English is regarded as a global language. It is by no means divested itself of a cultural context. English was introduced into South Asia by the British. Nearly all the postcolonial countries (e.g., India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal) in that region experienced long periods of political, economic, and linguistic domination. Although those postcolonial countries have taken different paths to nation-building, policies on instructional medium in schools have been key drivers of national development in India and Bangladesh. English, along with indigenous languages such as Bengali and Hindi, plays an important role in everyday activities in Bangladesh. Language is an instrument of political, economic, and social imperialism. This paper uses historical documents, government data, and structured interviews with Bangladesh's policy planners to examine the linguistic impact of English on South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh. The impact is based on the link between one's proficiency in the English language and one's social privilege, which emanates from having English-language skills. Such impact is also indicated in the deleterious effects of language use in Bangladesh-that is, in engendering disparities in economic status conditioned by disparities in the proficiency in the use of English. The purpose of this paper is to describe and examine the present status of Bengali and English in the educational system of South Asia. The research questions were - (i) Is English a colonial burden? (ii) Who benefits from the present policy? Viswanathan (1989) noted that English-language teaching in India could be regarded as a form of social, cultural, and political control. It basically produced a class alienated from its own language and culture and discontented with the colonial rule. Currently, in Indian education, as well as in Bangladeshi education, English plays a special role. English is used as a language of administration, inter-state communication, and higher education in India and Bangladesh, for projecting cultural heritage, economic programs, tourism, politics, industry, trade, foreign policies and research findings overseas. English is becoming increasingly pervasive in India, where it is used for instrumental purposes because it provides opportunities in the job market and in higher education. South Asian students in India and Bangladesh have a positive attitude toward English, which is regarded as a "language of opportunity" in that it plays an important role in Indian society and is no longer regarded as a burden of colonialism. In South Asia, English is generally not viewed as a colonial burden but as an international or neutral language; it provides opportunities. Thus public pressure for English language teaching at an early age is widespread. However, for most children, English language proficiency is quite low because of the low level of teachers' English language proficiency and the low quality of English language education. Thus, the present policy continues to support advantages for groups having access to English education, while contributing to the ongoing educational difficulties facing the rural and urban poor. This paper calls for language planning and policy that emphasizes pedagogic equity.
