Can't English be considered an indigenous Indian language, asks Supreme Court

thehindu.com

4 pointsthisislife23 comments

Well, in one sense yes. There are a significant number of native speakers in India, as well as a distinct Indian variety of English. Most speakers are L2, but despite its colonial history, it has a neutrality that Hindi or Tamil hasn't been able to find, and also practical international uses. It has also established itself in a way that French and Portuguese failed to.

English is indeed colonial in origin, but it has been around in India for hundreds of years and outgrown that role.

What are the positive practical (social and economic) implications of categorizing English as an indigenous language?

Any negative practical implications?

Most Indian English speakers have it as a second language, but one group would benefit and they are the Anglo-Indians. They are a Eurasian minority, so partly indigenous and have suffered some persecution. English is the native language of many of these people as well as a lingua franca.

There are a number of decent Anglophone Indian writers and a considerable body of literature now. Some of it is extremely Indian, so it has effectively outgrown its colonial role.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com