Counter- Counter Point!... 
An urgent need to give up language prejudice.....
The medium of instruction at schools in the rural areas of a developing nation like India tends to be vernacular but among all of the top educational institutions in India, the medium of instruction is English by default. Brilliant minds hailing even from the rural areas will have a better chance of learning provided they are familiar with this language and if the medium of instruction had been English since the primary level they will have an added advantage. Other wise, coping up with this language (which is regarded as foreign) will be an uphill task for them and thus a hindrance for their further studies. Which may in turn alter their life dramatically by hindering their chances of getting into better paid jobs.
The IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) and the like are the top educational institute in India. Here the medium of instruction is English only and for sure the quality of education is at par with the international standards. How ever there are people with pseudo halo of power and authority who regard this language as foreign and times they even want to do away with this language from the country all together.
Speaking of changing the medium of instruction from English to any other Indian vernacular language would result in another chaos.
Our Hindi has enjoyed the status Rashtra Bhasha (National Language) but definitely with a premium. Thanks to the patronage of the hardliners, who have ensured that darts aimed from conservative as well as high levels of political intaglio find their mark on Hindi.
However a simple look at the Indian currency (for those who are unfamiliar with the same) even in its lowest denomination will tell the story of the cultural diversity that the Indian society has. The value of the currency note is stated in eleven different scripts apart from English.
Without a common language to serve the purpose of communication and ensure the flow of information (Specially in this age of Information and Technology); orthodox and hardliners may be lead (or alarmingly they might lead people) to their respective ethnic and linguistic background and thus remain confined within their own self made walls. Thus imposing territorial limits and gain the recognition of the frog in the well.
Not all people in India, where the country's population has exceeded One Billion and is threatening China to strip her off the title of being the worlds most populated country, there are people in India who are in fact not well versed with Rashtra Bhasha and not to mention the number of people detesting it and surprisingly they might themselves not know the reason why on earth are they detesting even the national language. At this point thinking on a global point of view would definitely sooth some hearts. Even though, English is the International language, the language that is most spoken all over the world is Chinese!
To have a broader mind and to have a wiser outlook at a global level English should be constituted as a medium of instruction in ALL educational institutions in India rather than constipating this at conservative coordinates and hard liners' planes. There may be people who might have a different opinion based on the facts figures that they might have generated for them, I wish to quote Linda Goodman here "Like wise when an ancient belief built on a strong foundation of lies seeded into the mass collective sub consciousness for thousands of years, has out lived its time and must be destroyed so that a new realization may take its place, there is only one way to accomplish such a transformation of thought. A Dynamite- an explosion" -Linda Goodman on Physical Immortality.
At an early child hood when kids are and should be at primary schools- the mind is more flexible to adopt to the stress of three languages, vernacular, English and Hindi than at adulthood or adolescence. I would surely excuse the erudite rationalists who might get encouraged to debate that three languages will be a bit twenty two much for the young minds, well I would definitely allow the flexibility of choosing among Hindi and the vernacular language. English should be preferred to allow global communication and opportunities specially in this age of Information technology, where it is only a matter of time when I, Robots would walk the earth and we may get a better and more genuine WOW signal. Thus the arguments of the self proclaimed think tanks and the hardliners that the stress of three languages will add to the study related stress and "suffering" of the rural child are nullified on grounds of advancements. The generations to follow will have a familiar and well paved path to tread upon, where their (rural) predecessors once 'suffered'. And more over, suffering is worth while if the cause so deserves. This can be compared with the pain that one endures during a surgery of removing a little wood splinter from the palm, so that the grasp is not weakened and the hand is not infected at a later stage.
In spite of the above arguments it will be shocking discovery to find the number of hardliners and think tanks who would stress a ban on the English language but send their own children to English medium schools and pay "high fees".
For the common man in rural areas. it might be a simple observation that how an urban child (some one like my self, during my childhood days) having no superior brain power copes up with two and may three languages. Hence a growing affinity for any language that is other than the mother tongue is not a cultural suicide or manifestation of disrespect to any body any anyway. It is as implicit as having a respectful interaction with relative, neighbors or friend and not showing any disrespect to any sibling. but I would like to share with great regret that I was once told in very chiding tone, "Bengali cheley hoye, gar gar korey hindi likhey jacchey..." (Being a Bengali kid you are so fluent in Hindi...!?!). Is this is a sin?...Well this is just an attitude.
Hence the inclusion of three or at least three languages as compulsory ones at primary levels should be treated as important as the pulse polio program. That is in fact a vaccination from a dreaded disease as dangerous as illiteracy
All rights reserved © Sudip K Ghosh aka *~Anecentric