Indians were reminded this week that their hero of independence, Mahatma Gandhi, received his intellectual grounding through English; indeed that their break from the Raj was helped, ironically, by the colonial imposition of that language.
The call-out for English was prompted by a statement from a senior government minister suggesting Indians very soon would feel “ashamed” if they spoke English in public.
Amit Shah, a former president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, argued that India would “cease to be truly Indian” if the “languages of our country” were not supported.
His words were widely seen as reflecting an ongoing Modi-government push to promote Hindi – not only over English but also over the other 21 “scheduled languages”, such as Bengali and Tamil, that are recognised in the constitution. After all, since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, sidelining English as a “colonial relic” and privileging Hindi has been part of the nationalist project.
Others heard a populist dog-whistle against the “elites” – the 10 per cent of Indians identified as fluent English speakers – who stand in contrast to some BJP politicians with limited English even though it’s an official national language and has been historically favoured in business, administration and international affairs.
The comments were controversial but the Indian Home Affairs Minister doubled down a few days later, suggesting pride in native languages would help erase the “mentality of slavery”.
Shah explained he did not oppose any foreign language but said there should be an “insistence” to “glorify our language” and to “speak our language”.
Those of us who are native English speakers may understand the importance of countries retaining – or recovering – their own languages but we know we’ve won the global lottery.
We are among 1.5 billion people who speak English worldwide – and while 1.1 billion speak Mandarin, they are mainly in China and Taiwan. A whopping 600 million people speak Hindi but, once again, it has no presence internationally, with most speakers in India and Nepal.
The idea that English should be seen as a colonial hangover rather than a tool of progress in India as it rushes towards great power status seems shortsighted even in an era of Hindu nationalism.
English has been a driver of India’s economic development and a priceless asset for its talented diaspora: knowing English eases the migrant journey, including here where Indians are now the fastest growing migrant group.
Indeed, Surinder Jain, one the leaders of the Hindu Council of Australia, made that clear this week, noting: “What they choose to do in India is up to Indians and their government (but) Indians and Hindus around the world, who want to call Australia home, they must have, or develop, proficiency in the English language.”
While officially only about 10 per cent of India’s 1.4 billion people speak English, that statistic ignores the millions in cities and urban areas who have some familiarity with the language.
Michael Wesley, professor of international relations and a deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Melbourne, notes that while “you will strike Indians who have no grasp whatsoever of English”, even working-class people “have a smattering of English in a way you don’t find in other Asian countries”.
Wesley, who came here from India as a child, says: “When I read the Shah comments, I thought, No.1, good luck with that; No.2, if you were to wave a wand and eradicate English you would take away one of India’s huge advantages in its development.”
Language has long been a minefield on the subcontinent, where people are divided not just by the 22 “scheduled languages” but also at least another 1500 languages or dialects.
About 44 per cent of Indians are native Hindi speakers but the other 56 per cent are not about to switch.
Wesley says: “You will find people who are not native Hindi speakers defiantly refusing to speak Hindi.
“One of my colleagues, who’s from Tamil Nadu, who I travel to India with a lot, speaks three South Indian languages … and when people try and speak to him in Hindi in the north, he just says, ‘I don’t speak Hindi.’ ”
Which is why, despite its colonial baggage, English has been seen as a neutral “link language”.
Others argue it helps break down caste and class, and increases social mobility.
This week, historian Hasnain Naqvi wrote on the online site Scroll.in: “From Gandhi to Shah, the debate over English has never really ended – yet India’s linguistic future may depend on embracing rather than erasing the global language.”
Naqvi argued English had been a platform for political awakening under the Brits: “India’s foundational political and philosophical ideas – from nationalism and democracy to equality and justice – were often accessed and articulated through English.”
But almost 80 years on from independence, commentators such as Ruchi Gupta note the perceived “elitism” of English speakers.
Writing on The Wire site, Gupta said: “The mockery (by English speakers) directed at BJP leaders and supporters for their English reveals how English is still used as a gatekeeping tool … what (Shah) is signalling is an inversion of that elite hierarchy – that soon it will be those who speak in English who will feel shame, and not those who don’t know the language.
“In a society where not knowing English often invites ridicule, the home minister’s statement turns the gaze back on the English-speaking elite. It is classic populism – displacing the sense of missing opportunity and resentment among the masses onto those who wield symbolic power.”
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