Bringing English Back in School Education: English in Government Schools of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of Indian Independence in 1947, there was a palpable attempt to replace English with Hindi and other Indian languages to unleash the processes of decolonisation. English was castigated as the language of the British Empire and was seen to be the basis of power and privilege for a handful of English-educated elites. A new nation-state thought it imperative to replace English with other languages which ultimately led to language-based reorganisation of Indian states. Subsequently, there was the replacement of English with Indian languages as mediums of instruction at different levels of education. Such a demand was hugely supported by a large number of Indian intelligentsia. However, six to seven decades down the line, there appears to be a reversal of earlier language politics as governments in various states of India are bringing English back as an aspirational language. This article attempts to understand the context of such a reversal. It also analyses ideological constructions of linguistic reality and its hold on popular perception. Ideologically constructed realities of language become a concrete, tangible force to reckon with. The article explores the renewed interest and urgency in learning English, using the frameworks of language ideology and the Bourdieusian framework of ‘language as a praxis’. Following Hilary Janks, the article underlines the significance of providing critical access to English by historicising and denaturalising its prevalence as one of the major contact languages at the international level.