In the end Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar blinked first. Under constant pressure from the Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), black flags, yelling and all, he finally succumbed. The formation of a panel, a very large one, to study the medium of instruction issue afresh is a sign of weakness on the part of the government and particularly the BJP. It is an admission that the government is on slippery ground and its claim that it will win 24 seats is false bravado. It is now amply clear that it fears the BBSM.
By announcing the formation of a panel, packed with educationists, the government has indirectly admitted that its MoI policy was flawed and has collapsed. The policy adopted by the BJP-led government was not really a policy. In trying to please one side it antagonized the other. The pendulum has
now swung to the other side and the government could end up
with a larger problem than the one it set out to resolve.
FORCE was half-successful in the
battle for government grants for all
English primary schools. And when
it demanded that the decision of
the government to release grants
to Diocesan Society of Education
schools, be enshrined in the law
books by passing an amendment in
the Assembly, everyone thought the
demand was a bit too much to be
granted. Now that the government
has chosen to review the policy, it seems FORCE was right in
making that demand because it believed that any government
could review and even reverse it. None really expected the BJP
to go back on its own decision.
FORCE, DSE and parents who want to send their children to
English primary schools, but are being held hostage by ideologues
who are caught in a time warp, will find it difficult to
trust the BJP. Also, a cloud of uncertainty now hangs over the
education system and parents will have to take to the streets to
resolve an issue that was considered settled.
By going back on its decision the BJP has inadvertently
painted itself as untrustworthy. All along the chief minister
had affirmed that there was no going back on the policy. He
had stood firm in the face of protests by the BBSM. The sudden
reversal has shown that the BJP never believed in its own
policy. It shows that the party is willing to put a large number
of parents and young students to great inconvenience to gain
a few political brownie points. It is willing to overturn primary
education in 132 schools to please the BBSM which wants to
force its agenda down the throat of parents in an autocratic
manner.
There is a school of thought that believes that the formation
of a committee is a way of delaying a decision until the next
elections. Although the committee has been given 120 days to
submit its report, the clock would start ticking only after a notification
is released. Secondly, given the terms and conditions
set for the panel, it appears that 120 days will not be enough.
So, there is a chance that the MoI issue will be left for the next
government to resolve. But then, with the BJP you never know
because the decision is based on political desperation, not
sound thinking.
