New Delhi, Oct. 3 -- Language in South Asia is never neutral. It is not only a medium of instruction. It is a medium of power. That assertion runs through The Identity Reconstruction of Subaltern English Learners: Language, Liberation, and Leadership in South Asia, scheduled to be released January 2026 (Routledge).

The book draws on nearly a decade of research and collaboration with educators, organisers, and students from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, starting from an uncomfortable truth: English, once imposed as a colonial language, has become both a gatekeeper of privilege and, paradoxically, a pathway to empowerment.

I obtained an advance copy from the co-authors. Aamir Hasan in Michigan, is an educa...