English—an Indian’s foreign dilemma.

It is sad that people judge others on the basis of how well they speak English and those who struggle with the language are often made fun of. — actor Arjun Kapoor

There are very few things that I respect this actor for and agree with — this happens to be one of them.

I read an article which mentions, there’s a common notion in India, that if you want to command respect, you must speak English as fluently as the Queen of England or kill any dreams you might have of mingling with the educated high society—which compels me to write this.

Like every nation, India has her set of deep-rooted issues to deal with, and we’ve now added a new one to it: India faces a huge identity crisis.

This issue is twofold; there’s a growing obsession of using English as India’s first language, and a growing discrimination against those struggling to keep up.

Our need for approval and acceptance worldwide has made us so insecure, over-competitive and judgmental, that we have started to resort to making fun of each other and pulling each other down to feel better about ourselves. Ironically, I feel like a victim and guilty as charged at the same time.

As a child, I was regularly bullied and mocked at, because my English wasnimpeccable. My elementary years weren’t fun, and I looked forward to growing up, imagining that adulthood would be better. Fast forward to today and I realize, not much has changed.

I constantly see and have personally experienced, Indians ridiculing fellow Indians for their English skills, the accent, pronunciations, grammar, the list goes on. They justify their need for correcting, by calling themselves Grammar Nazis.

It seems we’re determined to give each other a hard time, no matter what. Living abroad, if you speak like you normally would, that’s a problem. If you adapt, you’re a wannabe and that’s a problem. When you visit India, your acquired accent is a problem and you’re a wannabe all over again. Like—what is our problem?

A recently released Bollywood film “Hindi Medium,” addresses the issue of India’s fixation with the language—and shows how schools are now majorly contributing to this. Schools, starting at kindergarten, attempt to seal a child’s destiny by basing it on how proficient their parents are in English. So, if your English vernacular doesn’t match up to the school’s standards, your child does not get admission no matter how smart he/she might be — and this bewilders me. How did we get here, and how are we okay with this?

Also, how come we’re okay to detract from our national language? Ever noticed the pride, almost vain, that we feel when someone compliments us with a, “wow, your English is very good,” versus “wow, you speak Hindi really well”?

My mother tongue is Hindi and Sindhi, and I’ll admit that while I can read, write and speak fluent English, my Hindi is above average, and Sindhi is, well, questionable (sorry, Mom and Dad.) What I’m trying to say is, if I cannot speak, read or write fluently in my native language, what am I being so pompous about? What greatness have I achieved, apart from trying to fit in someone else’s world?

I am judging and patronizing my fellow mates over a language that doesn’t belong to me—how does this give me the right to feel superior just because I’ve ‘mastered’ it? Moreover, how does this give me the right to make fun of someone who hasn’t?

At some point all of this needs to stop; linguistic shaming needs to stop; our identity crisis needs to end. And so, here’s my take on this:

• We are who we are, however we are; take a hike.
• Before we go on a mocking spree towards someone’s English, their accent — whether it’s original or acquired— and their pronunciations because we know it all, remind ourselves where we came from and what it took for us to get here. Do not be a prick. We are not a needle.
• To Indians who proudly proclaim, “I cannot help myself. I’m a Grammar Nazi,” picture this: You’re of Indian descent, using a German term, to explain your obsession with correcting a language, introduced to you by the British. If this doesn’t help, try this: a Nazi is defined as a person with extreme racist or authoritarian views, and who seeks to impose their views on others in a very inflexible way. Adding in one tiny detail: A Nazi was responsible for some of the worst atrocities and genocides committed during war—and you, cannot help yourself?

To be perfectly clear, I am not advocating that English should be dropped off or shouldn’t be taught. Heck, this blog is in English. I am advocating that we have some basic respect for each other regardless of what class we belong to or the language we choose to excel in, because at the end of the day, as actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui puts it, “English is a language; it is not a test of your intelligence.”