Quote, unquote

English has almost attained the status of a mother tongue for many educated Indians. This was apparent when a Congress spokesperson in his official press briefing took on members of Team Anna who are in the new for alleged corrupt practices. He resorted to using well-worn quotes: “People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. When he was asked to repeat all that he said in Hindi for the regional news channels, the eloquent lawyer repeated the quotes in English. When Hindi journalists protested, the spokesperson promptly shot back, “English quotations do not have Hindi translations!”