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There is a tacit yet discernible division of Indian guys here in their teens and 20s using English as their everyday mode of communication and non English speaking Indian guys make it a point to hurl abuses at the former group.
This thingy is not only true to Indian guys; it's true for Indian girls too. I spoke English in school and university and comments like, "Periya vellekaari nu nenepu." (She thinks she's white) Ivengge than Elizabeth Raani ode peethi" (She is queen Elizabeth's granddaughter) etc were always made within my earshot by Indian girls especially in secondary school. I went to an all girls secondary school.
Things didn't change after I left school. I was ridiculed and branded a show off for having a good command of English and a decent vocabulary in university. I wasn’t spared on Facebook too – I had guys, Indian guys being caustic to me just because my English is considerably good. I was called a retard and an attention seeker and was told to stop writing for the good of world. I was bullied for speaking English and since I’m an Indian female, it only adds more intensity. I was told that I am not Indian enough because I converse in English daily.
Why do they condemn English speaking Indians instead of trying to learn and speak in English, deludes me. Are they trying to protect and preserve their mother tongue, that is, Tamil? I don't think so because they say, 'kaigel', 'kappe kawan', 'senju kes' etc when talking, the Malaysian version of Chennai Tamil and many of them are not even from Tamil schools. It's more like insecurity and laziness, which they try to cover up by resorting to bullying.
I do admit that there are Indians who are not well versed in their mother tongues and still some have the mindset that speaking in Tamil is not classy so they fake an accent and say,”Enekeh konjum konjum Tamil teriyum..” (I can only speak Tamil a bit)
For those who really can’t speak Tamil, there are various reasons for it. Perhaps they are not Tamil in the first place and their parents did not teach them their mother tongue as English assumes priority.
So, instead of criticizing English speaking Indians, that they are white people wannabes (FYI, not all white people speak or know English) try to speak English alongside Tamil or your respective mother tongue. We, Indians, are a multi-lingual bunch and the more languages one know, the greater our advantage and edge. Tamil and Sanskrit are indeed the basal of all languages but how many of us know Sanskrit? Well, we can learn – we weren’t born knowing half a dozen languages. Making fun of others to cover up over inadequacies takes one nowhere.
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