What Is Indian English Language? Poem by Bijay Kant Dubey

I know and hear about
British English, American English, Canadian English, Australian English,
Rhodesian English, South African English
And so many varieties of it,
I mean English and Englishness,
Englishes that talk you,
But I do not know if there is a variety still
Like Indian English
And if it is, where is it spoken,
You show me the home where it is?

In a country like that of India, impregnable, full of linguistic not,
Racial and ethnic diversities not,
But natural diversities too,
So multi-ethnic, multi-racial
It was really difficult for the English to connect,
Reign and rule over
A vast tract of separated lands
And they had of a course a tough time to dispense with
And this needs to be acknowledged on our part.

As for the climatic conditions, hot and dry, but variable at places,
Diverse communities and their norms and segregation,
Alienation and isolation,
They chose not to settle here
And even if they, lived as the Anglo-Indians,
Mixing with the convert Christians,
Finally adopting the vernacular in place of English.

They took time in knowing India, reading it for business purposes
Rather than involving in its administration,
Maybe that for commercial gain and colonial expansion later on,
But medievalism, backwardness, poverty and misrule of years,
Superstition, blind faith, religious orthodoxy, fatalism and inaction
Had almost broken the backbone of the nation.

From the treacherous northeast to the northwestern frontier,
From the north to the southern tip,
Where the language varied at a furlong of a few kilometers,
In the absence of a national language,
They administered through English,
Making it the official language,
The language of the court, the police station, the university and the hospital.

Had they not constructed dams and bridges through engineering skill,
Had they not opened schools,
Had they not administered medicines and served,
Had they not pleaded reasonably,
Had the culprits been not booked to notice,
Could we have talked of?

We could not have fared through dark medievalism, witchcraft and black magic
Had the trains been not,
Had the us services been not,
The telegram services been not,
The roads and bridges been not,
Had there been not cholera, diarrhea, typhoid and small pox checked,
Cataract operated well, pregnancy seriousness taken into!

Indian English language is in reality an amalgamation, a conglomerate
Of so many regional varieties,
The language used by the native speakers of different languages,
But not at all spoken, but written,
Indian English is written English, not spoken English,
Grammatical English

A link language, linking the south from the north,
A library-consulting one,
Here the readers look up the words in the dictionary,
Practise hard to speak in English laboriously
Following the British Broadcasting, London and the Voice of America, Washington,
Reading the newspaper to make it lively.

Indian English language is a colonial heritage and legacy
And we cannot do away with
As our things are recorded herein
And it has made inroads through Indology, Asiatic researches and Sanskrit translations,
A study of Orienatalism
And we cannot without
As English has gone deep into our life and living
And it adds to really.

Indian English language is a written variety, used and applied by the Indians
After reading grammar
And it is grammatical English,
An Indian wanting to be an expert of grammar,
I mean a Panini, a Sanskrit Vyakarnacharya,
Not the youngest son of Banabhatta completing Kadambari
In a sweetly mellifluous language.

Indian English is Bihari English, Bengali English, Punjabi English,
Tamil English, Oriya English, tribal English
And this too is not,
As English is English,
There is no such English which talk we today,
Actually, the native tongue and the user of the language consider we
While putting forward our theories.

A Punjabi speaking English will naturally speak with the glib of his tongue,
Similarly a Bhojpurian,
A Tamil speaker, a Telugu speaker, a Malyalam knower, a Kannada user
And as thus our chart will go lengthening
More and more inclusive
Of a Bihari speaker, a Marathi user, a Gujarati taker.

But today all are turning towards spoken English, trying to speak impeccably
Going into the tips of the linguisticians and phoneticians,
Pronouncing like,
Going by the linguistic tips and jargons
And wanting to be called the master minds,
Taking as the proud privilege of theirs
In to be a salesman, a business manager, a global company man,
An adman and an anchorman.

English is English, Indian or English,
Give the English words for the jasmine varieties of Indian flowers,
Kaamini, champa, beli, gandharaj, raatraani, seuli,
Give the words for,
Koyat, kabranga, chalta sour and sweet soup items
Just like pine apple in taste,
Give the words for,
Bel fruit and mahua buds.

I do not know if you will be
As because the wild and the gardening varieties
Of exotic flora and fauna,
How t make you understand,
You come and see them,
Try to identify them, isn’t it?