What makes a language Indian? A recent observation by the Supreme Court of India has revived the debate over whether English can be considered an indigenous language of India. The debate over the place of English in India has often been framed as a contest between English and Indian languages. Such a binary is both historically misleading and politically unhelpful. The promotion of Indian languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Kannada, or Marathi need not — and should not — be predicated upon denying recognition or patronage to English. The future of India’s linguistic diversity lies not in choosing one language over another but in nurturing multilingualism. English may not be an indigenous language in the same historical sense as Sanskrit or Tamil, yet, over two centuries, has acquired a legitimate claim to belong to India.

The strongest objection to treating English as an Indian language is that it arrived with British colonialism. It was introduced to facilitate administration, commerce, missionary activity, and what the colonial rulers described as their civilising mission. In its early history, English undoubtedly served the interests of the Empire. Yet, languages cannot be permanently imprisoned by the circumstances of their arrival. Their identities are continually reshaped by the people who speak them. Once English entered India, Indians appropriated it, transformed it, and made it serve Indian aspirations rather than colonial objectives.

Published - August 11, 2026 12:16 am IST