Early English Textbooks and Language Policies in India

Abstract

The Indian officials being well versed in the languages of the province was of utmost importance for many British officers. During the initial period of the company rule in Bengal, there was no formal education policy and language policy for educating Indians. Charles Grant wanted a language policy to be implemented within the education system of India that would also help in the spread of Christianity among the Indians. The outcome of the Woods Dispatch was that English became the language of the administration in India. Problem with English education was that there was a lot of emphasis on learning language and literature, not technical and scientific training. The wrong policies of the government, especially those related to the English language exams and so on, had angered the youth, which led to their involvement with the Swadeshi movement.