India
History
English language public instruction began in India in the 1830s during the rule of the East India Company (India was then, and is today, one of the most linguistically diverse regions of the world. In 1837, English replaced Persian as the official language of the Company. Lord Macaulay played a major role in introducing English and western concepts to education in India. He supported the replacement of Persian by English as the official language, the use of English as the medium of instruction in all schools, and the training of English-speaking Indians as teachers. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, primary- middle- and high schools were opened in many districts of British India, with most high schools offering English language instruction in some subjects. In 1857, just before the end of Company rule, universities modelled on theUniversity of London and using English as the medium of instruction were established in Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. During subsequent Crown Rule in India, or the British Raj, lasting from 1858 to 1947, English language penetration increased throughout India. This was driven in part by the gradually increasing hiring of Indians in the civil services. At the time of India's independence in 1947, English was the only functionallingua franca in the country.
After Indian Independence in 1947, Hindi was declared the first official language, and attempts were made to declare Hindi the sole national language of India. Due to protests from Tamil Nadu and other non-Hindi-speaking states, it was decided to temporarily retain English for official purposes until at least 1965. By the end of this period, however, opposition from non-Hindi states was still too strong to have Hindi declared the sole language. With this in mind, the English Language Amendment Bill declared English to be an associate language "until such time as all non-Hindi States had agreed to its being dropped." This hasn't yet occurred, and it is still widely used. For instance, it is the only reliable means of day-to-day communication between the central government and the non-Hindi states.
The spread of the English language in India has led it to become adapted to suit the local dialects. Due to the large diversity in Indian languages and cultures, there can be instances where the same English word can mean different things to different people in different parts of India.There are three different stages of English Language in India i.e. Cultivated, closely approximating Received Pronunciation and associated with younger generation of urban and sub-urban regions of metropolitan cities of the country; Standard, a social indicator of the higher education, and Regional, associated with the general population, and closely approximating the second-language Vernacular-English variety.
While there is an assumption that English is readily available in India, available studies show that its usage is actually restricted to an elite, because of inadequate education to large parts of the Indian population. The use of outdated teaching methods and the poor grasp of English exhibited by the authors of many guidebooks, disadvantage students who rely on these books
States:
| States | Capitals | Code |
|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | Hyderabad | AP |
| Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar | AR |
| Assam | Dispur | AS |
| Bihar | Patna | BR |
| Chhattisgarh | Raipur | CT |
| Goa | Panaji | GA |
| Gujarat | Gandhi nagar | GJ |
| Haryana | Chandigarh | HR |
| Himachal Pradesh | Shimla | HP |
| Jammu and Kashmir | Srinagar (summer) Jammu (winter) | JK |
| Jharkhand | Ranchi | JH |
| Karnataka | Bangalore | KA |
| Kerala | Tiruvanananthapuram | KL |
| Madhya Pradesh | Bhopal | MP |
| Maharashtra | Mumbai | MH |
| Manipur | Imphal | MN |
| Meghalaya | Shillong | ML |
| Mizoram | Aizawl | MZ |
| Nagaland | Kohima | NL |
| Orissa | Bhubaneshwar | OR |
| Punjab | Chandigarh | PB |
| Rajasthan | Jaipur | RJ |
| Sikkim | Gangtok | SK |
| Tamil Nadu | Chennai | TN |
| Telangana | Hyderabad | TG |
| Tripura | Agartala | TR |
| Uttar Pradesh | Lucknow | UP |
| Uttarakhand | Dehra Dun | UT |
| West Bengal | Kolkatta | WB |
Union territories:
| Union territory | Capital |
|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | Port Blair |
| Chandigarh | Chandigarh |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli | Silvassa |
| Daman and Diu | Daman |
| Delhi | Delhi |
| Lakshadweep | Kavaratti |
| Puducherry | Puducherry |
