Journal of English Language Teaching

How English Came to India: Language Education Policies in Colonial India

Chhayankdhar Singh Rathore

Soka University, Tokyo, Japan

Keywords: English in India, colonial India, English language education in India

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Abstract

In an increasingly globalized world, English has emerged as one of the primary languages of global communication. The influence and dominance of English are evident in the realms of popular culture, media, science and technology, and commerce, to name a few. In this context, India is considered to have an English advantage over countries such as Japan, China, and even parts of Europe, as it has 125 million speakers of the English language as a first, second, or third language (Krishnaswamy & Krishnaswamy, 2006; Times News Network, 2010). How did a country which is defined by multilingualism and linguistic diversity come to speak a language that does not originate in the Indian subcontinent? This paper attempts to understand the answer to this question by conducting a historical analysis of the introduction of English language education in India during the colonial period and the language policies in the education system of India at the time.

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