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The Origin of English Language and English Curriculum in India
The Origin of English Language and English Curriculum in India
The English language has grown in prominence in India throughout the last four
centuries, expanding even quicker in the last couple of centuries due to the language's
importance in international communication. The English language is regarded as a vital tool
in a variety of fields, including worldwide communication and education. The English
language was first introduced by businessmen who had come to the country for the purpose
of trade. The British left India in 1947, yet the language was left behind which has been
adapted and modified into the Indian context, which is different from Queen’s English.
Since colonial times, English has been regarded as a powerful language in India,
connected with social, economic, and political growth. Britain typically maintained an
indirect rule policy, preferring to impose systems of authority exerted by local hierarchy, who
were required to learn English for communication. English was the language of government
and tertiary education, and a person needed to learn English only if he or she wished to
develop socially, economically, or politically. The spread of English during colonial periods
is frequently credited to Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay’s Minutes of 1835,
"...We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters
between us and the millions whom we govern...a class of persons, Indian in
blood and colour, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals, and in
intellect."
“A single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native
literature of India and Arabia,”
Macaulay recommended that the East India Company stop printing Arabic and
Sanskrit literature immediately, and that the Company should not continue to support
conventional education.
As a result of Macaulay’s zealous devotion towards English language and
literature, Lord William Bentinck, the governor general of India at the time, passed a
declaration directing that all funds be spent entirely on English education. In 1854,
Charles Wood urged the government to encourage the use of native languages as
medium of instruction for the poor and middle class. However, his recommendations
were not followed for the next seven decades. By 1857, Bombay, Calcutta, and
Madras had each established its own university. English grew at such a rapid rate
that it became the primary language of the government, the wealthy class, and the
media. As a result of the rising British population in the nation and the growing
influence of English, the only option for native Indians to get access to higher
education was to study English.
The English language and the Indian language first came into touch in the
early 16th century, when the British chose to establish commercial posts in India and
spread English to a new region. Because of the tremendous effect of British
colonisation, several Christian schools were created in India by English missionaries.
As a result, India's education policy was formulated on February 2, 1835, and several
English teaching universities were founded around the nation. As a result, in the
early twentieth century, English was legally recognised as India's academic and
official language. In India nowadays, English is utilised in all sectors of education,
government, mass media, law, science, and technology.