Forty percent of Anglo-Indians in Calcutta lived in huts,
and there was a growing indifference and distrust of the
various Anglo-Indian Associations. The Baptist Report,
stated that the socio-economic condition of the community
was
... much worse than it was twenty years
ago...with the general educational level of
the community as a whole was poor. (24)
The Anglo-Indians who wanted to learn an Indian language
found themselves in an impossible situation. The null
Indian language policy in Anglo-Indian schools had produced
a group of Anglo-Indian teachers who were unable to teach
an Indian language as a second language.
At the same time, the schools suffered from falling rolls
because Anglo-Indians were emigrating in large numbers.
The schools had to survive. The schools allowed the
curriculum to be dictated by the needs of the wealthy
Indians .
This course of inaction for Anglo-Indians created the first
batch of Anglo-Indians who failed to pass an Indian
language examination. But the same language policy
produced a course of action for Indians attending Anglo-
Indian schools. They became fluent English speakers and
also retained their fluency in their mother tongue.
The educational politics of the Anglo-Indian associations
produced a policy which was inegalitarian. Once again the
Anglo-Indians were in a subordinate position, with the
dominant roles played by other wealthy Indians in Anglo-
Indian schools. The wealthy Indian learner who wanted to
learn English as a second language, dictated the curriculum
outcome for the Anglo-Indian student who wanted to learn an
Indian language as a second language.
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