Reclaiming Identity: The Role of English in Showcasing Indian Knowledge Systems at the International Level

Abstract

Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) can be defined as the intellectual, philosophical, and cultural heritage of India, and it is far-ranging, including many different fields, including philosophy, literature, medicine, architecture, and ecology. Although each of these fields is often full of richness, they are often placed lower down the international horizon, mainly because of the problem of language, limited accessibility, and Eurocentric representations. The paper at hand attempts to analyses how the English world lingua franca has the potential to shape the availability of IKS to the general population and, in this way, opens the possibility to access the global academic, cultural, and policy spheres. Used wisely, English may serve as a channel between the indigenous world and the larger global system in that all the rich cultural knowledge systems like Ayurveda, Yoga, Vedanta, and oral traditions can be carried to a non-indigenous population. Nevertheless, there are inherent risks that are involved in the use of English as an entry into indigenous knowledge, such as cultural appropriation, misrepresentation, and the desire of Western societies to interpret all indigenous knowledge through the Western prism. The current query addresses the various experiential aspects, such as pedagogical practices, institutional experiences among the staff, community members, and students, and also the processes of translation and agency that lie in the experiences. The research sheds light on the intricacies that come with the engagement of global culture by IKS by critically questioning the ontological engagement of the latter.