The Advent of British Educational System and EnglishLanguage in the Indian Subcontinent: A Shift fromEngraftment to Ultimate Implementation and Its Impacton Regional Vernaculars

The research study critically traces the historical background of theintroduction of the western education system with English as themedium of instruction in the Indian subcontinent and its impact on theteaching of various subjects and local languages in the postcolonialphase. It analyzes the transitional shift from the indigenous/regionalvernaculars to engraftment (translating western knowledge intoindigenous languages for teaching) and eventual shift to English as themedium of instruction, which thwarted the process of engraftment anddevelopment of indigenous languages. The study analyzes that how theeducation in the subcontinent was affected in the wake of diametricalshift in the British political policy from orientalism, engraftment,conciliation and consolidation to hostility, antagonism andoppression. Although, the study repudiates the popular myth of therevolutionary changes claimed by the British education system in thesubcontinent, yet it establishes that how in the longer term itcontributed to the academic, literary, social, political and economicadvancement of the region. Nevertheless its repercussions for theregional languages were immense. The study reveals that how English,which was the language of power, authority and center, became ameans of retaliation, communication and resistance at the hands ofnatives. The study, in its nature, is descriptive and historical one.