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<span>London Diary: Language rigidities, fluid identities</span>
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COLUMNIST | <b>KISHWAR DESAI</b><div class=""><div class=""><span class=""><b>Published </b></span>Jan 26, 2016, 12:50 am IST</div><div class=""><span class=""><b>Updated </b></span>Jan 26, 2016, 12:50 am IST</div></div>
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<div class=""><span>It might be better, for instance, to reverse Mr Cameron’s suggested “language” policy.</span></div>
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<img src="http://dc-cdn.s3-ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/dc-Cover-20160126004723.Medi.png" class="">
<div class=""> British Prime Minister David Cameron (Photo: AP)</div>
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<p>Extremism is a difficult issue
to deal with. And yet everyone thinks they have a solution. More so, if
you are the PM of Britain. Of course, it has to be a whole host of
measures which will eventually come together, and some might be more
effective than the others. But could the language you speak actually
turn you into a terrorist?</p>
<p>In one of the most controversial statements of recent times, the
normally sure-footed David Cameron stumbled rather badly when he told
Radio 4 that “if you’re not able to speak English, not able to
integrate, you may find therefore you have challenges understanding what
your identity is and therefore you could be more susceptible to the
extremist message coming from Daesh.” Oh dear.</p>
<p>Among his critics is the erstwhile co-chair of the Conservatives,
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, who felt that whilst language skills were of
great use in getting a job, they had no direct link to terrorism.</p>
<p>Speaking of “minority communities”, how many of us genuinely believe
that the UK is a White country? Certainly, some of its areas are,
especially in the Midlands. But London is now more or less completely
taken over by us, the migrants. Balle, balle! All of us, together, now
have crossed 50 per cent of the population. I remember when my mother
had come to London she had been astonished at the lack of Whites on the
streets.</p>
<p>Could they really be called the majority community? According to
government statistics, the percentage of White Britishers in London has
halved in the last 40 years! It has dropped sharply from 86 per cent to
45 per cent. That is an astonishing statistic — and it only goes to give
the British National Party another reason to shout about. But what is
even more surprising is that London has more than half a million illegal
migrants. Is this what happens when a country has been ruling half the
world for centuries? All the chickens seem to have, literally, come home
to roost!</p>
<p>My only worry now is what will happen to all those authors who write
about the Asian migrant angst in UK? Or will the White Brits now begin
to write books about being a minority?</p>
<p>So, obviously, migrants are now the heart and soul of London. And
given the fact that the Syrian refugee crisis is far from over, there
are going to be more and more foreign nationals arriving on this small
island, and heading undoubtedly for London. Calls are coming from
leaders of many parties to be more humanitarian and Jeremy Corbyn, the
leader of the Labour Party, has been insisting that children who have
arrived unaccompanied by their parents in Europe should be given safe
harbour in the UK.</p>
<p>As one had written in the last column, there is a fear that the
immigrant population, especially the adults, bring certain behaviour
patterns, particularly towards women. And this has led, quite quaintly,
to the Austrian authorities issuing cartoons, to be placed in public
spaces, which they believe will stop the migrants from misbehaving.</p>
<p>One of the cartoons depicts a man with his hand raised, towering over
a woman, obviously ready to beat her. This has a large cross over it,
in bold red, indicating it is forbidden. Another cartoon shows gay
lovers kissing each other, and has been marked with a green tick, i.e.
acceptable behaviour. The problem with such simple signage is that it
can be misinterpreted. Can’t there be better means to communicate?</p>
<p>It might be better, for instance, to reverse Mr Cameron’s suggested
“language” policy. Instead of migrants learning the English language,
the resident community could learn theirs. It might give the host
country a chance to appreciate some parts of the migrant culture — and
help migrants learn about the country they have entered.</p>
And last but not the least, UK has been mourning the death of one of
its best homegrown talent: David Bowie, a multi-talented iconic
musician. Those shoes, those clothes, that music! The music might live
on though, as news has come in that he had prepared records to be
released after his death.<br><br><a href="http://www.deccanchronicle.com/columnists/260116/london-diary-language-rigidities-fluid-identities.html">http://www.deccanchronicle.com/columnists/260116/london-diary-language-rigidities-fluid-identities.html</a><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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