UGC NET (English): 100 Questions & Answers of Unit – VI: English in India: History, Evolution and Futures
UGC NET (English): 100 Questions & Answers of Unit – VI: English in India: History, Evolution and Futures
Unit – VI: English in India: History, Evolution and Futures
1. What historical resolution passed in 1835 officially introduced English education in British India? The English Education Act of 1835 ( Based on Thomas Babington Macaulay’s 'Minute on Education'.)
2. Who authored the controversial 1835 'Minute on Education' advocating for Western curriculum in English? Thomas Babington Macaulay.
3. Which British governor-general endorsed Macaulay's 'Minute on Education', making English the administrative language of India? Lord William Bentinck.
4. What landmark 1854 document, known as the 'Magna Carta of English Education in India,' laid the foundation for the modern University system? Wood’s Despatch.
5. Which three Universities were established in India in 1857 following Wood's Despatch? Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras Universities.
6. What term describes the localized, distinct variety of the English language spoken in India? Indian English (abbreviated as IndE)
7. Who wrote the foundational literary study The Twice-Born Fiction analyzing the Indian English novel? Meenakshi Mukherjee.
8. What Indian English stylistic feature involves translating native language idioms directly into English (e.g., 'doing the needful')? Indianism.
9. Who wrote the pioneering Indian English novel Rajmohan's Wife (1864)? Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
10. Who was the first prominent reformer to strongly advocate for the introduction of Western education and the English language in India? Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
11. What did Jawaharlal Nehru call English in terms of its global utility for India? 'Major window on the world.'
12. What constitutional provision under Article 343 initially set a timeline for phasing out English in official union administration? The Constitution of India (1950).
13. What legislative act passed in 1963 ensured the continued use of English alongside Hindi for official central government purposes indefinitely? The Official Languages Act, 1963.
14. Which schedule of the Indian Constitution lists recognized regional languages? The Eighth Schedule.
15. Who is considered the pioneer of Indian English poetry, author of 'Our Casuarina Tree'? Toru Dutt.
16. Which Indian English poet wrote The Golden Gate and A Suitable Boy? Vikram Seth.
17. Who wrote the Booker Prize-winning Indian English novel Midnight's Children (1981)? Salman Rushdie.
18. Which Indian English author wrote Kanthapura (1938)? Raja Rao.
19. What famous statement did Raja Rao make in the foreword to Kanthapura regarding writing in English? 'We cannot write like the English. We should not'.
20. Who wrote A House for Mr Biswas? V.S. Naipaul.
21. Which Indian English poet wrote The Striders? A.K. Ramanujan.
22. Who composed 'Night of the Scorpion'? Nissim Ezekiel.
23. What term did Braj Kachru use to classify Indian English within his concentric circles model? Outer Circle.
24. What linguistic phenomenon involves mixing Hindi and English in everyday discourse? Hinglish.
25. Who wrote the Indian English novel The God of Small Things (1997), winning the Booker Prize? Arundhati Roy.
26. Which Indian English playwright wrote Tughlaq and Hayavadana? Girish Karnad.
27. Who wrote the post-colonial critical text The Empire Writes Back? Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin.
28. What term describes the process whereby colonized populations appropriate the imperial language to articulate their own cultural identities? Abrogation and Appropriation.
29. Who wrote the foundational Dalit autobiography Joothan ( translated into English by Arun Prabha Mukherjee)? Omprakash Valmiki.
30. What literary movement gives voice to marginalized oppressed castes in Indian literature? Dalit Literature.
31. Who wrote English in India: Its Present and Future ? V.K. Gokak.
32. What committee report chaired by V.K. Gokak in the 1980s examined the teaching of English in India? The Gokak Committee Report.
33. Which 19th-century social reformer advocated strongly for English education to foster scientific and modern thinking in India? Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
34. What letter did Raja Ram Mohan Roy write in 1823 objecting to traditional Sanskrit learning in favor of Western sciences and English? Letter to Lord Amherst.
35. Who edited The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures? Braj B. Kachru.
36. What distinct feature of Indian English phonology involves retroflex sounds /ʈ/ and /d/ replacing alveolar /t/ and /d/? Retroflexion.
37. What syntactic variation in Indian English often uses progressive tenses with stative verbs (e.g., 'I am knowing it')? Stative Progressive.
38. What conversational tag in Indian English is frequently used at the end of sentences regardless of gender or tense (e.g., 'The train is late, isn't it?' or 'is it?')? Invariant Conversational Tag
39. What is the primary medium of instruction in elite higher education, science, technology, and law in contemporary India? English.
40. Who wrote the Indian English novel Untouchable (1935)? Mulk Raj Anand.
41. Which Mulk Raj Anand novel explores the life of a coolie named Munoo? Coolie.
42. Who wrote the classic novel Swami and Friends set in the fictional town of Malgudi? R.K. Narayan.
43. What is the name of the fictional South Indian town created by R.K. Narayan where most of his novels and short stories are set? Malgudi.
44. Who wrote the post-colonial novel Clear Light of Day? Anita Desai.
45. Which Indian English novelist wrote Fasting, Feasting and The Village by the Sea? Anita Desai.
46. Who wrote the transnational novel The Inheritance of Loss? Kiran Desai.
47. Which author wrote Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake? Jhumpa Lahiri.
48. Who wrote the diaspora novel The Moor's Last Sigh? Salman Rushdie.
49. What term characterizes English as a bridge language uniting linguistically diverse states within India? Lingua Franca or Link Language
50. What constitutional amendment or article empowers Parliament to regulate the official language use? Article 343.
51. Which 19th-century educational institution founded in Delhi later became a hub for English literary studies in independent India? St. Stephen's College.
52. Who is famous for his book Indian Writing in English? K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar.
53. What is considered the definitive comprehensive historical survey of Indian English literature authored by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar? Indian Writing in English.
54. Who wrote Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India.? Gauri Viswanathan
55. What title did Gauri Viswanathan give her landmark study on English literary education in British India? Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India.
56. Which post-colonial theorist wrote Nation and Its Fragments, discussing the inner and outer domains of Indian nationalism? Partha Chatterjee.
57. What cultural domain did Indian nationalism claim as its sovereign spiritual space, distinct from the colonial state, according to Partha Chatterjee? The 'Inner' or 'Spiritual' Domain.
58. Which prominent Indian poet and critic edited the influential anthology Modern Indian Poetry in English (1969)? P. Lal.
59. What literary movement did P. Lal found in Calcutta to promote authentic, modern Indian English poetry free from romantic cliches? Writers Workshop.
60. Who wrote the post-colonial poem 'A Hot Noon in Malabar'? Kamala Das.
61. Which confessional Indian English poet wrote the autobiography My Story? Kamala Das (Madhavikutty).
62. Who wrote the modernist Indian English poem 'Background, Casually'? Nissim Ezekiel.
63. Which Indian English poet wrote the epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol ? Sri Aurobindo.
64. What philosophical and spiritual framework characterizes Sri Aurobindo's epic poetry? Integral Yoga and Integral Advaita Non- Dualism).
65. Who wrote The Life Divine? Sri Aurobindo.
66. What term describes literature written by authors originating from the Indian subcontinent who reside abroad in Western countries? Indian Diasporic Literature.
67. Who wrote the diasporic novel Brick Lane depicting Bangladeshi immigrants in London? Monica Ali.
68. Which British-Indian author wrote the historical migration novel The Satanic Verses? Salman Rushdie.
69. What 20th-century commission on education recommended regional languages as media of education while retaining English for higher studies? The Kothari Commission (Education Commission of 1964–66).
70. What status does English hold in India's educational framework according to the 'Three-Language Formula'? A secondary or global link and Communication language / bridge language.
71. What is the 'Three-Language Formula' proposed in education policy? A formula requiring students in non-Hindi-speaking states to learn their mother tongue, Hindi, and English; and in Hindi-speaking states, their mother tongue, another modern Indian language, and English.
72. Which Indian state famously resisted Hindi imposition, leading to intense language agitations in the 1960s and cementing English status? Tamil Nadu.
73. What role does English play in India's booming IT and outsourcing industry? Primary engine of economic globalization and communication.
74. Who wrote the global bestselling Indian English novel White Tiger (2008)? Aravind Adiga.
75. Which Indian English author wrote The White Tiger, winning the Man Booker Prize? Aravind Adiga.
76. What subgenre of Indian English fiction focuses on call centers, corporate culture, and urban youth angst (e.g., Chetan Bhagat's works)? Popular Indian English Fiction
77. Who wrote the bestselling contemporary novel Five Point Someone? Chetan Bhagat.
78. What critique do traditional literary scholars level against popular contemporary Indian English writing? Formulaic plotting, colloquial simplicity, and commercialization.
79. What term describes the localized mass media and entertainment hybrid language combining Hindi and English vocabulary in Indian cinema and press? Hinglish.
80. Who edited The Partition of Memory: The Afterlife of the Division of India? Suvir Kaul.
81. Which scholar wrote A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the Vanishing Present? Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.
82. What collective of historians and literary critics revolutionized modern Indian historiography by focusing on subaltern agency? The Subaltern Studies Group (founded by Ranajit Guha).
83. Who single-handedly edited the first six volumes of Subaltern Studies: Writing on South Asian History and Society? Ranajit Guha.
84. Who has written The Indianization of English: The English Language? Braj B. Kachru
85. Who has edited Many Voices, Many Worlds: Critical Perspectives on Community Media in India? Faiz Ullah, Anjali Monteiro and K. P. Jayasankar
86. Who is widely regarded as the father of Indian English Fiction? Mulk Raj Anand.
87. Who wrote An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India? Shashi Tharoor.
88. What polemical non-fiction work by Shashi Tharoor details the economic and cultural exploitation of India by the British Empire, including the legacy of English administration? An Era of Darkness (published internationally as Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India).
89. Who has composed The Voice of the Mountain? Mamang Dai.
90. What emerging body of literature enriches Indian English studies by focusing on the indigenous cultures and geopolitical experiences of India's Northeast? Northeast Indian Literature in English.
91. Who wrote the novel The Legends of Pensam? Mamang Dai.
92. Who is the author of notable poetry collection My Invented Land: New and Selected Poems? Robin S. Ngangom
93. What thematic shift characterizes 21st-century Indian English literature away from elite metropolitan concerns? Inclusion of regional, Dalit, tribal, queer, and subaltern voices.
94. How has digital media and social networking impacted the evolution of Indian English? Accelerated the growth of informal hybrid registers like Hinglish and digital slang.
95. What prominent role does English translation play in contemporary Indian literary culture? Bridging regional language literatures (Bhasha literature) to national and global audiences.
96. Which Indian publishing house in India has been instrumental in translating major regional language classics into English globally? Seagull Books.
97. Who founded Katha, an organization dedicated to translating regional Indian literature into English? Geeta Dharmarajan.
98. What ongoing debate surrounds the hegemony of English in India regarding indigenous languages? Tension between socio-economic advancement and the preservation of indigenous linguistic identity.
99. What term describes the bilingual or multilingual creative capacity of Indian writers who navigate both their mother tongue and English seamlessly? Creative Bilinguality (or Multilingualism).
100. What is the ultimate historical verdict on English in India today? It has transformed from an instrument of colonial control into an indigenized Indian language deeply woven into the nation's democratic, legal, educational, and cultural fabric.
Unit – VI: English in India: History, Evolution and Futures
1. What historical resolution passed in 1835 officially introduced English education in British India? The English Education Act of 1835 ( Based on Thomas Babington Macaulay’s 'Minute on Education'.)
2. Who authored the controversial 1835 'Minute on Education' advocating for Western curriculum in English? Thomas Babington Macaulay.
3. Which British governor-general endorsed Macaulay's 'Minute on Education', making English the administrative language of India? Lord William Bentinck.
4. What landmark 1854 document, known as the 'Magna Carta of English Education in India,' laid the foundation for the modern University system? Wood’s Despatch.
5. Which three Universities were established in India in 1857 following Wood's Despatch? Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras Universities.
6. What term describes the localized, distinct variety of the English language spoken in India? Indian English (abbreviated as IndE)
7. Who wrote the foundational literary study The Twice-Born Fiction analyzing the Indian English novel? Meenakshi Mukherjee.
8. What Indian English stylistic feature involves translating native language idioms directly into English (e.g., 'doing the needful')? Indianism.
9. Who wrote the pioneering Indian English novel Rajmohan's Wife (1864)? Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
10. Who was the first prominent reformer to strongly advocate for the introduction of Western education and the English language in India? Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
11. What did Jawaharlal Nehru call English in terms of its global utility for India? 'Major window on the world.'
12. What constitutional provision under Article 343 initially set a timeline for phasing out English in official union administration? The Constitution of India (1950).
13. What legislative act passed in 1963 ensured the continued use of English alongside Hindi for official central government purposes indefinitely? The Official Languages Act, 1963.
14. Which schedule of the Indian Constitution lists recognized regional languages? The Eighth Schedule.
15. Who is considered the pioneer of Indian English poetry, author of 'Our Casuarina Tree'? Toru Dutt.
16. Which Indian English poet wrote The Golden Gate and A Suitable Boy? Vikram Seth.
17. Who wrote the Booker Prize-winning Indian English novel Midnight's Children (1981)? Salman Rushdie.
18. Which Indian English author wrote Kanthapura (1938)? Raja Rao.
19. What famous statement did Raja Rao make in the foreword to Kanthapura regarding writing in English? 'We cannot write like the English. We should not'.
20. Who wrote A House for Mr Biswas? V.S. Naipaul.
21. Which Indian English poet wrote The Striders? A.K. Ramanujan.
22. Who composed 'Night of the Scorpion'? Nissim Ezekiel.
23. What term did Braj Kachru use to classify Indian English within his concentric circles model? Outer Circle.
24. What linguistic phenomenon involves mixing Hindi and English in everyday discourse? Hinglish.
25. Who wrote the Indian English novel The God of Small Things (1997), winning the Booker Prize? Arundhati Roy.
26. Which Indian English playwright wrote Tughlaq and Hayavadana? Girish Karnad.
27. Who wrote the post-colonial critical text The Empire Writes Back? Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin.
28. What term describes the process whereby colonized populations appropriate the imperial language to articulate their own cultural identities? Abrogation and Appropriation.
29. Who wrote the foundational Dalit autobiography Joothan ( translated into English by Arun Prabha Mukherjee)? Omprakash Valmiki.
30. What literary movement gives voice to marginalized oppressed castes in Indian literature? Dalit Literature.
31. Who wrote English in India: Its Present and Future ? V.K. Gokak.
32. What committee report chaired by V.K. Gokak in the 1980s examined the teaching of English in India? The Gokak Committee Report.
33. Which 19th-century social reformer advocated strongly for English education to foster scientific and modern thinking in India? Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
34. What letter did Raja Ram Mohan Roy write in 1823 objecting to traditional Sanskrit learning in favor of Western sciences and English? Letter to Lord Amherst.
35. Who edited The Other Tongue: English Across Cultures? Braj B. Kachru.
36. What distinct feature of Indian English phonology involves retroflex sounds /ʈ/ and /d/ replacing alveolar /t/ and /d/? Retroflexion.
37. What syntactic variation in Indian English often uses progressive tenses with stative verbs (e.g., 'I am knowing it')? Stative Progressive.
38. What conversational tag in Indian English is frequently used at the end of sentences regardless of gender or tense (e.g., 'The train is late, isn't it?' or 'is it?')? Invariant Conversational Tag
39. What is the primary medium of instruction in elite higher education, science, technology, and law in contemporary India? English.
40. Who wrote the Indian English novel Untouchable (1935)? Mulk Raj Anand.
41. Which Mulk Raj Anand novel explores the life of a coolie named Munoo? Coolie.
42. Who wrote the classic novel Swami and Friends set in the fictional town of Malgudi? R.K. Narayan.
43. What is the name of the fictional South Indian town created by R.K. Narayan where most of his novels and short stories are set? Malgudi.
44. Who wrote the post-colonial novel Clear Light of Day? Anita Desai.
45. Which Indian English novelist wrote Fasting, Feasting and The Village by the Sea? Anita Desai.
46. Who wrote the transnational novel The Inheritance of Loss? Kiran Desai.
47. Which author wrote Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake? Jhumpa Lahiri.
48. Who wrote the diaspora novel The Moor's Last Sigh? Salman Rushdie.
49. What term characterizes English as a bridge language uniting linguistically diverse states within India? Lingua Franca or Link Language
50. What constitutional amendment or article empowers Parliament to regulate the official language use? Article 343.
51. Which 19th-century educational institution founded in Delhi later became a hub for English literary studies in independent India? St. Stephen's College.
52. Who is famous for his book Indian Writing in English? K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar.
53. What is considered the definitive comprehensive historical survey of Indian English literature authored by K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar? Indian Writing in English.
54. Who wrote Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India.? Gauri Viswanathan
55. What title did Gauri Viswanathan give her landmark study on English literary education in British India? Masks of Conquest: Literary Study and British Rule in India.
56. Which post-colonial theorist wrote Nation and Its Fragments, discussing the inner and outer domains of Indian nationalism? Partha Chatterjee.
57. What cultural domain did Indian nationalism claim as its sovereign spiritual space, distinct from the colonial state, according to Partha Chatterjee? The 'Inner' or 'Spiritual' Domain.
58. Which prominent Indian poet and critic edited the influential anthology Modern Indian Poetry in English (1969)? P. Lal.
59. What literary movement did P. Lal found in Calcutta to promote authentic, modern Indian English poetry free from romantic cliches? Writers Workshop.
60. Who wrote the post-colonial poem 'A Hot Noon in Malabar'? Kamala Das.
61. Which confessional Indian English poet wrote the autobiography My Story? Kamala Das (Madhavikutty).
62. Who wrote the modernist Indian English poem 'Background, Casually'? Nissim Ezekiel.
63. Which Indian English poet wrote the epic poem Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol ? Sri Aurobindo.
64. What philosophical and spiritual framework characterizes Sri Aurobindo's epic poetry? Integral Yoga and Integral Advaita Non- Dualism).
65. Who wrote The Life Divine? Sri Aurobindo.
66. What term describes literature written by authors originating from the Indian subcontinent who reside abroad in Western countries? Indian Diasporic Literature.
67. Who wrote the diasporic novel Brick Lane depicting Bangladeshi immigrants in London? Monica Ali.
68. Which British-Indian author wrote the historical migration novel The Satanic Verses? Salman Rushdie.
69. What 20th-century commission on education recommended regional languages as media of education while retaining English for higher studies? The Kothari Commission (Education Commission of 1964–66).
70. What status does English hold in India's educational framework according to the 'Three-Language Formula'? A secondary or global link and Communication language / bridge language.
71. What is the 'Three-Language Formula' proposed in education policy? A formula requiring students in non-Hindi-speaking states to learn their mother tongue, Hindi, and English; and in Hindi-speaking states, their mother tongue, another modern Indian language, and English.
72. Which Indian state famously resisted Hindi imposition, leading to intense language agitations in the 1960s and cementing English status? Tamil Nadu.
73. What role does English play in India's booming IT and outsourcing industry? Primary engine of economic globalization and communication.
74. Who wrote the global bestselling Indian English novel White Tiger (2008)? Aravind Adiga.
75. Which Indian English author wrote The White Tiger, winning the Man Booker Prize? Aravind Adiga.
76. What subgenre of Indian English fiction focuses on call centers, corporate culture, and urban youth angst (e.g., Chetan Bhagat's works)? Popular Indian English Fiction
77. Who wrote the bestselling contemporary novel Five Point Someone? Chetan Bhagat.
78. What critique do traditional literary scholars level against popular contemporary Indian English writing? Formulaic plotting, colloquial simplicity, and commercialization.
79. What term describes the localized mass media and entertainment hybrid language combining Hindi and English vocabulary in Indian cinema and press? Hinglish.
80. Who edited The Partition of Memory: The Afterlife of the Division of India? Suvir Kaul.
81. Which scholar wrote A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the Vanishing Present? Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.
82. What collective of historians and literary critics revolutionized modern Indian historiography by focusing on subaltern agency? The Subaltern Studies Group (founded by Ranajit Guha).
83. Who single-handedly edited the first six volumes of Subaltern Studies: Writing on South Asian History and Society? Ranajit Guha.
84. Who has written The Indianization of English: The English Language? Braj B. Kachru
85. Who has edited Many Voices, Many Worlds: Critical Perspectives on Community Media in India? Faiz Ullah, Anjali Monteiro and K. P. Jayasankar
86. Who is widely regarded as the father of Indian English Fiction? Mulk Raj Anand.
87. Who wrote An Era of Darkness: The British Empire in India? Shashi Tharoor.
88. What polemical non-fiction work by Shashi Tharoor details the economic and cultural exploitation of India by the British Empire, including the legacy of English administration? An Era of Darkness (published internationally as Inglorious Empire: What the British Did to India).
89. Who has composed The Voice of the Mountain? Mamang Dai.
90. What emerging body of literature enriches Indian English studies by focusing on the indigenous cultures and geopolitical experiences of India's Northeast? Northeast Indian Literature in English.
91. Who wrote the novel The Legends of Pensam? Mamang Dai.
92. Who is the author of notable poetry collection My Invented Land: New and Selected Poems? Robin S. Ngangom
93. What thematic shift characterizes 21st-century Indian English literature away from elite metropolitan concerns? Inclusion of regional, Dalit, tribal, queer, and subaltern voices.
94. How has digital media and social networking impacted the evolution of Indian English? Accelerated the growth of informal hybrid registers like Hinglish and digital slang.
95. What prominent role does English translation play in contemporary Indian literary culture? Bridging regional language literatures (Bhasha literature) to national and global audiences.
96. Which Indian publishing house in India has been instrumental in translating major regional language classics into English globally? Seagull Books.
97. Who founded Katha, an organization dedicated to translating regional Indian literature into English? Geeta Dharmarajan.
98. What ongoing debate surrounds the hegemony of English in India regarding indigenous languages? Tension between socio-economic advancement and the preservation of indigenous linguistic identity.
99. What term describes the bilingual or multilingual creative capacity of Indian writers who navigate both their mother tongue and English seamlessly? Creative Bilinguality (or Multilingualism).
100. What is the ultimate historical verdict on English in India today? It has transformed from an instrument of colonial control into an indigenized Indian language deeply woven into the nation's democratic, legal, educational, and cultural fabric.