Essays

Ever since independence, the question of rejection or retention of English as a subject of study has been agitating the public mind in India. People believed that English would soon go with the departure of the British from India forever. But, English has rooted itself deeply in the Indian soil.

It is spoken widely and serves as a link between the people speaking different regional languages .A Bengali-speaking man speaks English for expressing his ideas and feelings in South and similarly the people of Southern India speak English in Eastern India, as they do not understand Bengali.

Thus, on account of the large number of regional languages, English continues to be the language of greater significance and use. English is losing its hold over India day by day. According to the Constitution of India, Hindi, in the denary script has been the official language of the union since 1950. But, a provision was made for English to continue for 15 years.

On January 26, 1965, Hindi was officially recognized as the national language and English was to continue as an associate language. English has its hold on the public work as the forms in Hanks, Railways, Income tax Offices etc. are printed in both Hindi and English.

Letters written to non-Hindi speaking states are sent along with its translation into English. The President of India, when addressing our nation, speaks in Hindi, but it is followed by its English translation.

English is an international language and is amongst the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is the language of political negotiations and commercial matters.

I am a necessary medium of communication in lie Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Defense and. Scientific Research. English contains there Insulations of the best work of the world's great authors.

Moreover, there has been a long tradition of studying English in India and there are great facilities available for its study. Our dealings with oilier countries of the world make English more important. We do not understand the languages, used by other countries, but English acts as the Link.

The final position is, thus, quite dear that English will stay in our country. But, we should study English voluntarily as a Russian studies French, German or Sanskrit. We should accept it as an associate language, at the level of interstate communication.

As far as intellectual life is concerned, English should continue to occupy its rightful place in our educational institutions. India is a land of many languages, culture and religions. So, in the absence of a link language, its unity may just fall apart. English can only be a link language.

So, English should be continued to be learnt with an open mind, in order to develop our own language as well as to keep in touch with the thought of the world.