Why English Dominates India’s Linguistic Landscape?

Fluency in English does not equal intelligence; speaking in regional languages is not backward.

English entered India with the British as a tool of administration and control, eventually becoming embedded in education, the economy, and the country's self-image. Indians gradually internalised their own languages as inferior, adopting English as a marker of being “educated” or “high class”. This mindset persists even today.

History: The British ruled India for over 200 years. During this period, English was established as the language of administration, education, and governance. Post-Independence, administrative and legal systems continued to function in English.

Economic and globalisation pressure: With English being the global language for business, communication, science, and technology, people perceive wider job opportunities in India and abroad. Parents, therefore, prefer English-medium schools for better prospects.

Social prestige: In urban India, English is viewed as a marker of education, class, status, modernity, and sophistication. Under social pressure, families converse in English, sidelining the mother tongue. Sadly, speaking English is equated with intelligence or global exposure. This has fostered the belief that regional languages are less prestigious, even leading to ridicule of those using them in social gatherings.

Education: Many private and elite schools emphasise English, while regional-language schools remain under-funded, reinforcing the belief that success depends on English proficiency.

Media and technology: Most digital content—whether on the internet, social media, films, or OTT platforms—is in English or Hinglish, glorifying an English-speaking lifestyle. Naturally, the younger generation adopts the language of the digital world. As English dominates social media, exposure to India’s diverse culture, heritage, and arts in regional languages has declined sharply, deepening the bias that rural or regional languages are backward.

Migration and urbanisation: as people move across states for jobs, education, or opportunities, English has become a common medium. With intercultural marriages on the rise, English is often chosen as the neutral language over either parent’s mother tongue.

English shift cost

This enormous shift to the English language has led to the loss of culture, heritage, folk stories, etc. Local dialects and scripts are slowly dying out. Many young people cannot even speak, read, or write in their mother tongue.

Yes, but conscious efforts are needed. There must be a conscious effort to promote regional languages. Regional languages can be widely used as a means of communication at home, in schools, and in public spaces. Media content and movies must be made more in regional languages. There should be policies in place to support making regional languages a mandatory part of education.

The importance of balancing out the fluency of English and regional languages to be spread.

We do not have to reject English, but we should stop feeling inferior without it. Our regional languages carry deep history and literature. True intellect is not about language. It is about knowledge, wisdom, and humanity. Many regional language speakers are highly educated, intelligent, and culturally rich.

Understand that language is not intellect. Speaking English or not says nothing about your worth, talent, and knowledge. It is just a means of communication. Your regional language is your identity. It connects to your roots and tradition. Languages like Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu, and many more have a thousand years of history, much older than English.

Remember to be proud because you carry the beauty of your language. World-class poets, philosophers, scientists, and artists have done marvellous work in their languages.

Next time you feel inferior, frustrated, or pessimistic about being unable to speak English fluently, just remember that you are fantastic, fresh, and a fountain of knowledge as well as full of brilliant potential.

I grew up in a small town, but studied in an English-medium school (not a convent) and had a massive fear of communication in English, as I was aware of my poor language. In my college, I was surrounded by fluent English speakers coming from the convent, and I felt extremely inferior. But I am inclined to learn and master the language. I put in tremendous effort by reading English newspapers and magazines and rummaging through the dictionary to polish my vocabulary. The practice continues to date. Today, being a professional teacher, I write articles and conduct sessions as a speaker in English confidently. Being a Kannadiga married to a Hindi-speaking man, we chose a common language, Hindi and English, at home to converse with our roots and culture intact.

English can remain a useful global tool, as it is a practical need of today's global world, but not at the cost of cultural identity, self-worth, and pride in one's own language.

Jai Hind

Jai Maharashtra

(The writer is a tutor based in Thane.)