring seemingly free and fair elections in large parts of the country with a coordinated effort supported by the rest of the agencies of the government.

Results day for most elections is much awaited and this time it was no different. The expectations were that the incumbent UPA would get closer to the mandate but would really have to struggle for seats.

What the results actually proved was the fact that the ridiculous policies of the left front were not only thrown out but also did not find any connect with their so called bastions of West Bengal and Kerala. The mandate was hugely in favor of the UPA and against the communal agenda of the Right wing NDA and the policies of the left front.

A “Right” mandate indeed. Kudos to the voters of the country and many thanks to the founding fathers of the constitution for creating such a vibrant democracy. We still have a long way towards development that is inclusive, but I believe we are on the right track and must cherish our democratic process!