“The secret negotiations and correspondence of government are liable to be made public through the medium of the native Munchees, or writers, whom he will be obliged to employ and trust.” - Bernard S. Cohn, Colonialism and its forms of Knowledge
Colonial governments require a mode of communication with the populations they rule. A colonial officer had no access to authority in a context where he could not understand the native languages. British officers first relied on Indian interpretors to command the rest of their Indian subjects in their native tongue. Soon colonialists decided they could not trust "natives" to interpret important discussions between British officials and Indian royalty and began studying native languages to excercise direct control over Indians.
Learning Sanskrit and Arabic, which Hindu and Muslim religious texts are written in, reinforced British claims that their rule introduced neutral justice. In 1772 Warren Hastings developed a plan to make Indian law more accessible by translating the scripts previously only Brahmins (the highest caste group in India, traditionally the educated group) understood. The British claimed that the minority of Hindus and Muslims in India who understood Sanskrit or Arabic partook in a "Brahmanical plot" that exploited the respect for religious laws to their own ends. By translating religious documents into English and using those to govern Indians according to their religion, British judges legitimized their authority by introducing modern justice.
As well as learning native languages, the British simultaneously introduced English to Indians. English remains as the bureacratic language used in the workplace and in government. Today Indians rely on Hindi and English to forge a link between the nation's many linguistic barriers. English proficiency is imperative for the nation's economy that relies heavily on foreign trade (especially in the Information Technology sector). The British brought a notion of national uniformity that transcends linguistic boundaries. It also introduced a linguistic hierarchy that favors English speakers with access to higher education, government posts, and big business.
Marathi language newspaper Sakal
Pieces of my journal from Pune inspired by Marathi and Hindi.