WHO THE BLEEP CARES ABOUT TYRANNY OF THE MASSES AND ENGLISH MEDIUM by Selma Carvalho

The phrase "tyranny of the masses" is often used in democracies to mean decisions taken by the majority which undermine minority rights and trample on individual freedoms.

Now, Goa for centuries has thrived on the "tyranny of a few thousand families," who have dominated it with impunity. The tired, familiar faces of these families can still be spotted at book launches and parties hosted by the Fundacao Oriente.

They will limp across to you, in dresses or bush-coats as inherited and worn as their pedigrees and introduce themselves as the grandson of so-and-so, their great-grandfather having been a regidor of that village or a professor in the nearby Lyceum. They will throw in a few Portuguese words, which have since become archaic in Portugal and will impress you with the intricacies of Communidade rules and regulations, all the while delighting you with stories of malcriados, Indians and other reprobates.

I have nothing against these families or oligarchies. I have yet to be convinced that democracies are the best form of governance. In fact, thank God for these few thousand educated families, because of whom Goa has held on to a modicum of sanity. The problem is, in a democracy, and we are led to believe that Goa is a democracy, the playing field should be levelled at some point. The one area in which the playing field is levelled, is politics. This unfortunately has meant that the very filth of Goa has been able to rise to the top and once filth rises to the top, it ensures the rest remain at the bottom.

The recent controversy about medium of instruction is a case in point. To those grand families of Goa; the Rosarios, Pintos, Rosario-Pintos, Ribeiros and Menezes on the Catholic side and the Desai, Parrikars and Gaunkars on the Hindu side, the medium of instruction is irrelevant. Most of them will send their children to Sharada Mandir and then wait for that letter printed on a neat American or British University letterhead acknowledging their admission to a PhD program. It is the flotsam and jetsam of Goa, for whom the bells toll and this debate becomes relevant. Unfortunately this flotsam and jetsam don't know that the die is loaded against them.

No Catholic, South of the Zuari speaks or understands the Konkani taught in Goan schools. They suffer terribly with the devnagri script and as soon as the mandatory primary years are done, they forget about both, the language and the script, thankful that never again in their lives, will they have to bear this atrocity inflicted on them. If we are being brutally honest then we have to admit that for a language to thrive it has to have a robust body of literature, a science vocabulary, terms for pure and applied mathematics, civil law, philosophy and theology. Of course, we Goans have none of this in Konkani and those four years in primary school, where little children (particularly Salcete Catholic children), endure what can only be described as educational brutality, will not in anyway help with this predicament.

Which leaves us with English. The parents of these children want to have the option to choose English medium schools. The sad reality is Goan teachers, at the primary and secondary level, are themselves not proficient enough in English. They speak an English language which is recognizable only to them. It has been bruised Red and mutilated beyond recognition. A child under the tutelage of such teachers is terribly malnutritioned in terms of vocabulary, comprehension and deductive reasoning even at SSC level. A student studying in the villagers of Goa, has such a poor language proficiency level that he struggles with higher academics and is disadvantaged at the job-market.

Those who come from higher socio-economic groups will in any case pick up good language skills; they ensue from generations who have spoken Portuguese or Marathi (both established languages); they have books lying around their homes; they are exposed to art, film and theatre; they will read newspapers and magazines; they will interact with others equally proficient in languages. But the vast majority, will have learnt neither Konkani nor English, well enough to debate, discuss and ponder life profoundly. An impoverishment of language and thought prevails, for we don't realise how closely, language and thought are connected.

Perhaps, it's a telling sign of our democracy, that the Minister of Education is found with lakhs of rupees on him, while the state struggles to pay the salaries of its teachers. Until we realize that investment in education - not what masquerades as education but a real robust system - should become our foremost priority, we are floundering in a limbo land.