Readers’ comments: India’s flawed language policy sidelines indigenous and local tongues
· Scroll
The promotion of Hindi has not sufficiently encouraged the growth of other Indian languages, despite the constitutional commitment to linguistic diversity (“An English professor writes: Why Hindi is to blame for the decline of India’s other languages”).
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The three-language policy across the country has also not been uniformly implemented. Students in South India are often required to learn three languages, but many regions in North India follow a bilingual approach.
A uniform bilingual policy may be considered across the country, wherein students learn their respective state language along with English. This will ensure fairness, reduce academic burden and promote effective communication. –ST Ramachandra
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As members of the Singpho community in Assam, we communicate in Singpho. But we have also learnt to speak Assamese, Tai Khamti, Bengali, Hindi, Nepali, English and native tribal languages. This multilingualism is an advantage. Beyond our state, we can communicate in Hindi or English. But we are losing our indigenous languages, especially the younger generations. – Sonabor Duwania
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This is a wrong narrative. English has sidelined local languages because it helps secure jobs and livelihood. Some states have replaced local languages with English or restricted the use of local languages within the premises. The decline in local languages is due to local governments and people themselves...