The Athletics Federation Of India (AFI) faced flack on Twitter for shaming Hima Das for her “not so fluent English” skills. Does her gold medal lose any of its sheen because her English is “not so fluent”? No. The girl became the first Indian woman to win a gold at World Junior Athletics Championship, in the Under-20 category. And that's why she makes us proud.
It’s a phenomenal achievement for both the country and her. Das hails from Nagaon in Assam- a place not many of us know about. Imagine the hardships this 18-year-old must have endured to reach the world stage. Must we point out to her flaws in times of her glory? She is an athlete! The best track athlete we have seen in recent times.
Stop with the Elitism
Das clinched her prestigious gold in the women’s 400-m final race by touching the finish line in a mere 51.46 seconds. This is just one of the many amazing feats our girl has achieved. Yet, of all the things, what matters is her English language skills? There are numerous people, whose elitist approach to the English language prevents them from appreciating others “non-linguistic” achievements. For them, if a person isn’t fluent in English, then their achievements aren’t relevant.
SOME TAKEAWAYS
- Hima Das became the first Indian woman to bag a gold medal in the Under-20 category of World Junior Athletics Championship.
- She completed the 400-meter track race in 51.46 seconds.
- The official Twitter handle of the Athletics Federation of India decided it was okay to take a shot at her "not so fluent English".
Language skills can be acquired, but her talent is rare
Would Hima have been able to set this record, had she rather spent time working on her English skills? Would we celebrate any athlete had he or she not won a medal for us, but had excellent language skills?
People need to stop staining this glorious moment for the girl by picking on what they consider to be an imperfection. They should look beyond the constraints of their elitist approach and see someone’s capabilities. Because gone are the days when command on the English language was necessary in every field. We have long moved beyond that.
Today, ridiculing others for inconsistencies in a field which have nothing to do with their talent is frowned upon. Good sense has prevailed and the Twitter handle of AFI which had posted this tweet has apologised for it. According to them, the tweet was meant to highlight how brave Das is, as she isn’t scared of challenges both inside and outside of the track field.
As long as the federation understands that such casual elitist degradation of athletes won’t go unnoticed, we are good. Instead of encouraging people to brush up their spoken skills, people should try to change their elitist approach which glorifies command on a certain language over every other talents.
Das’ achievement is the stuff of history books. Let’s not mar it with our biased vision.
Photo Credit : IAAF / Twitter
Also Read : From Football To Athletics, Here’s Hima Das’ Story
Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.
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