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Those were the days when the goons of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena were bullying and bashing up the North Indians in Mumbai. A friend from Texas sent me an email sharing the revolutionary step taken by a school to break racial barriers.

Why can’t you ape our schools? How can geographical, linguistic or communal barriers stay in an era of online communities?

Here’s the information she sent. The management of MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, implemented a brilliant idea to improve performance of its poor students that came from racially diverse population. The students spoke 60 languages in their homes. The school gave laptop to every student and teacher to use at home as well as school, connected them to a wireless network and built them into an online community. In other words they brought in technology to demolish the barriers.

Let’s compare it with India’s financial capital Mumbai, where till the elections they – the Thackeray’s men–rightly took pride in speaking their own language but wrongly forced it on others. I can’t forget the manner in which the MNS goons had compelled the shopkeepers to replace their signboards in Marathi.

Now after the defeat of Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in the assembly elections, many also see an end to their ‘the son of the soil’ campaign. Even my bai used to console me, “All this will end after the elections. Right now they are trying to win over Marathis.”

But somehow I feel that in their bid to out space each other, the Thackerays may further intensify their battle for Marathi manoos as they have no other political issue to keep them alive for another five years. Bal Thackerays statement speaks volumes of his frustration. “The Marathi manoos has ditched me. I have no faith in anything- the people, Marathi manoos or even God.”

What the Thackerays don’t understand is that the country has moved forward, not by inches but miles, since they launched the ‘son of the soil ‘ campaign primarily to capture power. If they had been truly passionate about the ‘son of the soil ‘ issue then they should have travelled a few hundred kms to Gujarat, where every Gujju walk and talk Gujrati without making any fuss about it or bashing up the poor taxi drivers or labourers.

At the time when the Thackerays were waging a battle against North Indians, the diamond and textile merchants of Surat were inviting them. And they had no qualms in admitting they needed labour from North as they toiled harder than the local surtis.

So, lets admit the fact. In today’s global economy one has to come out of the cocoon built by language or geographical boundaries. The change is perceptible in South.

In a small town of Tamil Nadu, Puddokottai English learning centers are mushrooming. Why? Children who studied in government schools are now flocking to these centers to learnt the language. And those who studied English in Convent schools are now trying to improve their diction. Again why? Because they have found jobs in call centers.

My taxi driver knew a few English words that he had picked up from his customers.

While bidding me adieu at the airport, he shared his plans of going to an English speaking school as well as replacing his old Ambassador with an AC one. I can never forget his parting comment, “Madam, take this pen — my memory. Next time, come – better taxi, better English.”

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Posted by Sunita Aron on Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 6:53 pm 
Filed under India · Tagged MacArthur High School, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, Mumbai, online community, technological barriers

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