Hima Das is our golden girl right now, for making history by becoming the first Indian ever to win a track gold medal at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships.
Oodles of congratulatory messages and praise have been pouring in for the 18-year-old who made India proud as she emerged victorious in the women’s 400m race on Thursday, in Tampere, Finland.
Believe me when I say this, watching Hima conquer those final 80m is a sight that will forever be etched in your memory!
But amidst all this joy and pride, there was one tiny chink in the celebratory armour. And this one was all the Athletics Federation of India’s doing. What did they do? Well, why don’t you read their below tweet and find out….
#HimaDas speking to media after her SF win at #iaaftampere2018 @iaaforg Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too. So proud of u #HimaDas Keep rocking & yeah,try ur best in final! @ioaindia @IndianOlympians @TejaswinShankar @PTI_News @StarSportsIndia @hotstartweets pic.twitter.com/N3PdEamJen
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) July 12, 2018
“Not so fluent in English but she gave her best there too.”
If you thought, “Okay but why were Hima Das’ English speaking skills so important to talk about here?” you are not alone.
Twitter was FURIOUS that the official account of the AFI, for whom Hima Das was one of their own, would put her down like this.
Was it really necessary to mention that in the tweet? Couldn’t they have just written, “Congratulations, proud of you!” instead, and be done with it?
Imagine on a momentous occasion like this, a fellow athlete was forced to put out such a tweet….
I am extremely saddened by this mention of her English skills.
We are athletes and I request humbly with folded hands to judge us as athletes and not as English language experts.
If you can't do it then go and criticise all English speakers for their bad running skills….! https://t.co/90xV1NsQkk
— O.P.Jaisha | ഒ. പി. ജെയ്ഷ 🏃 (@opjaisha) July 13, 2018
And she’s right, isn’t she?
She wasn’t the only one outraged. From politicians, to singers, to actors, writers and even the common man, everyone echoed the sentiment.
She kicks ass where needed. That’s important!
Why would you care about how well she speaks English ?! She speaks kicking ass across 400m brilliantly. https://t.co/Oye4cxPDPx
— Caralisa Monteiro (@runcaralisarun) July 13, 2018
Yes. NOT an English exam!
Boss this was Track & Field; not TOEFL.
Stop being elitist about an athlete's language skills. https://t.co/kR7cdoGksP— Anuraag Saxena (@anuraag_saxena) July 13, 2018
The amazing irony in this situation was that the AFI’s own tweet had a spelling error!
Really think fluency in English is inconsequential here and it's in bad taste to bring it up. Her achievement has nothing to do with language…I tell you what needs to be addressed – "Speking"
Not very good at spelling are you? https://t.co/pu0FIffGmc— Ashwin Mushran (@ashwinmushran) July 13, 2018
Did you send a translator with her then?
Assam produces another gem!Shame on you @afiindia for your comment on her English! #HimaDas did what she was sent for! And she could at least answer in English! What if she chose to speak in her native language as the interviewer did! Did you send a translator with her? https://t.co/IT94JJg7zD
— Shubhrastha (@Shubhrastha) July 13, 2018
It’s the colonial mindset talking.
Get out of your colonial mindset – focus more on sport, not speech. Her English is absolutely fine, you muppets; while the less said about yours the better. https://t.co/MJWZnYD77i
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) July 13, 2018
‘Speking’ here was not needed, you guys.
Dear @afiiindia, “spek” only if you have something sensible to say. She wasn’t there to win an elocution contest. The 1983 Cricket World Cup should have taught us to stop equating sports achievement with English proficiency. But here we are, 25 years later … https://t.co/sJymPTodkZ
— Andy Mukherjee (@andymukherjee70) July 13, 2018
Have you seen any other country put down their sportsmen like this? Then why are wed so obsessed with speaking English?
Have you ever seen Spanish media give a headline like "Nadal might not be so good in English, but he gave his best shot just like he did in Wimbledon!"? No! That's the difference between a self respecting people and a colonially infected servile people https://t.co/9r1zrAuiiV
— Rakshith ಪೊನ್ನಾಥಪುರ (@PonnathPuraaNa) July 13, 2018
Hima Das is a winner. But guess who’s the loser here?
Hima Das did just fine with English and brought glory to the nation with her performance. You are a loser for commenting on her fluency when you cannot spell basic English words correctly. https://t.co/jdIWvcobwZ
— Sunanda Vashisht (@sunandavashisht) July 13, 2018
Class in session and AFI getting schooled.
*speaking not ‘speking’.
*yes not yeah. You are an official Twitter handle.
There should be a full stop before “Not so fluent in English” https://t.co/0wTfiBsiOv— Nupur J Sharma (@UnSubtleDesi) July 13, 2018
Self-ridicule at its finest.
Proude of #HimaDas. No matter whether she speaks fluent English or not. Making such comment about a budding athlete, @afiindia has ridiculed itself. We must encourage sporting talents who come from humble background. https://t.co/3IMhZbrRZp
— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) July 13, 2018
Yep, we’ve all read this: Never make fun of someone’s broken English. It means they know another language.
never point out someone else's poor English. It means they know another language – that you don't
(paraphrasing a quote i read somewhere). https://t.co/iUfkO919xx
— Harini Calamur (#StayHome) (@calamur) July 13, 2018
Kaafi anti-climax, no?
1. Make Indian sports history despite society and the sports administration.
2. Have the AFI point out your English isn't good in its patronising congratulatory tweet.
3. speking https://t.co/l0uwlRZAst— Samit Basu (@samitbasu) July 13, 2018
Okay, people. After the official blunder, it is now time for the official clarification-cum-apology. Yes, there was another follow up tweet in which the AFI explained that it was actually trying to give a compliment.
Failing miserably at it, but okay.
Also she comes from a very humble background & can not even speak Hindi fluently, we are applauding her effort to face journalists & trying her best to speak in English. Hope now you understand that tweet.
— Athletics Federation of India (@afiindia) July 12, 2018
Alright then!
However, despite clarifications issued and misunderstandings cleared, the outrage didn’t exactly get quelled.
@afiindia is realising now that u don’t need to be fluent in English to be a champion on the track! 🙄🙄🙄🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️ Pls eat your fluent English words now. And whatever the result of the race, pretty pathetic of u to scoff at ur own player like this. https://t.co/sejacMoH21
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 13, 2018
Phew! That was a lesson.
But amidst all this outrage and explanation, this one tweet just stood out for me. The biggest irony, that proves how conveniently we change sides in a debate.
https://twitter.com/PUNchayatii/status/1017645992655482880
Food for thought!