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The Portuguese arrive in India over a hundred years before the British. A pidgin emerges which becomes the lingua franca. It also becomes the language of all foreign traders. All Europeans had to learn Portuguese to work in India
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Elizabeth the First grants a few merchants a charter to trade in the East
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Portuguese give Bombay to the British as a dowry gift to King Charles the Second. Soon after the British create Calcutta and rule from there.
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English starts becoming important, but it takes long for it to catch on as traders and settlers are not interested in education or missionary work.
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Missionary activity becomes possible. Only Protestantism is allowed.
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First school for Eurasians in founded. These are children of settlers. This is followed by one in Bombay in 1719 and one in Calcutta in 1739
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First English Printing Press
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1780-1795 First English Newspapers are circulated
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William Pitt's India Act gives joint resposibility of India to the Crown and the East India Company
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The first book to be written in English by an Indian
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The House of Commons decide that it was the duty of Britain to impart useful and moral knowledge. The East India Company is made responsible for the imparting of education in India.
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The Hindu College is set up in Calcutta and it imparts an English education. Originally a private institution it runs into financial difficulties, the government takes it over and becomes the first English college of the government. An important decision is that they would only take on students who were proficient in their own languages. Its largest difficulty is to find good teachers.
Other schools before this were Christian Charity Schools, whose quality was dubious. -
The General Committee of Public Instruction states that it wants all the Presidencies to have access to European sciences and literature. Since it was very difficult to teach this through translation, they recommended English as language of instruction.
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The Minute of Macaulay, which is said to mark "the real beginnings of bilingualism in India" is approved by Lord William Bentinck After listening to the argument of the two sides, one one side the Orientaltists who wanted Sanskrit as a language of instruction on the other the Anglicists who said that a class should be formed in India, a group of people who would act as interpreters between the British and Indians, He chooses for this. The native tongues would be used for lower education.
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1894 1905 The British Civil Service decides to open a number of subordinate jobs to Indians. English is taught without reference to religion. An English speaking Indian middle-class is created. Industrialisation and development creates a larger need for English speaking Indians.
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1894 1905 The British Civil Service decides to open a number of subordinate jobs to Indians. English is taught without reference to religion. An English speaking Indian middle-class is created. Industrialisation and development creates a larger need for English speaking Indians.
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1947 Independence for India, battle for a national language starts between Hindi, Hindustani, Sanskrit and English.
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Hindi becomes National language. English is chosen as an official language for a period of fifteen years. Nehru becomes first Prime minister of India.
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At the end of the fifteen years, the role of English is reviewed and it is agreed to keep it on as an official language indefinitely.
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Three language policy in schools. Languages to be learnt were the Native language, Hindi and English. There is great socio-linguistic controversy over how practical this is as millions of Indians are being educated in a language that is not their mother tongue.
