A war of words has erupted on social media in Kerala over the English language proficiency of political leaders, after memes on Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) national president and Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim’s English bite during his visit to Kogilu Layout in Bengaluru, where a few hundred allegedly illegal structures were demolished, went viral.
The controversy escalated to the point that Mr. Rahim publicly admitted his need to improve his language skills, while stressing that what mattered more was his act of empathising with the displaced.
Ministers such as V. Sivankutty also came to his support, posting on social media that actions matter more than words. The political battle has seen old video clips of Parliamentary debates featuring leaders such as the late Congress stalwart K. Karunakaran and Indian Union Muslim League leader P.K. Kunhalikutty resurfacing online to bolster opposing arguments.
Akin to body shaming: Karassery
Social critic M.N. Karassery remarked that while people may agree or disagree with Mr. Rahim’s statements, mocking his language misses the point. “Former Prime Minister and multilinguist Jawaharlal Nehru used to carefully listen to Opposition Leader A.K. Gopalan’s speeches in Parliament despite his limited proficiency in English. When someone mocked Mr. Gopalan’s ‘broken English,’ Nehru retorted that what he had to say was not broken. Making fun of someone’s language is akin to body shaming. The entire debate seems like an attempt to deflect attention from the real issue, which is the displacement of people,” he said.
