Language and Politics of Exclusion
Illustration by ChatGPT India’s education policy, NEP 2020, speaks the language of inclusion, but practises the politics of exclusion. On paper are noble ideas and sentiments. Instruction in mother tongue in the lower grades is pedagogically sound. Multilingualism is celebrated too on paper. Indian languages are seemingly empowered. In practice, however, Hindi is quietly and cunningly elevated to a default national language. English is delegitimised as “colonial.” Regional languages are squeezed between Hindi from above and English from below. And this is not accidental; this is ideological. This is very BJP in style; very Modiesque, to be precise. Children think, dream, and reason first in the language of the home. Early literacy in the mother tongue does help to strengthen later learning. Hence NEP’s recommendation of teaching in mother tongue up to Grade 5 does make pedagogical sense. In the name of mother tongue, what is actually pushed by force is Hindi. One plain truth is...
