India’s “official language controversy” extended over two decades from 1946 to 1967, during which the suggestion to substitute English with Hindi met with opposition from various quarters. This assay distinguishes a widespread perception, among supporters as well as critics of English in India at the time, that the “international”/“foreign” credentials of the language made it a tool of change across various regional, class, caste, religious, and ethnic communities. Maybe most startling, however, is the intricate role played by a “hybrid” minority constituency in public debate: the mixed race Anglo-Indian community, in disconnecting from the former “home” country of England re-defined itself and its relationship with the new republic, and finally served as a catalyst in reframing the language as not solely international or colonial, but as Indian.