New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked if English, as widely spoken as it is in India today and for centuries, can be considered a an “indigenous Indian language,” kindling hope of a less forced language model in schools.On July 14, as part of a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi said that the term ‘native’ used by the Central Board of Secondary Education as part of its three-language scheme was significant as it doesn’t appear in the constitution or the statute books.The CBSE’s controversial three-language scheme has it that Class 9 students should study at least two languages “native to India”. Reports also say that the latest circular issued by the CBSE on July 10 differentiates between ‘Bharatiya bhashas’ like Indian languages like Hindi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, etc. from ‘non-native’ languages.“What does this word ‘native’ mean? Can it be understood as indigenous Indian language,” Justice Bagchi asked, according to a report on The Hindu.The report says that the judge pointed out that in place of ‘native,’ terms used are either ‘mother tongue’, ‘regional language’ or ‘Indian language’.An NDTV report said that Justice Bagchi observed, “The notification is carrying forward the constitutional goal of learning Hindi and other Indian languages. The nomenclature may require some relook. The spirit is very clear. The question is, can Indians consider English an Indian indigenous language? At one point, Persian was the language of this court, but is it there in the Eighth Schedule?”Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for parents and students, said neither books nor teachers were available in schools.“As of now, books for only three of the 22 languages are available. This also creates a manpower issue because there are no teachers,” a report quotes Sankaranaryanan as having said.The CBSE’s language dictum has led to worries over how class 9 students, many of whom had previously studied at least one foreign language other than English until class 8, would adapt.