As the publisher's blurb says, the book "discusses the status of English and other foreign languages which continue to have a presence in India. While Section I discusses the complex progression of English in the Indian linguistic scene and its increasing acceptance among the people here, Section II describes the status and development of eight other international languages in use in India. The volume also observes how India’s engagement with foreign cultures has enriched the multilingual mosaic of the country."
The other eight languages are: Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish in India. This post deals only with the section on English. The 20 chapters include my essay, "English as the Medium of Instruction at School" (PDF). The contents of the volume are listed here.
The 27 July launch will feature both the series editor Ganesh Devy, as well as the volume editor T. Vijay Kumar.
The volume also has a useful set of appendices. Here is the list with links to where they can be found on the net:
I. Mother English (1854) -- a poem by Savitribai Phule
II. Address, dated 11th December 1823, from Raja Rammohan Roy to Lord Amherst
III. Minute on Indian education by the Hon’ble T. B. Macaulay, dated 2nd February 1835
IV. Gandhi on the English Language - 5 excerpts from his writings. Two books that bring together Gandhi's writings on education are Towards New Education (ed. Bharatan Kumarappa, 1953) and Evil Wrought by the English Medium (ed. K. R. Prabhu, 1958)
V. Debates in the Constituent Assembly on the English language, Constituent Assembly of India Volume III, Friday 2nd May, 1947 -- A recent commentary on the debates is by Rama Kant Agnihotri, "Constituent Assembly Debates on Language", Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 50, Issue No. 8, 21 Feb, 2015
VI. Address by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at Oxford University -- the comments on English language are in this transcript.
VII. Excerpts from interviews with Chandrabhan Prasad -- The Wikipedia entry on him gives the links to many of his writings.
All in all, the PLSI volume promises to be a rich resource.
