The Department of English established in 1950 is one of the premiere departments of Government Degree College Anantnag. It is the first established department which has a prestige of having nurtured various personalities of great reputation like Mufti Mohammad Syed (Ex. Home Minister GOI and Former Chief Minister J&K), Prof G.R Malik (Ex. Dean Faculty of Arts Kashmir University), Prof. Hameedah Nayeem (Ex. HOD English Kashmir University), Prof Bashir Ahmad Nahvi (Ex. Director South Campus Kashmir University) and some other eminent personalities. The department is equipped with faculty of good academic background. The department has an honour to cater the academic aspirations of B. A. (Honours) English students and a large number of General English and Communicative English students. The domain of teaching-learning has strengthened by the recruitment of permanent faculty in 2016 with quality research background and higher qualification. The Dept. organizes workshops and conducts tutorials to enhance the linguistic competence and understanding of different literatures among students.

The department envisions to develop in students the understanding and appreciation of various literatures across the world and facilitates them in daily use of English language. It endeavors to instill in students a taste for literature and prepares them for demanding professions of teachers, editors, translators and mass communication. It plays a pivotal role to explore the hidden potential of students and engages in various activities so as to enable them to get admission in various universities.

The present century has increasingly realized the integrality of all elements in the universe and the interrelatedness of lives in all forms. Tim Cook speaks about maintaining balance between science and the humanities: If science is a search in the darkness, then the humanities are a candle that shows where we have been and the danger that lies ahead. It is technology married with liberal arts, married with the humanities that make our hearts sing. The function of literature is to bring the questions of values human and literary into the frame. Literariness is the ability of literature to attract attention to itself through what is clearly a special use of language. As a system of knowledge, literature is said to provide pleasure first and knowledge thereafter. Therein lies its value in being pleasant. Thereafter, the important thing is to know what literature is valued for. Literature is known for what it stands or its commitment. It also celebrates life in all forms and stands for values of life by representing and often defending the weak, the poor, the exploited, the vulnerable and the voiceless. In a way, literary values are values of life. The ultimate learning outcomes of literary studies is to manifest in the form of acquiring linguistic and communicative competence to understand and express these values. Accordingly, English language learning curricula have evolved over a period of time in India. From its Anglo-centric core, it has moved to the educated Indian variant of English with national and international intelligibility. The present phase in English language learning fulfils the needs of learners in equipping them to face the vicissitudes of life. Its acceptance lies in its ability to enrich the users engagement with local and global realties. Clearly, the users of English remain sensitive to different kinds of human experiences, both lived and imagined, and their manifestations in linguistic terms without glossing over the core attributes of life and living, that is, human values. To this end, it is necessary for English Studies to recognize and respect differences in and around the world and transcend binaries.