During his recent address at The White House, Washington DC (USA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi mispronounced the word “investing” as “investigating” while discussing the significance of girl child education. The slip-up soon became fodder for internet trolls and actor Devoleena Bhattacharjee isn’t impressed with the PM being mocked: “Aapko apni native languages likhna-padhna naa aaye, toh us par sharminda hona chahiye, na ki PM ko mock karna chahiye. He wasn’t there to please anyone with his [English] language skills. He was there for India.
Earlier, the Saath Nibhaana Saathiya actor tweeted, “English is just a language to communicate. There is a lot of country in the world, English is not bolted. Translator is needed. PM’s joke is being made because of a damn language (sic).”
The 37-year-old doesn’t have a problem with English, but with those who mock people who aren’t fluent in the language. She says, “People want to learn foreign languages like Spanish and French, but don’t want to learn their mother tongue. I can speak, read and write in Bengali and Assamese, and I am proud of it. In fact, children, especially in big cities, are taught English as their first language in most homes. Aadhe log toh vyakaran (grammar) ka matlab Google karenge.”
Bhattacharjee continues, “In our society, the perception is that if you speak English well, you are classy. It saddens me. I’m fed up [of always feeling the pressure] That English mein hi bolna hai and only then people will respect you. There are so many people who know Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by heart, but ask them to recite a poem in their mother tongue and they are likely not to know any.”
