Indian writers who wrote in English about a century ago were largely neglected or looked down upon by other Indian writers as well as English writers. The writers who wrote in vernacular languages had a sort of contempt towards those who wrote in English. We must note that vernacular writing was both religious and secular. But, much of the writing in English by Indian authors was secular and rarely religious. If so, they would be translations from vernacular texts or classical languages like Sanskrit.

Indian writers who wrote in English used the situation to break from the tradition and have a say in the society. Writing in English gave individuals the freedom to question, and defy the rigid social and religious structure prevalent in India. Most of the times, the writers did this breaking from tradition unconsciously.

English gave many writers to rebel consciously and unconsciously. Even today writers like Shobhaa De, Arundhati Roy and many others have carved out a niche for writing in English. However, is the tag “Indian English Writer” quite like a label? That is something that needs to be thought about. However, if we encourage our children to play with words, we may see many students growing up to be writers.

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