Synopsis This books examines ' the English question' with a new freedom of mind. The interrogative mood has taken over, and there is a critical awareness that the old assumptions need to be scrutinised and validated. The various papers in this edited volume have been contributed by well known Indian scholars and teachers of English and linguistics. The editors, in there Introduction, have provided the contemporary context of English and a frame of reference for the contributors but make no attempt to impose or infer a singleness of voice. The voices in the collection remain Indian, diverse and authentic. Sixteen scholars have contributed to this volume which, among others, discusses the following main issues : English in Education, English in Business and Administration, English and Indian Culture, English and Imperial Expansion, English and Indian Languages, Indianisms in Indian English, Indian English today, Impact of English on Indian Literature, Indian Poetry in English, Prose in Indian English, Teaching Spoken English in India, Varieties of Indian English, Sound Patterns of Indian English, Failure of English as a Lingua Franca in India,The Contributors include scholars from : The Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad; the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore; the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur; the Berlin University (Germany ); the University of Illinois (U.S.A); Jawaharlal Nehru University (J.N.U., New Delhi); the University of Delhi; M.D. University, (Haryana) The Englishers around the world are now a major research object — a whole range of linguistic, pedagogical and policy issues are being formulated and investigated. There are two overriding concerns --- what is the impact of this essentially ' alien ' language on the native languages, literatures, society and culture. These constitute ' the English question '. The impact of English on Indian literatures and culture has been analysed not only to take note of and admire the new themes and forms, and the so called ' modernity ', but also to examine the ' newness ' and ' modernity ' themselves for what they are and for what they are worth. Thus, a new critical point of view emerges on the history, sociology, function, impact and future of English in India.