Medium of Power: The Question of English in Education in India

Abstract

With about 200 languages, India is not just demographically multilingual, but also functionally multilingual, with many languages used in different domains. The question of English in India is about its place in relation to other languages within this functional multilingualism. There are two official languages, Hindi and English, at the federal level and 15 additional ones at the state level. In one state, Nagaland, English is the official language and in other states the use of English for official purposes continued after Independence in varying degrees while the local Indian language took its place gradually. Newspapers and magazines are published in over 90 languages; radio programs broadcast in over 70 languages; and television programs and movies made in 13 languages. English is one of the languages used in all of these contexts. Publications in English, and their readership, have increased since Independence. The share of English newspapers in the total circulation of newspapers in all languages, for example, was 22% in 1981, which was an increase of 15% from the circulation in 1971 (Annamalai, 1994). Readership in English continues to increase.

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