Abstract
This paper problematises the introduction and journey of a colonial language in a country that was already dealing with internal layers of colonisation on the grounds of caste, class and gender in a heterogeneous cultural geography. It sites, historically, the paradoxical consequences of various hierarchic issues like the varna system, the Dalit’s claim to social position and the tribal struggle, within various power structures, and the government responses to these questions with reference to the study of English as a language. The paper also analyses the possible fallouts of such a scenario.
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- 1.
Varna is an ancient Hindu system of hierarchic stratification of the population into different groups namely Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishyas and Shudras. According to the classification, some varna groups were considered to be pure whereas others were called ‘impure’ and therefore capable of polluting others. Apparently, an innocent systematic categorisation of people led to a caste divide and its marks are to be seen even in the modern India. Despite the constitutional ammendments regarding the rights of the lower caste population and the inclusion of corrective reservation policy, the divide among people is still visible. The issue is discussed in detail in Romila Thapar’s book Ancient Indian social history (2010).
- 2.
‘Asur’, ‘Rakshas’ and ‘Daitya’ are the terms that carry connotations of evil and justificatory discrimination resulting from it. These terms do not have a negative etymological connotation, but with the passage of time, they got associated with the non-humans having evil and destructive magical power. Because of their excluded identities, the terms got associated with the Adivasis. This is a method of ‘othering’ and hence people end up essentialising the terms as well. For instance, the term Asur designates a tribal community which is considered to be a homogenised monolithic community but this is a group with diverse beliefs and professions. G. N. Devy does a close reading of this group in his newspaper article, “Struggle for survival, not of faith” published in The Indian Express on 6th March 2016 (https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/asur-tribe-struggle-for-survival-not-of-faith/) assessed on 28.07.2018. Scholars such as V. Xaxa and Joseph Bara have been contributing in this area of study.
- 3.
Sanskritisation is a process of wilful adaptation of the culture, custom and rituals of a higher Hindu caste group by a lower Hindu caste, for an upward mobility. M. N. Srinivas used this term to describe a tendency of achieving hierarchic superiority through imitation of culture. It does not have an immediate effect on people but the process is subtle and gradual.
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Richa (2019). The Journey of English in India: Experiments, Contradictions and the Tribal / Dalit Question. In: Mahanta, B., Sharma, R. (eds) English Studies in India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1525-1_11
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