Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>This entry examines the dynamic relationship between English and vernacular literacy practices in India through a postcolonial lens. It traces how colonial educational policies and ideologies established enduring hierarchies of language, literacy, and power that continue to shape India's multilingual landscape. English, introduced as a language of administration and prestige, now functions both as a tool of social mobility and as a marker of inequality. The discussion highlights India's profound linguistic diversity, the uneven implementation of the Three‐Language Formula, and the persistence of colonial legacies in language education. Drawing on research in multilingual pedagogy and language policy, the entry foregrounds the agentive strategies of educators who leverage vernacular resources to bridge inequities between English‐medium and vernacular‐medium schooling. By situating these developments within broader postcolonial discourse, it demonstrates how historical structures of domination intersect with contemporary educational reform, revealing both constraints and possibilities for developing more inclusive, multilingual, and socially responsive literacies in India.</jats:p>