Artificial Intelligence and the Teaching of Indian Writing in English: Possibilities, Problems, and Emerging Directions

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday academic life. It is now used to explain difficult ideas, providelanguage support, generate questions, offer feedback, and assist students in locating information. Much of the discussionabout AI in education, however, has centred on science, technology, professional training, and assessment. Its place inliterary studies has received less sustained attention. This paper considers how AI may be used in the teaching of IndianWriting in English in higher education. It follows a qualitative, conceptual approach and draws on research related to AI ineducation, generative AI, digital humanities, literary teaching, and postcolonial studies. The paper argues for a careful andlimited use of AI. It may help students approach historical background, cultural references, difficult vocabulary, andunfamiliar literary contexts, but it cannot take the place of reading, interpretation, classroom conversation, or the teacher’sjudgement. The discussion refers to works by Raja Rao, Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, Arundhati Roy, Jhumpa Lahiri, andChetan Bhagat to show how AI-supported activities might be used in the literature classroom. At the same time, the paperexamines serious concerns: fabricated information, academic dishonesty, cultural and algorithmic bias, unequal access,privacy, and the danger of replacing close reading with ready-made summaries. A human-centred model is proposed inwhich AI offers preliminary assistance, while students verify information, return to the literary text, and develop their owninterpretations. The paper concludes that AI can be useful in the teaching of Indian Writing in English only when it remainssubordinate to literary judgement, cultural awareness, and independent thought.