Public instruction in English began in India in the 1830’s during the rule of the East India Company. (India was then, and as is today, one of the most linguistically diverse regions of the world.) In 1837, English replaced Persian as the official language of the Company.

  Lord Macaulay played a major role in introducing English and Western concepts to education in India. He supported the replacement of Persian by English as the official language, the use of English as the medium of instruction in all schools, and the training of Englishspeaking Indians as teachers.

  Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, primary, middle, and high schools were opened in many districts of British India, with most high schools offering English language instruction in some subjects, in addition to making English a compulsory languagesubject. In 1857, just before the end of the Company rule, universities modelled on the University of London and using English....