Discussions about the status of the English language in Nepal cover both the heuristic and pragmatic aspects. The genesis of English language use in Nepal shows how both aspects of English learning and studies have been in operation for over a century and a half. To be precise, we can tell the story of English language learning that started with the first Rana prime minister and founder of the family rule Jang Bahadur Rana (1817-73) as early as 1846 and ended only in 1950. After a memorable tour of Belayat or Britain in 1850, Jang Bahadur brought unexpected changes, not least in the pedagogy of English and the establishment of its importance both as a medium of good education and a source of prestige. There are a few stories that deserve mention here.

First, I want to mention the launch of a book by Sagar SJB Rana, one of the progenies of Jang Bahadur’s brother, on July 25, 2023 in Kathmandu. The book entitled Kingdom Lost (2023), written in native-like English is published by Rupa Publications. The confusion surrounding the question of the medium of speech on the occasion struck me as a combination of fun and ritual. The Oxford-educated author Sagar Rana, whose family understandably uses English extensively in different contexts, suddenly became conscious of the audience’s ability to comprehend English. So Rana used both Nepali and English in his speech that sounded familiar because this is a recurring practice at the mimamsa sessions involving English books and Nepali audiences. If I may hazard a guess as an English teacher all my life, over 90 percent of the audience there could understand the English discourse.

Good read

Kingdom Lost, written in simple English, is a very good read. The book covers the contemporary developments in Nepali history and politics, on such topics as the Rana-Congress coalition, Panchayat democracy, king Birendra’s experiment with “national referendum”, Maoist war, the last Shah king Gyanendra’s fatal gamble and “irreversible march to a republic”, to mention some leading headings. The participation of well-known English Nepali historian John Whelpton at this forum was important. A PhD on Jang Bahadur from London University, John chose to speak briefly in Nepali and then in English. He said he was the only “kuire” speaker with a “Thakuri” Sagar Shumsher Rana and two “Brahmins” Damannath Dhungana and Raghuji Panta as the other speakers. A brief story about the lure of English in Nepal that was first experienced by the first Rana prime minister Jang Bahadur is in order.

Jang felt a sense of inverse cultural shock when he returned from Britain in 1851. A not so educated person, he developed an irresistible love for the English language. Writes Whelpton in his book Jang Bahadur in Europe (1983, 2016), Jang’s love for Europe was tinged with a sense of nostalgia and love. When he boarded the ship at the French port of Marseilles to return home, Jang wrote “a sort of poetic farewell to Europe”. He said his visit was like a dream “which could never recur”. But Jang made no secret of his desire to educate some of his progenies in Belayat. English language was at the core of that dream. Jang’s son Padma Jung Rana became an English writer who wrote a book entitled Life of Maharaj Sir Jang Bahadur of Nepal (1909). One of Jang’s granddaughters Moira married an Englishman. There is a history of how Jang started a school at Thapathali Darbar in 1853 to teach English to the children of his family by bringing two British teachers in 1853. As I have already written an essay entitled “Jang, Nelta Ra Angreji” (Kantipur, March 9, 2019), I do not want to repeat the story here.

During one visit to Cambridge, while working on my PhD in English, I met well-known English language scholar Tom McArthur in a lovely residence at Cambridge University in 1988. Then McArthur had shared his views about Nepali English, which he has put in his famous book Oxford Guide to World English (2002) like this: “Although considerably influenced by the UK and with the special relationship with the British Army because of the provision of Gurkha soldiers (as also to the Indian Army), Nepal was never part of the Empire. Nepalese English is therefore unique in that it is not a direct by-product of either imperialism or missionary activity”.

As someone who is involved both in the pedagogy and the use of English language in Nepal, I am cautious about drawing too many conclusions regarding the use of English in Nepal. The largest national organisation of English teachers, Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), has played an effective role both in terms of discussing the pedagogy and the use of English. The president of NELTA Motikala Subba Dewan and her competent and dedicated colleagues and the English teachers from all over the country have worked through all the difficult years.

Medium of education

Returning to the launch of Sagar SJB Rana’s book of history and the self-conscious approach about the use of English as the medium of education, I would say the following. As mentioned by Tom McArthur, the history part plays an important role in terms of explaining the features of the Nepali use of English. Speaking on the basis of what I have seen and felt, and how the students have been treating the subject of English, the methodology that uses very strict modus operandi cannot be effective in the teaching of English in Nepal. At several NELTA meetings, I have put forward my differences with those teachers and schools who make it compulsory for the students to speak English at school. I believe it is not right to control the use of the medium. Use both Nepali or the mother tongue mediums and English in the English classroom. My colleagues and I have been successfully using this mixed medium methodology.

Outside the realms of pedagogy, the production of English language books is gaining popularity. But the approach to tackling this is not a tyranny of choice, but a creative luxury of use. That is indeed the creative character of the Nepali use of English. Both history as evoked by Tom McArthur and other methods as evoked by English teachers and writers in English could be very helpful in understanding this luxury of choice, which does not spell anarchy but promotes a creative and disciplined use of the medium, which is English.