We need a pro-choice voice
The Supreme Court has ruled in the positive by stating that parents should be given the choice to select the medium of instruction for their children in primary schools. Most parents in our country today work hard only to ensure a secure future for their children. They dream of their children moving ahead and away from the lack of opportunity that beckoned them in their time. They dream of a life where their children surge ahead in today’s globalised world. This surge ahead might mean being an integral component in today’s globalised environment where language skills become extremely important to stay competitive. Taking away this one competitive edge will turn very counter productive.
Using English as a medium of instruction in primary schools does not in any way undermine or dilute the impact, effect and strength of local languages or one’s own mother tongue. Instead of interfering with the medium of instruction in primary schools, the emphasis should be on some out of the box solutions to upkeep and promote our heritage, culture and sanctity of local languages. The thought should be toward instilling the confidence and pride back into being who we are and where we are from. How we might manage to do that by teaching Science and Math in Kannada still remains a big mystery. The other point that has been raised is that the grasping power in children is best in their mother tongue. While that is true, it cannot be undermined that the ages in question are probably the best years where children have the ability to absorb multiple languages. While one of the options should be to mandate the mother tongue or the local language as a subject in schools, the medium of instruction should be left alone and to the choice of the parents.
This should not be a debate of the choice of languages or that of the state v/s court but a well thought out and pragmatic voice that would ensure the future of our children in today’s highly competitive world.

"The buck starts here", an article about Krishna in JADE magazine

In the August issue of Jade Magazine, an article aimed to take a closer look at Krishna and his life. In addition to examining Krishna's political motivation, this feature touches on the kind of music Krishna listens to, the books he reads and the myriad reasons why he is actually known as an approachable and down-to-earth person. Read the full article on Jade's website by clicking here.