Nativizing English: the antidote to colonial management education in India

Despite being the one of the oldest living civilizations, the conspicuous lack of Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) is a matter of surprise. Dearth of IKS in contemporary management research and education can partially be attributed to the theological ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ and the Anglicization of education. Based on the analysis of the academic curriculum of top Business schools in India, another reason could be insufficient input in the form of adequate courses or exposure to indigenous intellectual traditions. We propose two strategies to leverage the indigenous knowledge. Firstly, we recommend to overhaul academic curriculum of the universities to include more indigenous thoughts and frameworks. We illustrate three specific areas, namely, Nyaya school of thought, the Indian Perspectives on wellness/Psychology, and Arthashastra for public policy and economics. The second major strategy is to ‘Nativize’ English. We advocate for the usage of indigenous words/concepts in the actual form rather than translating them into English as translation leads to confusion of meaning and experience. Besides English language may not have adequate translatable words. Translation may break the linkage with the native tradition, and it is prone to intellectual dishonesty from the scholars who are likely to erase reference to primary/original texts or secularize the concept. Our argument is that using the exact words also enriches the English vocabulary. We also acknowledge the rich oral learning/knowledge traditions which are often ignored and not considered to be ‘certified’ knowledge.