India scraps English as mandatory language in primary schools amid nationalist surge

India will scrap the mandatory use of English in its primary schools, with subjects instead taught in Hindi or regional languages like Punjabi, for the first time since its independence in 1947. The controversial move is part of the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the largest educational shake-up in India in 34 years, which was spearheaded by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Hindu-nationalist youth wing, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). As part of the reforms, school syllabuses will focus on “ancient Indian knowledge”. Abolishing compulsory English is seen as a way to promote a united Indian identity from an early age. For much of the BJP’s support base, English is associated with colonial times and the old corrupt ruling Indian elite which followed afterwards and its abolishment as a mandatory language fits Mr. Modi’s wider policy of driving Indian nationalism. While only 0.02 percent of India’s 1.38 billion citizens speak English as a mother tongue, it was seen as the vital bridge in a diverse country where 19,500 different languages and dialects are spoken. Parents took to social media to express their anger at the decision, saying it would reduce their children’s future employment prospects, with fluent English considered essential for highly-coveted and well-paid jobs overseas. “Why would any progressive country want to eliminate [the] English language from primary school? India enjoys a global advantage for we have the highest English speaking workforce, we are heading towards disaster,” wrote one user on Twitter.

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