ENGLISH-EDUCATED IN POLITICS 27 Demands for higher government service (specifically entry to the Indian Civil Service), rights of leaders to a place in the legislative councils etc., were the political aims of such groups. There was hardly any concern for the plight of the peasantry and issues like adult franchise.3 While it may be conceded that, given the importance of representative institutions in the British political system, the demands were shaped accordingly, yet the nature of the grievances and demands put forward by the English educated middle class indicate its narrow elitist preoccupations. This should not be surprising if we analyse the class background and social attitudes of the early advocates of English. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, known as the 'Father of Modern India9 for his enlightened attitude on matters of social reform, defended the British indigo planters. Indigo planters were the most vicious and cruel exploiters of all British planters and their behaviour aroused great indignation not only among Indians but also among some of the British civil servants. When there was a demand for an inquiry into their conduct, Ram Mohan Roy wrote : "As to the indigo planters, I beg to observe that I have travelled tlirough several districts in Bengal and Bihar and I found the natives residing in the neighbourhood of indigo plantations better clothed and better conditioned than those who lived at a distance from such a station...There may be some partial injury done by indigo planters, but on the whole, they have performed more good to the generality of the natives of this country than any other class of Europeans...554 Dwarakanath Tagore, another 'enlightened' supporter of English wrote : ((! found that the cultivation of indigo and the residence of Europeans have considerably benefited the community at large, the zamindars becoming wealthy and prosperous, the ryots materially improved in their condition." Today the argument for English is presented in another form, but with the same content: "The English language was never imposed or forced upon the people of India. It was the Indians themselves who realised the value of English in the present age for themselves, and almost everywhere the desire to learn English came from the intellectual leaders of the people. Of course, the question of respectable jobs in government and in private service, and of independent lucrative and honourable lives in the professions, was there as an important incentive... But with the Indian pioneers of English education, the liberalising influence of English studies was a goal in itself."5 The legacy of English in free India still retains in essence most of the distinguishing features of the colonial rule. As far as English is concerned, it is an obstacle to the intellectual decolonisation, which should accompany physical decolonisation. The economic and social structures have necessitated the enthroning of the regional languages in their territorial spheres. But this process has been hindered directly or indirectly by the dominating presence of English, which has also greatly hampered ^ growth of creative political thought and practice in India, The impact of politics on the position of English in post-colonial