English education in the Indian multi-lingual classroom
Tejaswini NIRANJANA
Abstract The paper gives an overview of the situation of the Indian higher education classroom post-1835 with a special focus on the use of English. It analyzes the social and intellectual consequences of the ‘lack of English’, and through engagement with two case studies involving Kannada and Hindi reflects on the problems surrounding higher education resources in Indian languages. The paper concludes by offering a roadmap for a much-needed intervention in the sector, an intervention which—by addressing the Indian-language issue—could well transform the space of higher education itself.
Author’s biography
Tejaswini Niranjanais Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Humanities atLingnan University, Chair of the Centre for Indian Languages in Higher Education at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and Senior Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Culture & Society. Her most recent book is Mobilizing India: Women, Music and Migration between India and Trinidad (Durham: Duke Univ. Press, 2006). She is currently working on a multi-media project on the social history of Hindustani music in Bombay city.