English Education

  Polak and I had often very heated discussions about the desirability of giving the children an English education.It has always been my conviction that Indian parents who train their children to think and talk in English from their infancy betray their children and their county. They deprive them of the spiritual and social heritage of the nation,and render them to that extent unfit for the service of the country. Having these convictions, I made a point of always talking to my children in Gujarat.Polak never liked this.He thought I was spoiling their future.He contended that,if children were to learn a universal language like English from their infancy,they would easily gain considerable advantage over others in the race of life.

He failed to convince me.I do not now remember whether I convinced him of the correctness of my attitude,or whether he gave me up as too obstinate.This happened about twenty years ago,and my convictions have only deepened with experience.

  Though my sons have suffered for want of full literary education,the knowledge of the mother tongue that they naturally acquired has been all to their and the country's good,inasmuch as they do not appear like the foreigners they would otherwise have appeared.They naturally became bilingual,speaking and writing English with fair ease,because of daily contact with a large circle of English friends, and because of their stay in a country where English was the chief language spoken.

obstinate 倔强的, 顽固的
inasmuch 因...之故, 因为