Anglo Indians Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Though English does not find a place in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution yet the use of English has been allowed for various purposes under Articles 210, 343(2), 345, and 348(3)(iii). As the burden of history is too heavy to be overthrown, in at least five Indian states English enjoys the status of official language. Studies in English Literature continue to be promoted in a big way in all the universities of the country and graduating in English is considered socially valuable and prestigious. Gandhi used English and published in it prolifically in the heydays of nationalistic fervour. Nehru himself an exuberant user of English, argued for its inclusion in the list of languages to be patronised by Sahitya Akademi, the national body for Indian literature. Whether the literature written in this language in India is unique and if it deserves a special treatment in the country is a debatable issue as has been made out also by Salman Rushdie's assertion in his book, The Vintage Book of Indian Writing, -… the ironical proposition that India's best writing since independence may have been done in the language of the departed imperialists is simply too much for some folks to bear‖ (xiv) though Rushdie goes to correct himself in the very next sentence: -It ought not to be true, and must not be permitted to be true.‖ (Idem) If the awards given by Sahitya Akademi are any proof, the record of English is excellent as no book worthy of an award has been found only in twelve years (1961, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 73, 74, 95, 97 and 2008; 1960's may be treated as an exception as the anti-English movement was at its peak) since 1960 (the year English was included in the list). Therefore, Salman Rushdie's observation, -. . . the prose writingboth fiction and non-fiction-created in this period by Indian writers working in English, is proving to be a stronger and more important body of work than most of what has been produced in the 16 ‗official languages' of India, the socalled ‗vernacular languages', during the same time; and, indeed, this new, and still burgeoning, ‗Indo-Anglian' literature represents perhaps the most valuable contribution India has yet made to the world of books‖ (x) appears to be quite valid and genuine. However, there are others who refuse to accept anything written in this language as authentic Indian as -English is not the language in which most of the writers dream in.‖ However, there is no denying the fact that a vast literature in India exists in English despite the debate about the genuineness of the literature. ) provides the following information: -… Raja Rammohan Roy began publishing his work [in English] in 1816, and recent research has shown that Indians were contributing to English-language periodicals in India before the end of the eighteenth century. The first book so far known to have been published in English by an Indian was Sake Deen Mahomed's Travels (1794). Since English-language education started in India as early as 1717, it is possible that Indo-English literature was published even earlier. This needs concerted research which has simply not been done so far.‖ (312) B J Wadia is right when he writes: -… all that is written by Indians in the English language cannot be called ‗literature'.‖ (Iyengar 1945 ix) and therefore utmost care has to be taken in deciding the starting point of this literature.