Here you will get the detailed summary of IGNOU MEG 10 Block 1 – Institutionalisation of English Studies in India.
We have provided the summary of all units starting from unit 1 to unit 4.
Introduction
IGNOU MEG-10 Block 1 focuses on “Institutionalisation of English Studies in India”, tracing the history, politics, and implications of English language education from colonial times to the post-independence era. The block critically examines how English came to be introduced and embedded in Indian academia, the ideological debates surrounding its presence, and the institutional frameworks that shaped its trajectory. It reflects on how English, once a tool of colonial domination, has become both a medium of empowerment and a subject of critique in contemporary India.
Unit 1: Entry of English – A Historical Overview
This unit provides a historical backdrop to the introduction of English in India during the British colonial period. Initially, English entered through trade and missionary activity but was formally institutionalised through education policies in the 19th century. The colonial state saw English as a means to create an intermediary class that could help administer the empire. The unit highlights how English was not just a linguistic tool but also a cultural imposition, reshaping Indian epistemologies, literature, and access to knowledge. It sets the tone for later debates by showing that English education was always entangled with issues of power, identity, and cultural hierarchy.
Unit 2: Macaulay, Raja Ram Mohun Roy and Charles E. Trevelyan
This unit focuses on three influential figures in the history of English education in India:
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Thomas Babington Macaulay is best known for his 1835 “Minute on Indian Education,” where he advocated for English education to create a class of Indians who were “Indian in blood and colour but English in taste.” Macaulay’s views were rooted in Eurocentrism and a belief in the superiority of Western knowledge systems.
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Raja Ram Mohun Roy, a key Indian reformer, supported the introduction of English but from a very different ideological standpoint. He saw English as a way to access modern science, rational thought, and liberal values, hoping it would reform and uplift Indian society.
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Charles E. Trevelyan, a civil servant, also promoted English education but with a missionary zeal to ‘civilize’ Indians, believing that English would spiritually and intellectually elevate the colonized.
The unit contrasts these perspectives to show how the same language policy served both imperial and reformist agendas, making English a site of negotiation and contestation.
Unit 3: A View of Post-Independence Debates
This unit examines how the status and role of English were debated in post-independence India. The question of whether English should continue as a medium of education and official communication sparked intense national discussions. While some viewed English as a colonial legacy to be discarded, others argued that it was essential for global participation and national integration.
Key points include:
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The linguistic reorganization of states and the rise of regional languages.
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The three-language formula, which attempted to balance Hindi, English, and regional languages in the education system.
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The role of English in higher education, science, technology, and administration, which made its complete removal impractical.
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The emotional and political resistance to both Hindi imposition and English dominance.
The unit emphasizes that English survived in India not just as a colonial residue but because of its utilitarian value and the failure to replace it with a national consensus on language.
Unit 4: Settling Down of English as Studies and Medium
This final unit explores how English gradually became institutionalized both as a medium of instruction and as a discipline of study in Indian universities. By the late 20th century, English departments became fixtures in most Indian academic institutions, producing a new generation of Indian scholars, writers, and critics.
The unit outlines:
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The shift from studying only British canonical texts to including Indian English literature and postcolonial theory.
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The development of English as an Indian academic subject, with its own scholars, pedagogies, and research traditions.
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The dual role of English as a functional language for upward mobility and a symbol of cultural elitism.
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The challenges of teaching English in multilingual and socio-economically diverse classrooms, leading to evolving curriculum reforms.
English in India today, as this unit concludes, is both a means of empowerment and exclusion—a complex legacy of colonialism now deeply embedded in the national educational and cultural fabric.