Chapter 1 Introduction

On August 24, 1608, Britishers landed in Surat. The day can be officially recognized as the day
when the English as a language made its advent on the Indian soil. Unofficially, English as a
language had come to India through British travelers, businessman, and visitors to the Mughal
and Nawab courts. The travelers used to record their observations in English language. The
observations were presented to businessmen of other European origins. This presentation of
documentation enabled Englishmen to communicate freely with the India masses. Before the
advent of Englishmen in India the Dutch and the Portuguese were trading heavily with Indian
rulers and their appointed agents. English men have vast cross-cultural exposure thanks to the
period they served as a slave to the King Cnut, the King of Denmark. When the British came to
India they were acknowledged as businessmen. Contrary to this believe they were agents of the
British throne cloaked in hide of businessmen. Since the throne of the England had adopted
English as their language of choice the English language became associated with Royalty,
Decree, Polish, Culture, and above all sophistication. For the Indians who were already serving
as a slave to the Islamic Invaders, the Mughals, the English language became as a point of
infatuation. Commons who gained command over English started instantly associating
themselves with sense of being learned and in possession of societal excellence. However,
everything in realty was opposite to this. The ones who taught themselves as polished were
nothing more than selfish privileged and societal leaches. They thrive upon an Indian society
who was struggling from almost 800 years of slavery in terms of agrarian crisis, poor education,
minimal gender equality, misinterpreted and miscommunicated Vedic literatures, selective use of
religious teachings to demean and consorting caste.