What does it mean to study English lit. in India ? Do you learn any skill at all in this course of study?How different it be to study lit. written...

Studying literature in the English language in India as
opposed to other languages is a significant concept, because India was colonized for
three centuries by the British. Inevitably, both cultures were affected by the other,
but one can argue that because the British were physically present in India, more
significant and far reaching changes took their root in Indian culture, changing it
intrinsically.

English is a colonial legacy, and
postcolonial Indian people now use it extensively. In the same way that other
postcolonial cultures (ie African) have used the colonizer's language to empower
themselves and celebrate their dual heritage identities, Indian people too can
understand the colonial history and how it affected their present cultural identity by
understanding English Literature.

Of course, it would be
limiting to say that only postcolonialism defines the Indian student's relationship with
English Literature. In an increasingly globalized world, all kinds of literatures are
more and more accessible, and a student who is exposed to so many fields of study may
very well be attracted to the multilayered and interesting centuries of English
Literature.

To understand what I mean by dual heritage, and
the conflicts as well as convergence that can characterize a postcolonial identity, you
can read the poem "Piano and Drums" by Gabriel Okara.