Perhaps, this is not strictly on-topic, but as we owe our knowledge of English to the Raj, you'd like this. --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar Snipped from - http://www.hindu.com/mp/2008/08/07/stories/2008080750870100.htm Thursday, Aug 07, 2008 Sir Mark Tully's love for Indian languages stretches back to his childhood, but he hasn't really had much luck learning them. Growing up in Kolkata, he was under strict instructions not to speak any desi languages (you've probably read his story about being hit on the head by his British nanny for counting in Hindi with his driver). And later, during his 22-year stint as BBC's chief of bureau in New Delhi, he found that most people in that cosmopolitan city were more intent on speaking English rather than Hindi or Punjabi. "If I had lived in a place where the language spoken was predominantly Hindi, my Hindi would have become much better," he says regretfully. That, perhaps, is one of the reasons why preserving Indian languages is a cause that has become close to the heart of this veteran journalist. "I'm interested in how English can be stopped from swamping Indian languages," says Sir Mark over a cup of tea. Tempering his statement in his gentle way, he adds, "English has become an Indian language and that's very valuable, but it's equally important that all Indian languages are cherished." This interest will partly form the subject of his next book, he reveals. "I'm writing a book on how India has changed since economic liberalisation and one of the aspects I'm looking at is linguistic," says the soft-spoken writer. "Obviously, the demand for English is going up, and I'm trying to find people who're working on enabling Indian languages to grow and modernise." (more) ========