Teaching of English in British India

Abstract

In Indian Sub-Continent English was first introduced by the East India Company just as a mere medium of communication  between  some errand Indian boys and the East India Company. Then English missionaries taught English to the natives to enable them to read the Christian scripts. To meet the administrative requirements  the British government established English schools,  madrashas, colleges and universities in different parts of India to spread English among the natives for creating an English knowing class. The Indian natives became eager to pick up English  to  gain  economic  affluence and high social status both from the natives and the British government. Thus the seeds of English were sown in British India and it has   flourished   like anything and has become so deep rooted that there is no possibility of getting rid  of  it soon .the  present article is an attempt to explore all the social, economical, educational,  political, and administrative factors that have contributed to the status which English had acquired during the British period.

Keywords: British India. English, British administrators, missionaries, Christianity, administrative purpose, economic gain, social status, and job