Indian Newspaper English

This work is based on a short research study that I undertook, some years ago, at the University of Leeds, England, under the supervision of Prof. John Spencer, currently Director, Institute of Modern English Language Studies there. It is, therefore, with a profoundly sincere sense of renewed gratitude that I record my indebtedness to him for his help in planning the study. Even at a modest estimate the number of English literates in India today must be approaching fifteen million. The educated opinion in the country seems to have overcome the colonial fear that characterized the initial post-Independence reaction against English. The cobwebs of suspicion surrounding the retention of English in India have largely been cleared. The unfortunate tangles of linguism in which English was caught have apparently been resolved, particularly in the wake of the discovery that there are no primitive languages anywhere. Indians have also realised that the removal of English cannot be a precondition for the growth of their regional languages. On the contrary, and paradoxically for some, a revival of the regional languages has reinforced the continuance of English.