New
Delhi: 22.01.2020 Out of my love for linguistics, I have been closely
associated with British Lingua, a social venture committed to enhancing the
English communication skills of Indian students for the almost three
decades. I had several occasions to
interact with the trainees attending classes here and I was pleasantly amazed
to see their enhanced English speaking skills and confident looks on their
faces emanating out of their communicational skills in English. All thanks to
Lingua’s pragmatic training methodology that appreciably intertwines theory
with practical sessions.
The social entrepreneur Dr Birbal Jha, one of the notable
alumni of Patna University, whom I know personally very well as a well-cultured
person with a great soul from Madhubani of Bihar, has had a mission to use the
English language as a weapon for the weaker sections of the Indian society.
Probably taking a leaf from Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the
architect of Indian Constitution, who once said, “English is like the milk of
lioness, one who drinks it becomes a lion”, Dr Birbal Jha realized very early
that with the knowledge of the English Language— Spoken and Written—one can
carve out one’s niche and reach the upper echelons of society anywhere in the
world.
I am a witness to the fact of how Dr Birbal with a missionary
zeal, started his social venture British Lingua in Patna way back in the early
1990s to cater to the needs of students belonging to the state who were
hitherto not very competent and fluent in English Language skills required in
the job markets. Today, he signifies his name with improving the life skills of
lacs of people, more particularly youth from the marginalized section of
society.
Over the years British Lingua has become a household name in
the country, more particularly in the state of Bihar, where I contribute as a
professor at the Post Graduate Department of English of Patna University.
Housewives, businessmen, students and professionals from all
backgrounds thronged the training centres of British Lingua located in National
Capital Territory and various districts of Bihar, under the tutelage of Dr Jha,
who is an astute visionary in real sense. He has been able to establish
contacts with most of the intellectuals from his home state and other
significant places. Dr Jha reeled them in to be all associated with his
training institute for a social cause.
One of the landmark decisions of the Government of Bihar has
been to recognize and entrust British Lingua with the task of imparting
employability skills to the Mahadalit youth in 2012. The training company has
championed the cause of taking English skills to the downtrodden people of the
state where his noticeable social contribution is well recorded and
acknowledged by all quarters of the society.
It stands to reason that Dr Birbal Jha is a trainer of
teachers, with his exceptional role in successfully implementing the Spoken
English skills Training and Capacity Building Programme for government
High-school teachers in the state when one of the finest officers, Hassan Waris
was the Director of State Council of Educational Research & Training
(SCERT), Bihar.
I have been a witness to how British Lingua in course of time
has spread its wings like a huge bird and came to the national capital of India
in early 2000s, where again he has been marked out as a phenomenal trainer and
reformer. His role, whether in a cultural movement or a child safety campaign,
is worth admiring and imbibing and will be well-recorded in the annals of
history.
In the run-up to the XIX Commonwealth Games, held in the
national capital, the NCT of Government of Delhi headed by the then chief
minister Sheila Dixit, tied up with British Lingua which was tasked with
imparting Spoken English and Behavioral skills training to those who were the
first points of contacts to the foreigners as well as transport department of
Delhi, both public as well as private.
Yet another feather in the cap of British Lingua’s luminous
history, staying ahead of the curve, it also changed its way to impart the
English Knowledge digitally as technology has made almost everything possible.
With British Lingua’s digital English program, it can afford
to reach the doorsteps of people wanting to learn English in Kalahandi of
Odisha or Fiji Island in the Pacific Ocean for that matter.
Dr Birbal is a revolutionary in nature and a visionary in
character, coupled with exceptional interpersonal skills and professional
commitments. His writings are reflective of his in-depth studies of sociolinguistics
in the Indian context which makes him a celebrated author of the day. I wish
him a very bright future with his digital English vision to reach every
individual on the planet who needs language training.
The writer of this piece, Dr Indibar Mukherjee is a senior
professor at Patna University, Bihar.
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