(Extra-5)English in India
VERY IMPORTANT POINTS-
1. Digital English phase is on now in India and beyond.
2. Because we do not agree with one Indian language, English still keeps on being the linguistic alternative.
3. We have 3 language policy. (Hindi, English or another Indian language).We have no one official language.
4. 300 billion in the world have English as their mother tongue. English is the secondary language in India yet it's so important here.
5. English Literature improves our knowledge in socio-political aspects rather than English speaking.
6. English is leading to the decline of our languages.
7. English speakers are after Chinese.
8. It is considered that Idian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Bangla, Srilanka) has better command over English grammar than natives. Particularly, the competitive exams make our grammar better. Again, we are not grammar Nazis either.
8. English helps us in upward social mobility. It acts as symbol of social status.
9. Valuing English has made English important.
10. Kothari Commission agrees that English will play a critical role in India in nation building despite its not our native language. We don't have to be fanatical with English.
11. Nguigi Wa Thiongo (African writer and critic) says that to decolonize we have to eradicate English completely.
12. But we 'chutnify' English and make it our own. We don't use Queen's English. We subverted the Queen's English. Our English has its own beauty.
13. Translations don't give us the essence so learning of Indian languages are necessary.
14. English is link language of the world. The world recognizes it too.
15. English makes us cosmopolitan too.
16. But other languages are gaining too. China and South Korea have huge Indian customers. So they hire Hindi professors to teach Hindi for their capitalist & trade benefit. So, English faces competition from Hindi even outside India.
17. English helped in arousing national consciousness during independence movement. Tagore, Raja Rammohan Roy, et al preferred it flourish.
18. English is hugely used in science and technology, judiciary, industry, etc, too in India.
19. India was one of the first to introduce English Literature as subject in our colleges & univs. Even England dint had such widespread introduction in their education system.
20. Charter Act (1 lakh rupees was allocated for educating Indians&for introducing English in India), Macaulay's Minutes in 1835 (Wanted complete transplantation), Wood's Despatch, East-West controversy(Oriental vs. Occidental or Anglicists) & Downward Filtration Theory(by Macaulay. To teach English to few Indians first) in pre-Independence period made English come to India. Institutionalization of English went through then.
21. Three language formula in post independence period. English became Associate Official language.
22. There is no single solution to languages in India. Nehru wanted to keep English as long as a solution was found. Non-Hindis will decide India's language destiny. Official Languages Commission of 1956 reported these aspects & it was accepted in 1958. England is almost monolingual. Russia and China are not full democracies. Such conflicts do not arise in those countries.
23. Urdu is fast becoming extinct. Sanskrit is no more spoken. Emotions are attached to any language. So, they should be revived and saved.
24. Five years plans earlier worked on improving education. Our Constitution is combo of previous charters and constitutions of different other countries.
25. Urban gentry and digital India are the two futures of English in India.
26. English is a postcolonial syndrome.
27. It is not our official language.
28. On 7th August, 1958 Nehru assured that English would be used as long as people want.