Question- Describe the place of English language in India.

or
Discuss the place of English language in the Indian school curriculum before and after independence.

Related Short Answer Questions
Question- Write the place of English in India. Describe the place of English during the British Rule.
Or
Discuss the place of English in Indian School curriculum before Independence.

Ans.

Place of English in India : With the advent of the British, the English language came to India. But they did not concentrate their attention on the teaching of English from the very beginning. They had come as traders; and hence their first attention was focussed on trade. Along with them, missionaries had come, who had organised schools, where English was taught as one of the subjects.

In order to get a clear picture of the place of the English in India, we shall study it in the following periods :-

(i) Place of English during the British Rule.
(ii) Place of English after independence.
(iii) Place of English in present days.

Place of English during the British Rule :- During the period 1765–1813, the British Rulers of the company never thought of teaching English to Indians. They were afraid of teaching their language to their subjects. The view of one British officer was as, “We lost our colonies in America by imparting our education there, we need not do so in India too.”

After the battle of Plassey in 1757, the British found themselves in the position of rulers inspite of traders. In order to win over the Indians, they decided to open educational institutions.

In 1834, Macaulay was invited to preside over the General committee of public instruction. He recommended that the spread of western learning could only be possible through the medium of English language. This recommendation gave a great impetus to the study of English. The Magna Carta of Indian Education, the Wood’s despatch also confirmed it. During the British Rule, English enjoyed a royal place. The position of English during this period has been well expressed in words of Champion as, “In considering the position of English language in India, the outstanding consideration is that English is the language of the government, public administration, the legislature and law courts, it is the language of commerce and largely of business, it is the medium and the only medium of communication between the educated men and between the various language areas.”

The Calcutta University Commission tried to adjust the claims of English and vernaculars by assigning to them different spheres of activity. The commission suggested as :
“The educated classes in the various provinces of India will wish to be bilingual, to use their mother tongue for those dear and intimate things which form part of life and to use English as a means of inter-communication necessary for the maintenance of the unity of India, and of touch with other countries.”

In this way, we can conclude that English had an important place during the British rule. It is the language of rulers alongwith medium of higher education.

...Prev | Next...