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Ifthisisnotantinationalism,whatis?Rediff.com

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Ifthisisnotantinationalism,whatis?
March16,201622:07IST

'WeintheAnglicisedmiddleclassareunconcernedaboutthevastmajorityofIndians.'
'Weinsistononlyourconcernsandanxietiesbeingdebated.AllotherIndiansareirrelevant,'saysAakarPatel.

IMAGE:AmalnourishedchildinBhopal.Themediaisfocussedonthenationalisticmiddleclassandsowecan
talkseriouslyaboutaRs1lakhcrorebullettraininacountrywhere30croreliveinpovertyifnotoutright
destitution,saysAakarPatel.Thereasonforthisisverysimple:ThepoorhavenovoiceinIndia.Photograph:
Reuters

nonewayIndiaisauniquenation.Itistheonlymajorcountrywhoseelitespeaksalanguagethatisnottheirown,andthat
isdifferentfromthatofitsmasses.
ThisistrueofDelhi,Mumbai,Bangalore,Chennai,Hyderabadandanyothermajorcity.ByeliteImeantheurbanmiddle
classwhichdominatestheeconomicagendaandthenationalnewsagenda,despitebeingaminority.
Governmentdatasaysonly5crore(50million)Indianshavepassports,meaningfivepercentofthepopulation.Myguessis
thisisamuchlargernumberthanthoseIndiansforwhomEnglishistheirfirstlanguage.
Thesepeoplemaybeabletospeaktheir'mothertongue',whetherHindi,Gujarati,Tamil,Marathi,Telugu,OriyaorKannada.
Buttheydonotspeakitwell.Theymaybeabletoreaditsalphabet,buttheydonotreadliteratureornewsinthis'mother
tongue'.
Exceptformusic,theirculturalpreference,suchasTVserialsorcinema,isforcontentinEnglish.
ItcouldbesaidthatEnglishhasbeenspokenandwrittenlongenoughbyIndians,forittobenowconsideredanIndian
language.Iacceptthatconditionally,andwillpointoutthattheEnglishthatisspokenonourTVchannelsandwritteninour
mediaisacrudeversionoftherealthing.
SowhatarethewaysinwhichthisEnglishdominanceaffectsus?

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Ifthisisnotantinationalism,whatis?Rediff.com

hefirstaspectisthewaythattheanxietiesoftheurbanmiddleclassdominatenationalpriorities.

Ourmediaismorelikelytobefocussedonthingslikesloganeeringbystudentsthanbydeathsthroughmalnutrition.
ItisunclearhowmanyIndiansaredirectlyaffectedbyantinationalslogans.Wemayfeelupsetbythem,buttheyareonly
words.
Malnutritionkills5lakh(500,000)Indianchildrenayear,everyyear,butitisnotthesubjectofangryTVdebatebecauseit
doesn'taffecttheEnglishspeakingmiddleclass.
Oureconomicprioritiesarealsoskewedbecauseofthis.Themediaisfocussedonthenationalisticmiddleclassandsowe
cantalkseriouslyaboutaRs1lakhcrorebullettraininacountrywhere30croreliveinpovertyifnotoutrightdestitution.
Thereasonforthisisverysimple:ThepoorhavenovoiceinIndia.Thepoliticsofourcountryisaffecteddisproportionately
bythismiddleclass.

veryyear,manymoreIndiansdieofextremistattacksinNortheastIndiaandCentralIndiathaninKashmiriseparatism
orinIslamistterrorattacks.Thedataonthisisabsolutelyclear.ButtheIslamistthreatistheonewekeepdebatingregularly
becauseitplaystotheanxietiesoftheurbanmiddleclass.And,ofcourse,MaoistextremismandseparatismintheNortheast
doesnotaffectthem.
Becauseofthis,soldierswhodie,evenaccidentally,inthetheatrefacingPakistanareseenasheroes.MiddleclassIndians
know the names of many men who died here, from Sourav Kalia to Hanamanthappa, but they will struggle to name one
securitymanwhofellintheNortheastorChhattisgarh.
OurpapersregularlyfeaturereportsofhundredsofIndiansdyingincapsizedboats,templestampedes.Wehavereportsof
childrendyingofaccidentallypoisonedmealsatgovernmentschools,peopleblindedineyecamps,blindedandkilledby
illicitliquor.Thesewillnotbeworthyofasmuchtelevisiondebateasslogans.
Ishouldaddherethatweshouldcomparethistothecoveragegiventoamurderofasingleindividualfromtheelite(likethe
SheenaBoracase).
WeintheAnglicisedmiddleclassareunconcernedaboutthevastmajorityofIndians.Weinsistononlyourconcernsand
anxietiesbeingdebated.AllotherIndiansareirrelevant.Ifthisisnotantinationalism,whatis?

et us look at another aspect of this English dominance. The penetration of the middle class Indian into the classical
cultureofEuropeislimited.Weareinterestedonlyinthepopular.Forinstance,itisnotpossibletounderstandEuropean
culturewithoutunderstandingitsclassicalmusicandharmony.
InIndiawedonothaveatraditionofharmony,whichmeanstwodifferentmelodiesplayingtogetheratthesametime.Those
whoobserveaclassicalsymphonyconcertwillnoticethatthereisno'hero'.
The most important person, the conductor, does not even play an instrument: he only keeps time.All the musicians are
equal,unlikeinaHindustaniorCarnaticconcertwherethereisahierarchy.

hatdoesthisculturalequalityandharmonymeantoEuropeansociety?Isthiswhytheyaretheybetteratrealteam
sportslikefootball?Indianswillnotknowthis.TheironlyinterestintheWestispopmusicandtwitter.Itisnotadeepor
meaningfulengagement.Itissuperficialandultimatelymeaningless.
Yes,it'struethattherearemanyadvantagestoIndiansknowingEnglish.Thechiefoneiseconomic,thoughhereagainthe
benefitsaremainlytothemiddleclass.
ButthedamagethattheEnglishspeakingmiddleclasshasdonetoournationalconversation,ourprioritiesandouragenda
isimmenseandcannotbeundone.
AakarPatelisExecutiveDirector,AmnestyInternationalIndia.Theviewsexpressedherearepersonal.
AakarPatel

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