I live in southern India, and I've noticed that in Indian English, the word "even" can be used without indicating surprise, as it does elsewhere.
Some examples:
Even you should be able to understand this.
You're not implying that someone is stupid. It simply means "You should be able to understand this too." It may even be a compliment, if you're referring to something complicated.
Even I have a Bachelor's degree.
This is not self-deprecating. Nor does it imply that having a Bachelor's degree is very common. You're simply saying "I have a Bachelor's degree as well."
Even I failed the history test.
You're not saying you're a very good history student, so it's surprising that you failed. Nor are you implying that the test was hard or unfairly graded. You're simply stating "I failed the test too."
Real example from my own life:
-Harry Potter is really popular. My sister has read all the books.
-Yes. Even I have read all the books.
My friend reads a lot of books, and it wasn't surprising that he'd read all the books. He used "even" just like one would use "also" in standard English, though with different syntax
-Lots of people play PlayStation.
-Even I play it a lot.
The second line doesn't (apart from the fact that it seems to be in agreement with the line it's replying to) say anything about the popularity of PlayStation. Again, it's using the word similarly to how standard English would use "as well", "too" or "also."
Please note that I may not understand the usage perfectly, so clarification from people who are very familiar with Indian English would be very welcome.
How widespread is this? Is it common in all of India? What about other countries?
Where did this originate?
Was it a feature of British English which has since fallen into disuse (perhaps due to insulting/boasting connotations) but remained in Indian English?
Or does it have another origin?
This is obviously something which can lead to unfortunate misunderstandings if both parties don't understand the differing connotations. (It did for me during my early months in India.)
Best Answer
My first reaction was to say that even was being used with the whole clause under its scope, for scalar focus on the truth value of the proposition (paraphraseable as It's even the case that I have a bachelor's degree, etc.).
The question being updated with additional examples, I suspect that even is being to mark term-level, assertive focus, without scalar pragmatics. (paraphraseable as Speaking of people who have bacherlor's degrees, I am one of them, etc.)
See my answer on a related question for discussion about the general meaning of even (as a scalar focus particle). Further reading on scalar focus and contrastive vs. assertive focus.
I'll guess that the origin is Early Modern English even so, which meant "also". Two examples from the King James Bible (1611) and from Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part I (1591).