One reason was that the British Empire at one time covered a large part of the world. But other European powers had vast colonies too. How did English and not French or Spanish become a world language? It’s because English happily borrows words from other languages (you’ll find ‘dosa’, ‘sari’ and ‘maharaja’ in the Oxford English Dictionary) and then the world begins to use them. In the same way, Indians have welcomed other cultures and accepted new influences. And it is often done quietly.
