English literature was not studied in British universities until comparatively recently and, even when it was introduced into the curriculum in the early twentieth century, had a low status compared with traditional disciplines such as classics or history. In Masks of Conquest, Gauri Viswanathan argues that the origins of the English literature curriculum actually lie in Britain's imperial colonies, where the subject was used as a tool of colonial management.

Almost a hundred years before English people were studying English literature as an academic discipline, the English Education Act of 1835 made English the medium of instruction in India and prescribed the study of an English literature curriculum for Indians. The aim of this was at least partly to expose the colonial student to an idealized literary version of an Englishman, which would serve as propaganda for colonial rule. The curriculum also aimed to inculcate British social and political philosophies and Christian religious values.

Even today, some of the most quintessentially English writers, such as Charles Dickens and P.G. Wodehouse, are widely studied and have a huge following in India, where they may be more popular than they are in England.

In his analysis of the uses of literature in British colonial India, Gauri Viswanathan demonstrates the centrality of language and literary works in imperialism. The people of India during the Raj had no direct experience of Britain and formed many of their impressions through the carefully chosen works that the British took there. The rulers sought to bolster their claims to superior civilization and their right to rule through the values reflected in those works.

Widespread adoption of the English language was a central component of extending political control. Beginning with the indoctrination of children in a British-imposed educational system, literacy in English was introduced as a fundamental aspect of elite culture to which young Indians were encouraged to aspire. Creating a desire for this tool was central to the strategy in which poetry, plays, and fiction featured prominently. Selectively developing humanist ideas such as the centrality of the individual enabled the British to separate Indian subjects from strong identification with indigenous cultural values and aspire to new positions within the British governmental apparatus, which depended on low- and intermediate-level English-speaking clerks and bureaucrats.

Masks of Conquest by Gauri Viswanathan shows the role English studies played in cultural assimilation. Viswanathan claims that English literature is a reflection of the classic Englishman and sanitized the exploitative actions of the British government in India. The author looks at how the British introduced the English language, including the curriculum changes they introduced and the objectives of teaching English in India.

The author claims that the British introduced English to impart Christian values among Indians. Since the British stated that they respected all kinds of religion, it was difficult to introduce Christianity in the country because Indians had their own beliefs. Therefore, the British used literature to more subtly impart Christian values among Indians. Books with Christian themes were introduced in school curricula.