English is not our mother tongue yet we study English because of several reasons. It is needless to say about its importance. Raja Rao has said in the Foreword to Kanthapura that-
“One has to convey in a language that is not one’s own. The spirit is one’s own. One has to convey the various shades and omissions of a certain thought movement that looks maltreated in an alien language….We are instinctively bilingual; we cannot write like the English. We should not. We cannot write only as Indian. We have grown to look at the large world as part of us. Our method of expression therefore has to be a dialect which will someday prove to be as distinctive and colorful as the Irish or the American. Time alone will justify it.”
Macaulay has his own intentions to educate Indians in English. He wanted to carry on the White man’s burden to civilize the world. Our forefathers have their own intentions to adopt English for aesthetic sense. Today’s modern generation thinks differently. It seems that they are convinced that English is essential for mobility and socio-economical development. For economic advancement opportunities are essential and being an international language English opens more opportunities to anyone. Today we are limited up to geographical boundaries because today is the era of cosmopolitanism. The world has come under a single roof. We believe that man is at the centre of the world so opportunities are also limitless only if we are acquainted with the global language. This is one of the reasons that English is a language of demand. Today we cannot say that it is the language of the western world but it has become a language of the modern world. Students in our country who want to learn agriculture are taught in English. In our curriculum it is still not valued much. Thus, there is a time to change our traditional role and objectives of teaching English in India. We can tell the world about our civilization and culture in a language which is understood by all. Achievements of Nagarjuna, Panini and other scholars are popular because we have started telling the world about them in their own language. Time has come to tell the world about our achievements. Writers like Valmiki and Tulsidas are universal. Thoughts of Chanakya are admired by the world. It has become possible only because of English translation of their philosophies and literature. There is big market for quality translations and we should not forget that today is the world of information. Indian books classical as well as contemporary are in a great demand. So, a healthy and meaningful communication between English and Indian language must be encouraged. It will be possible only if we focus on our language departments. The present English teaching in India is inadequate to promote critical thinking and originality. There is a need of new approach which can take the learning beyond the classroom and examination hall. New curriculum should be designed which can encompass world literature so that our students do not lag behind in the world market. We need to understand that in digital world information must be at tips. Today books are available on internet yet people are searching new information. The aims of teaching language should not be limited up to LSRW that is listening, speaking, reading and writing. We should be able to generate a new model based upon revelation and recitation. It will help in learning Sanskrit through English and French through Sanskrit. There must not be limitation of learning. Our country was a Vishwa Guru and it should be a learning park un to the last. The spirit of enquiry, importance of thinking, contemplation and silence is all an essential part of learning. English as second language is actually a myth because learning new language is not a race. It is actually a thirst and hunger for knowledge.
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