English a foreign or indigenous language? Supreme Court asks during CBSE’s 3-language rule hearing

SS: important excerpts from the article:

>The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the classification of the English as a non-indigenous language under the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) revised 3-language policy.

>The Court observed that the issue would require wider examination.

>”We have to examine the issue as to the extent to which English can be considered a non-indigenous language…I personally have serious reservations about the expression ‘native’. It has a very colonial connotation. It should be ‘indigenous’,” Justice Bagchi was quoted as saying by Bar and Bench.

>During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners argued that English could not simply be treated on par with foreign languages, given its longstanding use in India and that the three-language policy considers English a non-native language which is making life difficult for the students.

>“English is an official language under the Constitution. That status no one can take away… it’s not treated like a foreign language, but it can’t be treated like a native language also. Language is the vehicle of a culture,” Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for CBSE, told the bench after the petitioners’ concerns.