It is a fact that our policy planners, educationalists, and teachers usually miss the total universal context in which Macaulay had advised his colonial administrators to shift gears of the Indian education system and introduce English in schools and colleges (“A minute for Macaulay”, August 24). It would, he said, work as the code to understand and execute the policies of the empire, yes, but also enable the Indian elite to interact and assimilate distant and alien cultural practices and gain from them. No doubt it was not an entirely selfish objective because it produced world-class personalities to lead the country’s freedom movement and put India on the path to progress. I think the argument against English started from Uttar Pradesh/Bihar where teaching of English fell into disrepute, and in a decade or so began to be called a ‘foreign’ language more forcefully. However, in the present international scenario vis-a-vis trade, IT, business, aviation, etc. one cannot function without knowledge of English. This, however, is not to suggest any dilution in efforts to develop and promote other languages including Sanskrit and Urdu.
Mohan Singh,
Amritsar
