Is English a foreign language in India?
The Indian Supreme Court is debating whether English should be classified as a foreign language in the context of the country's three-language education formula. Experts discuss the historical evolution of English in India and its role as a link language versus indigenous roots.
Why it matters
This debate touches on national identity, colonial history, and the practicalities of education policy in a linguistically diverse nation.
The Supreme Court has been discussing linguistics this month while hearing challenges to the CBSE’s three-language formula, which mandates that two of the three languages must be native Indian languages, a category that does not include English. The top court had wondered whether it was correct to treat English as a “non-indigenous” language, given its long history in the country, and its role as a link language in governance and higher education. So should English be considered a foreign language in India? Apoorvanand and Ganesh Devy discuss the question in a conversation moderated by Priscilla Jebaraj .
Apoorvanand: No. It came from outside the geography that we define as India now. But it has been Indianised. We cannot now say that English is foreign to the soil because it’s being used in different forms and for different purposes by people across India.
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