Linguistic Heterogeneity and Multilinguality in India: A Linguistic Assessment of Indian Language Policies.

Thesis

Submitted for the award of the

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

In

Linguistics

by

Naheed Saba

Under the supervision of

Prof. A. R. Fatihi

Department of Linguistics Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh (India) 2011

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY, ALIGARH

Certificate

This is to certify that this thesis work entitled “Linguistic Heterogeneity and Multilinguality in India: A Linguistic Assessment of Indian Language Policies” for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics is a bonafide work of Ms. Naheed Saba and has been completed under my supervision.

It is further certified that Ms. Naheed Saba has fulfilled all the conditions laid down in the academic ordinances with regard to the Ph.D degree, and that to the best of my knowledge the thesis contains her own original research and no part of this thesis was earlier submitted for the award of any degree to any other institution or university.

Prof. A. R. Fatihi Professor,, Department of Linguistics AMU, Aligarh (Supervisor))

Acknowledgements

What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers. Martina Horner

All the praises and thanks are to Allah (The Only God and

Lord of all), without whose blessings this work could not have been accomplished.

I am bereft of words with which to thank my guide and teacher Prof. A. R. Fatihi for his guidance and faith in me in the completion of this long journey. His vision and overall planning has been fundamental in bringing the thesis to fruition. Above all and the most needed, he provided me unflinching encouragement and support in various ways. I am indebted to him more than he knows.

I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to Prof.

Imtiaz Hasnain, Chairman, Department of Linguistics, who inspite of being busy academician graciously helped me a lot in my work. His involvement with his originality has triggered and nourished my intellectual maturity that I will benefit from, for a long time to come.

It is my proud privilege and humble duty to acknowledge my mentors in the department, Dr. Shabana

Hameed, Mr. Masood Ali Beg, Dr. Samina A. Surti and Ms.

Nazreen B. Laskar for their invaluable teaching and encouragement.

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My sincere thanks to my office staff Mr. Haseebur

Rahman, Mr. Wasiuddin, Ms. Mumtaz and specially to A. K.

Goel because he helped me trigger my work fast.

No word can thank my friends Sania, Summaiya,

Nabgha, Shalini, Sudeep, Sheeja, Shamim, Imran and all my seniors and juniors who were there for me always to provide me with all sort of assistance. The closer they are to me, lesser

I feel the necessity to thank them.

I can’t forget to express special thanks to Nadia,

Salmeen and her whole family for supporting me always throughout my work.

I also owe thanks to Ghazwan and Jamal for their support and help.

My parents, my sisters Dolly and Daizy, my brother-in- law, my bro Danish and Farhan have been constant source of inspiration for me. Without their encouragement and affection it would not have been possible for me to complete this work.

And last but not the least I passionately thank sujeet who lighted the flame within me and always lifted my spirit with his faith in me.

However, I must take full responsibility for errors, inconsistencies, omissions and misrepresentations in this thesis.

Naheed Saba

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Abstract

Topic: Linguistic Heterogeneity and Multilinguality in

India: A Linguistic Assessment of Indian Language Policies.

„Multilingualism‟ can be defined as an occurrence regarding an individual speaker who uses two or more languages, a community of speakers where two or more languages are used, or between speakers of two languages. Indian multilingualism can be understood better in terms of heterogeneity. Linguistic heterogeneity in India is marked by the presence of five language families in India. Indian multilingualism is multi layered and complex. Every single language has many variations, which are based on caste, region, gender, occupation, age etc. An individual may use particular language at home, another in the office, and still another in various formal and informal domains. It is omnipresent in the life of its citizen. The dynamics of the relationship of the languages present in India is so unique that it makes Indian multilingualism unique in itself.

The present work is an attempt to investigate into the nature of multilingualism in India. It also aims at evaluating the language policy of

India, with a view to exploring the role of language policy in the maintenance and sustenance of multilingualism in India. The study will

1 look into the different aspects of Indian multilingualism arising due to high diversity of Indian societies. The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive and analytical analysis of Indian multilingualism. The study also takes into account a pilot survey for finding out the statistical support for attitude towards linguistic heterogeneity and multilinguality. The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was made seeking the knowledge of number of languages they know, about the medium of education and their views regarding the language policy of India. A total number of sixty students from the university campus were taken as respondents. The selection of the respondents was done on random basis. It does not make any explicit attempt for providing a critical account of power dynamics and politics behind language planning and policy. Nor it makes an attempt towards describing different language movements and language riots that happened in the Indian history. The thesis consists of six chapters excluding introduction.

Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

This chapter gives an account of the social, cultural and linguistic landscape of India. It describes about the language families present in India which is an outcome of different races which came to India many years back. An individual‟s language is groomed by many social variations. So the relationship of language with the diversities present in

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Indian societies makes the linguistic scenario completely unique. It also talks about language variation on the basis of caste, tribe, races, region, script etc. So this diversity and heterogeneity makes the people of India multilingual.

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India

This chapter talks about multilingualism in general and then Indian multilingualism in particular. It describes multilingualism, its advantages, various views regarding multilingualism, for instance the dominant monolingual countries consider two languages a nuisance, three languages as uneconomic and many languages as absurd, but for the supporters many languages is boon and a “resource” for linguistic, social and cognitive development. The chapter also discusses about the different types of multilingualism based on different criteria such as function, degree of acquisition, etc. The work also describes societal multilingualism, individual multilingualism and receptive multilingualism. Then coming on to Indian multilingualism, it has been divided into two phases: pre-independence and post-independence. In the ancient and medieval period it talks about the foreign invasions and how the inscriptions give proof of the presence of multilingualism since then.

In the post-independence period the census records and different surveys

3 done on languages have been analyzed in order to testify the nature of multilingualism.

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India

This chapter gives a detailed account of the language policy of India like the language provisions provided in the Constitution, the status of

Hindi in India, the Linguistic State Reorganization (LSR), the inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule, the Official Language Act and shows how they have affected the Indian multilingualism. This chapter also discusses different types of planning and policy and the setting up of language commission immediately after independence to consider to have a language policy for promoting effective administration and it also looks at how various deliberations finally agreed to converge at adopting „the

Soviet Model‟ of language policy. Hence, the chapter also discusses the soviet model and explores the reasons that allowed the model to lose its ground in the Indian situation.

Chapter Four: Education Policy of India

This chapter describes about the educational policy of India. Education is a good means of maintaining multilingualism and maintaining national integration. So in order to have a clear picture of the nature of multilingualism in India it is important to study the educational strategies and facilities that the government has adopted to maintain

4 multilingualism. Education in India can be traced back to 3rd century B.C.

So it discusses Macaulay‟s minute and appointment & setting up of various commissions, since 1882, to look into the development of education in India. It also discusses the role of the National Policy of

Education in promoting the use of languages, the three language formula and the role of mother tongue in education and the emergence of mother tongue based multilingual education.

Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity and Multilinguality in India:

A Statistical and Attitudinal Study

This chapter focuses on the statistical and attitudinal study regarding multilingualism and heterogeneity in India based on a pilot survey. The survey gives an approximation of the rate of multilingualism among university students and their views regarding the language policy of

India. It also discusses in brief the problems regarding the implementation of language policies in India.

Chapter Six: Summary and Conclusion

This is the final chapter of the thesis and presents, in brief, the summary and conclusions drawn from the study. This chapter presents the chapter- wise summary, besides giving the conclusion. It also gives recommendations and suggestions.

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List of Tables

1.1 Family-Wise Grouping of the 122 Scheduled and Non-Scheduled Languages (2001 Census). 1.2: Tribal Languages Speakers, According to Language Families: 1971-1981 1.3: List of Dialects Covered under Hindi. 2.1: Races and Religions of Aurangzeb’s Nobility, 1679-1707- Mansabdars of 5000 and above. 2.2: %age of Scheduled Language Speakers according to 1951 Census 2.3: Mother Tongues returned in 1961 Census 2.4: %age of the Speakers of the Scheduled and Non-Scheduled languages in India, 1951,1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001 2.5: %age of Scheduled Language Speakers in 1981, 1991, 2001 2.6: Linguistic Composition of Districts 3.1: Speakers of Hindi and the State Dominant Languages in each State 3.2: Official/Officially Recognized Languages (2001) 3.3: List of Scheduled Languages and their Year of Recognition 3.4: Languages in the Eighth Schedule with their speakers’ strength. (Census 2001) 3.5: Non-Schedule Languages (spoken by more than one million each) (2001 Census) 3.6: List of the Linguistic States formed on 1st November 1956 4.1: Three Language Formula as interpreted by the States 4.2: The 42 Languages Taught as Medium Languages or Subject (in 2004) 4.3: Number of Languages Taught in the Schools 4.4: Total Number of Languages Used as Medium of Instruction in Different States 5.1: Frequency and Percentage of Bilingualism and Multilingualism 5.2: A Cross tabulation of Bilingualism and Multilingualism across Origin Group 5.3: Frequency and Percentage of Languages used as Medium of Instruction 5.4: Cross tabulation of Medium of Instruction across Origin Groups 5.5: Cross tabulation of Number of Languages taught in School across Origin Groups 5.6: Cross Tabulation of Languages used at Home across Origin Group 5.7: Cross tabulation of Students Attitude Towards Government’s Support for Languages across Origin Group 5.8: Cross Tabulation of Frequency and Percentage of Preferred Medium of Education across Origin Group List of Tables

5.9: Cross Tabulation of Attitude Regarding Multilingualism’s Role in Integration across Origin Group 5.10: Cross Tabulation Regarding Attitude towards Language Policy of India across Origin Group 5.11: Cross Tabulation of Language Learning Motivation among Urban and Rural Students 5.12: Cross Tabulation of Students’ Attitude towards Government’s Support for Minority Languages

List of Figures

1.1: India in World Population 1.2: Linguistic Map of India 1.3: Tribal Population in India 2.1: Line chart showing trend of Scheduled & Non-scheduled languages over years 2.2: 100% Stacked Column showing Distribution of Scheduled Languages in 1971 and 2001 2.3: Line Chart Showing Rate of Bilingualism 1961-1991 2.4 Rate of Bilingualism and Trilingualism among Schedule Language speakers. (Series 1- bilingualism, Series 2- trilingualsim) 3.1: Bar Diagram showing Distribution of Hindi and Dominant Language speakers of each State 3.2: Indian Provinces and Princely States before 14 August 1947 3.3: Indian States after Linguistic Reorganization 5.1: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Percentage of Bilingualism and Multilingualism 5.2: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Percentage of Rural and Urban Students being Bilingual and Multilingual 5.3: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency of Languages used as Medium of Instruction 5.4: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Percentage of Medium of Instruction across Origin Group 5.5: Frequency and Percentage of Number of Languages taught in School across Origin Group 5.6: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Count of Number of Languages used at Home across Origin Group 5.7: Bar Diagram showing Students Attitude Towards Government’s Support for Languages across Origin Group 5.8: Bar Diagram showing of Frequency and Percentage of Preferred Medium of Education across Origin Group 5.9: Bar Diagram Showing Attitude Regarding Multilingualism’s Role in Integration across Origin Group 5.10: Bar diagram showing Attitude towards Language Policy of India across Origin Group List of Figures

5.11: Bar Diagram showing Language Learning Motivation among Urban and Rural Students. 5.12: Bar Diagram showing Students’ Attitude towards Government’s Support for

Minority Languages

Table of Content

Page No.

Acknowledgement i

Introduction 1

Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India 17

1.1 Introduction 17

1.2 Language Families 18

1.3 Language and Tribe 25

1.4 Language and Race 30

1.5 Language and Script 31

1.6 Language and Caste 33

1.7 Language and Dialect 35

1.8 Language and Religion 38

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India 40

2.1 Multilingualism 40

2.2 Attitude towards Multilingualism 43

2.3 Types of Multilingualism 45

2.4 Multilingualism in India before Independence 50

2.4.1 Multilingualism in Ancient India

2.4.2 Multilingualism in Medieval India

2.4.3 Multilingualism in Colonial India

Table of Content

2.4.4 Role of Missionaries

2.5 Multilingualism in Post-Independent India 58

2.5.1 Census Record

2.5.2 Bilingualism and Multilingualism in the Indian States Table of Content

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India 76

3.1 What is a Language Policy? 76

3.2 Types of Language Planning 79

3.3 Typologies of Language Policy 81

3.4 Language policy of India 85

3.5 Soviet Language Policy 88

3.5.1 Importation of Soviet language policy 88

3.6 Hindi: From National to Official Language 92

3.7 The Official Language Policy 99

3.8 The Eighth Scheduled 105

3.9 The Linguistic State Reorganization 112

3.10 Language Provisions in the Constitution 125

Chapter Four: Education Policy of India 129

4.1 Introduction 129

4.2 Macaulay’s Minutes 132

4.3 Education commissions and their recommendation 136

Table of Content

4.4 Review of education policies after independence 138

4.5 Three Language Formula 145

4.6 Mother Tongue Education 151

4.7 Languages used as Medium of Instruction 156

4.8 Multilingual Mother Tongue Education 162

Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study 165

5.1 Statistical Details of the Languages Known 165

5.2 Statistical Details of the Medium of Instruction 168

5.3 Statistics about the Languages Taught 171

5.4 Statistics of Languages Used in the Home Domain 173

5.5 Attitude towards Government’s Support 175

5.6 Attitude towards Medium of Instruction 176

5.7 Attitude towards Multilingualism 179

5.8 Attitude towards Language Policy of India 181

5.9 Attitude towards Learning Other Tongues 183

5.10 Attitude towards Government’s Support of Minority Languages 184

Chapter Six: Summary and Conclusion 189

Bibliography 197

Appendix A 224

Appendix B 226

Introduction

Indian multilingualism can be understood better in terms of heterogeneity. The Indian society has different social groups which are of varying shape and size, and perform different functions. This heterogeneity makes Indian society unique in itself. It can be seen at various levels such as geography, religion, caste (there are as many as 6000 castes in India), ethnicity, culture, languages, scripts, etc. Heterogeneity on account of language, which assumes significance for the present study, becomes evident from the census report. In 1961 census 1652 mother tongues were reported which were grouped under various language groups. Linguistic heterogeneity is also marked by the presence of five language families in India. Findings based on recent research carried out by areal linguists and geneticists have further added one more language family. All these languages are further grouped under five different language families present in India. At presently the Indian Constitution enlists 22 languages as scheduled languages and 100 non-Scheduled languages. All the 22 Scheduled languages have been given the status of national languages. None of the countries in the world recognizes so many languages for official purposes in such a vast polity. Linguistic diversity can be seen in every society. This is not the end of diversities present in India. Diversity of food habits, dressing, etc. is also there. All these diversities togetherly make India multilingual. So one can say India‟s multilingualism is multi-tiered. It is omnipresent in the life of its citizen. The dynamics of the relationship of the languages present in India is so unique that it makes Indian multilingualism unique in itself. Despite the linguistic diversity, communication in India is conducted with felicity and ease. At present

Introduction there are 3954 newspapers and periodicals in 35 languages, 146 speech varieties and 24 major languages used in radio networks, 13 languages used in cinema, 47 as media of instruction. Variation in language can be seen at all the stratification present in India. So in India multilingualism is an integral part and every one grows with it. Multilingualism is often associated with the elite, but in Indian multilingualism prevails even among the illiterates and this makes Indian multilingualism unique.

Purpose of the Study: The present study aims at evaluating the language policy of India, with a view to exploring the role of language policy in the maintenance and sustenance of multilingualism in India. What is the nature of multilingualism in India? Does the language policy of India support multilingualism or monolingualism? If the aim of the language policy is to support multilingualism in India then how does it achieve its objectives? How is the multilingualism maintained in India? The study will look into the different aspects of Indian multilingualism arising due to high diversity of Indian societies. The purpose of this study is to provide a descriptive analysis of Indian multilingualism and to look into the nature of language planning and policy of India. It does not make any explicit attempt for providing a critical account of power dynamics and politics behind language planning and policy. Nor it makes an attempt towards describing different language movements and language riots that happened in the Indian history.

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Introduction

Review of Literature:

Studies based upon Multilingualism and Language Policy

In 1969, Baldev R. Nayar in his book National Communication and Language Policy in India explores considerable depth of the complex language problems in India. It is a kind of survey of language situation in India and it reviews most of the important legislation, reports, commission and policy statements on the question of language. It summarizes the current language situation of each state, the growth of Hindi and the significance of English in India.

In 1969, K. Ishwaran wrote „Multilingualism in India’. This article is a part of book Studies in Multilingualism by Nels Andreson. The article is wider in scope as it deals with the political and social problems in countries like India which characterize linguistic pluralism. It gives an overview of whole India in terms of demography, language, geography, etc and also describes the use of language in different fields like education.

The book Language Conflict and National Development by J. Das Gupta in 1970 analyzes language politics in India as a case study of a larger problem like political integration in culturally pluralistic new states. It is a thoughtful, analytical examination of the historical and contemporary conflicts over languages in India.

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Introduction

The book Multilingualism in India was written by Pattnayak in 1990. This book provides a stimulating study of the nature and structure of multilingualism in the Indian subcontinent. Pattnayak observes that India, with 1652 mother tongues, four major language families, written in ten major script systems and a host of minor ones represents different faces of multilingualism. With four thousand castes and communities and equal number of religious faiths and cults, its multilingualism matches its pluriculturalism. The articles in this book discuss sociology, psychology, pedagogy and demographic aspects of multilingualism. They bring out some of the salient problems of literacy in a multilingual world and give a language planning perspective. The volume ends with a discussion on language and social identity. In a multilingual country like India many languages are mutually supportive and complement one another. Identities are layered and larger identities encompass the smaller ones without absorbing them.

In 1993, G. Mansour in her book „Multilingualism And Nation Building’ provides some interesting interpretations of why and how linguistic diversities have taken current shape in West Africa. The book offers a definite view on how these nations might effectively solve some of their multilingual difficulties. Mansour has drawn a distinction between vertical and horizontal multilingualism. The term vertical suggests that many languages coexist within the same region but are used for different functional purposes. There is also description regarding the types of policy i.e. assimilatioanist and pluralistic.

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Introduction

By looking at the effect of language difference, rather than at theories of language, in 1994, John Edwards in his book Multilingualism examines the interaction of language with nationalism, politics, history, identity and education. He illustrates his arguments with a range of examples, from recent attempts to revive and preserve languages such as Irish and Basque, to the argument over French and English in Canada and the US English' campaign. He also examines the linguistic myopia of those who would seek to elevate one language over another. Multilingualism unpicks the complexity associated with a world of so many languages, and creates an overview which is multidisciplinary in focus. Its mixture of curious facts, wit and eloquence, will appeal to anyone who cares about the role of language in society.

The article ‘Reconciling Linguistic Diversity:The History and the Future of Language Policy in India’ by J. Baldridge (1996) gives full description of language issues in India since ancient time. The focus of the article is on the history of language policy in India, which deals with the national language issue, the three language formula, etc and its future prospects. It gives a good linguistic overview of India, how foreign languages influenced Indian languages, language issues after independence like national language issues, movements against Hindi and issues behind the three language formula. It also deals with the linguistic situation of India i.e. monolingualism vs. multilingualism.

The paper Historical and Theoretical Perspectives in Language Policy and Planning by Thomas Ricento published in 2000 explores the evolution of language policy and planning (LPP) as an area of research

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Introduction from the end of World War II to the present day. Based on analysis of the LPP literature, three types of factors are identified as having been instrumental in shaping the field. These factors - macro sociopolitical, epistemological, and strategic – individually and interactively have influenced the kinds of questions asked, methodologies adopted, and goals aspired to in LPP research. Research in LPP is divided into three historical phases: (1) decolonization, structuralism, and pragmatism; (2) the failure of modernization, critical sociolinguistics, and access; and (3) the new world order, postmodernism, and linguistic human rights. The article concludes with a discussion of current research trends and areas requiring further investigation.

In 2001, the book Managing Multilingualism in India by E. Annamalai offers a clear, eloquent account of various facets of multilingualism in India. It addresses the challenge of managing, maintaining and promoting multilingualism and also offers a wealth of information on topics ranging from acquisition of multilingualism in family, social and professional settings, multiple identities, educational policies and language modernization, to language conflict, minority-language maintenance and language mixing.

The article „Multilingual Language Policies and the Continua of Biliteracy: An Ecological Approach’ by Nancy H. Hornberger in 2001 discusses language policy with a multilingual perspective. Hornberger is of the opinion that one language–one nation ideology of language policy and national identity is no longer the only available one worldwide. Multilingual language policies, which recognizes ethnic and linguistic

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Introduction pluralism as resources for nation-building, are increasingly in evidence. These policies, many of which envision implementation through bilingual intercultural education, opens up new worlds of possibility for oppressed indigenous and immigrant languages and their speakers, transforming former homogenizing and assimilationist policy discourses into discourses about diversity and emancipation. This article uses the metaphor of ecology of language to explore the ideologies underlying multilingual language policies, and the continua of biliteracy framework as ecological heuristic for situating the challenges faced in implementing them. Specifically, the paper considers community and classroom challenges inherent in implementing these new ideologies, as they are evident in two nations which introduced transformative policies in the early 1990s: post-apartheid South Africa‟s new Constitution of 1993 and Bolivia‟s National Education Reform of 1994. It concludes with implications for multilingual language policies in the United States and elsewhere.

The paper „Reflections on a Language Policy for Multilingualism‟ by E. Annamalai in 2003 throws light on some important aspects of language policy designed for multilingual societies. This paper discusses how language policy for multilingualism must aim at maintaining a functional network of languages from which follows the maintenance of individual languages. The distribution of functions to languages should include both public and private domains. Given that the domains are not equal in power and status, the equilibrium that sustains the network is the principle that no language disadvantages the person speaking it. This principle must underlie a multilingual policy. The policy must recognize 7

Introduction the limitations and special interests orientation of the government as the prime agent of language policy and allow agency to communities and individuals to shape the policy through negotiation with the government to accommodate their language policy as exhibited in their language behavior. Annamalai believes that the community needs to be sensitized to see the negative consequences to the public good of adopting a language behavior dictated by the market forces. The conflict that arises between the language behavior preferred by the community to express solidarity and the one forced by the market to acquire power will be reduced if the government and the market are localized.

The book, Language Policy, by Bernard Spolsky in 2004 offers scholars and practitioners a provocative introduction to the controversies surrounding language politics and policymaking. This book also offers opportunities for rich dialogue around how society views, encourages or discourages various language practices. Spolsky has responded two major questions 1) How can language policy be recognized? and 2) How can language be managed? While Language Policy may lack some argumentative nuance, it serves as a useful resource for understanding the core issues within current language diversity debates.

The book An Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and Method by Thomas Ricento (2006) adds to the existing body of literature on LP. This volume is a thorough and timely overview of the field from a range of angles. The aim of the book, according to the editor, is “to position LP as an area of research within sociolinguistics and, more broadly, within the social sciences and humanities”. The volume features 19 articles

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Introduction specially commissioned for this volume, written by leading experts in a variety of LP related fields ranging from the economics of language to critical discourse analysis. The book is divided into three parts covering theoretical perspectives, methodological perspectives and topical areas in LP.

The article 'Identity and Multilinguality: The Case of India' by R. K. Agnihotri (2007) gives the history of the language policy in India before and after the partition of India and Pakistan. Agnihotri clearly shows that language policy and national identity are mutually related and are often used for political ends. He takes the case of Hindi and Urdu in support of his arguments. According to him, the two languages were politicized and antagonized to serve the political end, and were thus projected as two separate identities, Hindu and Muslim, during the partition process. This had an unfavorable consequence of destroying the ethnic harmony. The dominance of Hindi contributed to the demise of Hindustani, a common language to Hindus and Muslims, generating resistance from other linguistic groups. He describes how English, the language of colonization, remained one of the official languages to counter the absolute power of Hindi.

The book Receptive Multilingualism:Linguistic Analyses, Language Policies and Didactic Concepts by D. Theje and L. Zeevaert (2007) contains results from research carried out at the Research Centre on Multilingualism at the University of Hamburg as well as contributions by various international scholars working in the field of receptive multilingualism. This volume reveals new perspectives from different

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Introduction theoretical frameworks on linguistic analyses of receptive multilingualism in Europe. Case studies are presented from contemporary settings, along with analyses of historical examples, theoretical considerations and, finally, descriptions of didactical concepts established in order to transfer and disseminate receptive multilingual competence.

The book Language Policy and Linguistic Minorities in India - An Appraisal of The Linguistic Rights of Minorities in India by Thomas Benedikter published in 2009 is a useful exercise in explaining the complexity of issues facing India‟s linguistic minority policies. The book provides an overview of India‟s linguistic landscape. It goes on to examine the lacunae‟s in India‟s protection of linguistic rights of its minorities and indigenous peoples. As Benedikter elaborates, incomplete protection is accorded to minority languages under the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution. One of the primary targets of an incomplete protection is India‟s tribal peoples, the Adivasis. The considerable gap in linguistic protection leads to failings in providing adequate coverage of minority languages in the media, educational institutions and establishments of public administration. As Benedikter exemplifies, India‟s constitution only provides piecemeal recognition to some 22 languages at the expense of other 92 languages, without having established a transparent criterion for such a status. Furthermore, linguistic rights are not reflected through representation at a political level. Nor does recognition as a linguistic group provide entitlement to cultural or local autonomy. Such limitations represent severe impediments within India‟s legal and constitutional framework.

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Introduction

The article „The Importance of Language Policies and Multilingualism for Cultural Diversity’ by Joseph Lo Bianco (2010) addresses the contribution of multilingualism to cultural diversity and the importance of explicit, comprehensive and public language planning to secure a stronger future for endangered indigenous and immigrant languages. It is critically important to develop language policies that ensure the access of minority populations to prestigious forms of national standard languages and literacy while supporting the intergenerational retention of minority languages, both indigenous and immigrant languages. An enhanced practice of intervention on behalf of multilingualism is discussed in sections devoted to the mechanisms and activity of language policy-making. Contemporary globalization is a challenge for language diversity but in some ways makes the intergenerational retention of diverse languages more feasible than under conditions of strict assimilation as practiced by linguistically defined nation-states. Also potentially supportive of multilingualism are the voice-based communication technologies that overcome the tyranny of distance and dispersal, and promise access to information, communication and solidarity for preliterate groups or those that have limited literacy. Efforts to appreciate and foster human differences require awareness of the importance of multilingualism. The endangered state of many of the world's languages and the now almost universal phenomenon of multiculturalism make the practice of language planning a central instrument for states, international agencies and non- governmental bodies.

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Introduction

The article „Patterns of Indian Multilingualism’ by B. Mallikarjun published in 2010 analyzes the census data to have a clear look of the picture on multilingualism prevailing in India. The census data can serve as a major source to understand Indian multilingualism and can also provide input to understanding various kinds of planning in the country. The paper concludes with remarks in favor of the rise in multilingualism in India after independence and credited education, media, etc for making the multilingual patterns more dynamic.

Studies based upon Language and Education:

The article ‘Researching the Linguistic Outcomes of Bilingual Programs by Andrew d Cohen published in 1982 attempts to focus on several types of linguistic analyses that the author had done since 1970 and thus reviews three linguistic studies from 1970s in light of approaches used in 1980s: (1) pretest-posttest analysis of spoken Spanish and English of Mexican American bilingual children; (2) assessment of Spanish grammar among Culver City Spanish Immersion pupils, and (3) effect of summer vacation on Spanish language retention among English speakers from the Culver City program.

The article ‘Language in Education: Minorities and Multilingualism in India’ by Kamal K. Sridhar published in 1996 provides background information on the linguistic profile of India. The paper also discusses the term minorities in the Indian context, and the protection offered to linguistic minorities in the Indian Constitution is examined. A discussion of language policy in Indian education follows in which the recommendations of the different education commissions are analyzed. 12

Introduction

The important issues covered include, the number of languages that are taught, the medium of instruction, and the educational policies regarding speakers of minority languages. The article also discusses different language movements and their impact on Indian education.

The article „Towards A New Multilingual Language Policy in Education in South Africa: Different Approaches to Meet Different Needs’ by Deirdre Martin published in 1997 discusses some of the issues involved in developing a multilingual language policy in education in South Africa. It looks upon the attitude of learners, parents and teachers towards the multilingual language policy, also the range of multilingual educational models operating in other countries. The paper argues that for a multilingual language policy in education developed at government level within national framework needs flexibility for schools and classrooms to implement the policy to meet the needs of the learners.

The article ‘Multilingual Education in Europe: Policy Developments’ by Jose Manuel Vez published in 2009 explores new dimensions of changes to policy and/or school practices that require modification or renovation of language education. The article also offers new perspectives on how multilingualism may be interpreted and utilised for the development of education policies in EU countries. It also explores certain questions like how successful a cohesive process for a multilingual Europe is it likely to be? In which way do new policy developments in language education affect curriculum decision-making, professionalism and our own sense of identity and intercultural options? Up to which point do „linguistic unity‟ and „linguistic diversity‟ have to

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Introduction be taken into account as political and educational factors gearing towards European communicative integration? How can we avoid policy developments which treat multilingualism as an „either - or‟ decision and run the risk of creating social exclusion either through cultural or linguistic exclusion? Is it possible in a multilingual Europe to develop a holistic language education policy inclusive of „Global English’ and linguistic diversity?

The document „Education in a Multilingual World’ published in 2003 by UNESCO aims to describe and clarify some of the key concepts and issues of language and education. It also presents in a simplified and synthetic form the many declarations and recommendations regarding language and education. They are generally known as UNESCO guidelines and principles. It also presents outcomes of discussions held in many international meetings and conferences on language policy and education. This paper also includes issues on mother tongue, minority- majority languages, language teaching, multilingualism and heterogeneity, etc.

Organization of the Thesis:

The first chapter tries to provide an overview of the social, cultural and linguistic scenario of India. It gives a detailed account of the language families present in India. It also gives a picture of how different races, caste, religion, region and other diversities present in the Indian society grooms the languages spoken by the people of India. It is this which make Indian multilingualism natural and unique in itself.

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Introduction

The second chapter provides a general outlook of what is multilingualism and how it has been defined differently by different scholars. It also talks about the views regarding multilingualism. Attitude towards multilingualism occupies two ends of the continuum. One end of the continuum reflects negative attitude while the other end shows positive attitude. Some consider it as a boon, as a resource and for some it is a nuisance. Based on different criteria multilingualism has been categorized into different types. The chapter also discusses the nature of multilingualism present in India before independence and after independence in the background of various historical studies and the census records.

The third chapter talks about the nature of planning and policy in India. First it discusses what is planning and policy and its types and how it influences policy making. Then it gives an overall picture of the kind of policy adoption in India and how it was influenced by the soviet policy and also explores the reasons that allowed the model to lose its ground in the Indian situation. Then it talks about the different policy formation regarding the usage and status of different languages like the language provisions provided in the Constitution, the status of Hindi in India, the Linguistic State Reorganization (LSR), the inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule, the Official Language Act, etc.

The fourth chapter gives an account of the education policy in India. Education has always been a major factor in promoting multilingualism. The chapter describes the kind of policy regarding education before independence, starting from the Macaulay‟s minute to the present status

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Introduction of education scenario in India. It also talks about other measures for promoting multilingualism via education like Mother tongue based multilingual education (MTME).

The fifth chapter is a statistical and attitudinal study regarding multilingualism and heterogeneity in India based on a pilot survey. The survey gives an approximation of the rate of multilingualism among university students and their views regarding the language policy of India. It also discusses in brief the problems regarding the implementation of language policies in India.

Chapter six summarizes the whole thesis and concludes with some findings and suggestions.

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Chapter one: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

1.1 Introduction: India also known as Bharat is the seventh largest country covering a land area of 32, 87,263 sq.km. It stretches 3,214 km. from North to South between the extreme latitudes and 2,933 km from East to West between the extreme longitudes. On this 2.4 % of earth‟s surface, lives 16% of world‟s population. With a population of 1,028,737,436 variations is there at every step of life. India is a land of bewildering diversity. India is bounded by the

Indian Ocean on the Figure 1.1: India in World Population south, the Arabian Sea on the west and the Bay of Bengal on the east. Many outsiders explored India via these routes. The whole of India is divided into twenty eight states and seven union territories. Each state has its own cultural and linguistic peculiarities and diversities. This diversity can be seen in every aspect of Indian life. Whether it is culture, language, script, religion, food, clothing etc. makes ones identity multi-dimensional. Ones identity lies in his language, his culture, caste, state, village etc. So one can say India is a multi-centered nation. Indian multilingualism is unique in itself. It has been rightly said, “Each part of India is a kind of replica of the bigger cultural space called India.” (Singh U. N, 2009). Also multilingualism in India is not considered a barrier but a boon.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Languages act as bridges because it enables us to know about others. Indian multilingualism is multi layered and complex. Every single language has many variations, which are based on caste, region, gender, occupation, age etc. Like „Hindi‟ has as many as forty nine varieties based on region. Indian multilingualism is like a flower pot whose beauty enhances only when it has variety of flowers, flowers of different shades, different size, etc. Indian multilingualism cannot be understood under a single heading of „Language Families‟. The real essence of Indian multilingualism can best be defined in terms of „variations‟, i.e. knowing about the language families, tribal languages, races, script, regional languages, dialectical variations, idiolectal variation, registral variation, stylistic variation etc. According to Khubchandani (2001:22) In multilingual societies of the Indian subcontinent, one notices an inevitable measure of fluidity in the verbal repertoire of many speech groups who command native like control over more than one language. The demands of active bilingualism in a plural society expose an individual to „doing‟ language activity by accomplishing diverse task through a variety of speech styles, registers, dialects, and even languages.

1.2 Language Families (Genetic Variation): India is a home to five major language families of the World: Indo- Aryan, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, Tibeto-Burman and Andamanese. Earlier only four language families were identified, but now from new researches the Andamanese has also been included.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Indo-Aryan: It is the largest language family both in geographical spread and numerical strength. It has a total of 790,627,060 speakers constituting 76.86% of the total Indian population. It consists of 21 languages. They are 1. Assamese 12. Lahnda 2. Bengali 13. Maithili 3. Bhili/Bhilodi 14. Marathi 4. Bishnupuriya 15. Nepali 5. Dogri 16. Oriya 6. Gujarati 17. Punjabi 7. Halabi 18. Sanskrit 8. Hindi 19. Shina 9. Kashmiri 20. Sindhi 10. Khandeshi 21. Urdu 11. Konkani Out of 21 languages 15 have been recognized by the Constitution as Scheduled languages. They are Assamese, Bengali, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, and Urdu. The Indo-Aryan languages basically cover the northern and the central region of India.

Dravidian: It is the second largest language family. It has a total of 214,172,874 speakers constituting 20.82% of the Indian population. It consists of 17 languages. They are 1. Coorgi/Kodagu, 2. Gondi, 3. Jatapu, 4. Kannada, 5. Khond/Kondh, 6. Kisan, 7. Kolami, 8. Konda, 9. Koya, 10. Kui, 11. Kurukh/Oraon, 12. Malayalam, 13. Malto, 14. Parji, 15.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Tamil, 16. Telugu, 17.Tulu. Out of all these 4 are Scheduled languages. They are Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu. These languages are mainly spoken in the Southern part of India, with an exception of Kurukh which is spoken in the Gumla District of Jharkhand.

Austro-Asiatic: This family has 11,442,029 numbers of speakers constituting 1.11% of the total population of India. It consists of 14 languages, which can be divided into groups: Khmer-Nicobarese and Munda. Khmer-Nicobarese consists of 2 languages, i.e., Khasi and Nicobarese. The Munda group comprises of 12 languages, i.e., Bhumij, Gadaba, Ho, Juang, Kharia, Koda/Kora, Korku, Korwa, Munda, Mundari, Santali and Savara. Languages of this family are spoken in the islands of Andaman and Nicobar and some states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, etc. Among all these languages only Santali has been included in the Eighth scheduled, under the 92nd Constitutional Amendment in 2003.

Tibeto-Burman: It is „Smallest in population strength and largest in the numbers of languages‟. It has 10,305,026 speakers constituting 1.0 % of the total population of India. It consists of 66 languages. It has three main sub branches:

Tibeto-Himalayan: consists of two groups, i.e., Bhotia and Himalayan. The languages of Bhotia groups‟ are- Balti, Bhotia, Ladakhi, Lahauli, Monpa, Sherpa and Tibetan. The Himalayan group consists of 3 languages: Kinnauri, Limbu and Lepcha. North-Assam consists of 3 languages: Adi, Nissi/Dafla and Mishmi.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Assam-Burmese is divided into 4 groups – Bodo, Burmese, Kuki-Chin and Naga. Among these languages two have been recognized by the Eighth Scheduled. They are Bodo and Manipuri. Basically these languages are spoken in the North-Eastern region of India.

Andamanese: The language spoken by the people of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been termed Andamanese. Andamanese languages can be divided into two broader parts- great Andamanese and Onge. Sentinelese is also there which is unknown and hence unclassifiable. Many of the Great Andamanese languages had become extinct. The Andamanese languages are:

Great Andamanese (spoken by Great Andamanese people) Southern Aka-Bea or Bea (extinct) Akar-Bale or Bale (extinct) Central Aka-Kede or Kede (extinct) Aka-Kol or Kol (extinct) Oko-Juwoi or Juwoi (extinct) A-Pucikwar or Pucikwar (extinct) Northern Aka-Cari or Chari (extinct) Aka-Kora or Kora (extinct) Aka-Jeru or Jeru; 36 speakers in 1997, bilingual in Hindi Aka-Bo or Bo (extinct)

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Ongan Önge or Onge; 96 speakers (Onge) in 1997, mostly monolingual Jarawa or Järawa; estimated at 200 speakers (Jarawa) in 1997, monolingual. Also there is Sentinelese whose population is unknown and is unidentifiable. (Wikipedia, retrieved on 02/09/2009)

Apart from these five language families, researchers are showing the possibility of having a sixth language family. Scholars like Anvita Abbi on the basis of survey done on Andamanese languages talks of Great Andamanese being a distinct language family from the one that Jarawa and Onge belong to, in her paper „Vanishing Voices of the Languages of the Andaman Islands‟ presented at the Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, June 13, 2003. Based on researches done by geneticists and with enough pieces of evidence, she has tried to establish that „Great Anadamanese is an isolate which constitutes the sixth language family of India‟; in her paper published in www.sciencedirect.com (Language Sciences) under the heading “Is Great Andamanese genealogically and typologically distinct from Onge and Jarawa?” But still there is no exact count of Andamanese languages and so the Census of India 2001 lists only four language families.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Table 1.1: Family-Wise Grouping of the 122 Scheduled and Non- Scheduled Languages – (2001 Census). Language Number of Persons who % to total Families Languages returned the population of languages as India their mother tongue 1 2 3 4 Indo-Aryan 21 790,627,060 76.86 Dravidian 17 214,172,874 20.82 Austro-Asiatic 14 11,442,029 1.11 Tibeto-Burmese 66 10,305,026 1.00 Languages of 4 200,573 0.03 foreign origin (English and Arabic)

Total 122 1,026,847,940* 99.82*

* The balance of 1,762,388 (0.17%) population out of total Indian population 1,028,610,328 comprises of 1,635,280 speakers of those languages and mother tongues which were not identifiable or returned by less than 10000 speakers at all India level and the population (127,108 persons) of Manipur which was not included in language data since the Census results were cancelled in 3 sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur in 2001. (Census 2001, Statement 9)

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Figure 1.2: Linguistic Map of India

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

1.3 Language and Tribe: Indian multilingualism is not only talking about the major or the Scheduled languages. Talking of multilingualism and diversity without referring the tribal languages will not be justified. But before talking about the tribal languages we must know or define the term „tribal‟. The term „tribal‟ is used for people living or confined in jungles or isolated surroundings. They are often being called as adivasi, vanajati, janajati, janajamati or displaced. Earlier in medieval English it had a neutral sense, i.e. „a primary aggregate of people claiming descent from a common ancestor.‟ (Khubchandani, 1992). The meaning of the term „Tribe‟ has been narrowed in recent centuries. Now by the term „tribal‟ one mean primitive, undeveloped, etc. and their language is perceived as speech without grammar, which is a misnomer. Their unique identity and language enriches the nation‟s heritage. There is no linguistic definition of the term „tribal‟. Khubchandani (1992) has defined „tribal community‟ as people living in isolated surroundings from the rest of the population adhering to a routine of seasonal movements. Many claim that those referred as tribal people are the real inhabitants of India. Their presence in India has been traced out before the coming of the Aryans. Time to time many different races and tribes came to India and had their own space in the geography of India, resulting in the displacement of the aboriginals i.e., the „tribal people‟. Thus they were segregated from the mainstream and were left in isolation.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Figure 1.3: Tribal Population in India Retrieved from http://tribes-of-india.blogspot.com/2009/01/tribal- population-percentage-in-india.html on 04/08/10

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

The presence of the tribal community can be felt everywhere in this country. The percentage of tribal people is dense in the North-Eastern part as compared to other parts of India. Every state consists of at least some tribal population. Leaving aside a few, most of the tribal language speakers are in minority. They can be divided into five territorial groupings: i. The north-eastern part comprising of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura; ii. The middle India or the central belt comprising of Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, consisting of 55% tribal population; iii. Western India consisting of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli ; iv. South India covering Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, which consists of 6.4% of tribal population; v. The islands such as Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep. (Abbi, 1997:6) The tribal languages can be grouped under the four language families i.e., the Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic and Tibeto-Burman. Some scholars like Anvita Abbi, E. Annmalai, etc classifies these tribal languages under five language families adding up the fifth one i.e., Andamanese. In the North-Eastern region mainly the tribal languages belong to Tibeto-Burman family except Khasi in Meghalaya which belong to the Mon-Khmer group of the Austro-Asiatic family. In the central belt one can mainly find languages of Austro-Asiatic family, Indo-Aryan and some Dravidian except Bhutia, Lepcha and Mech groups

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India which belong to Tibeto-Burman group. In the southern belt the languages mostly belong to Dravidian language family. It is mainly the tribal languages which add up more to India‟s linguistic diversity. For example the presence of Kempti in Arunachal Pradesh which is a Thai language automatically widens the horizon of genetic family from Tibeto-Burman to Sino-Tibetan. Also the presence of Onge in Andaman and Nicobar islands adds up the possibility of fifth family i.e., Andamanese. “The census of India 1991 lists 96 non-scheduled languages which include 90 tribal languages.” (Koul, 2009:165)

Table 1.2: Tribal Languages Speakers, According to Language Families: 1971-1981. Language No. of No. of speakers % of the total tribal Families languages (millions) population

1981 1981 1971 1971

Austric 14 7.9 6.9 15 18 Tibeto- 54 4.3 3.4 8 9 Burman 11 4.6 4.0 9 11 Dravidian 2 5.0 3.7 9 10 Indo-Aryan 0.5 0.4 1 1 Other Total 22.3 18.4 42 49 languages

(Khubchandani,1992)

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

These are the number of tribal languages with speakers largest in number. But there are many more tribal languages whose number of speakers left is very less even with a single soul. Like tribes such as Haisa Tangsa, Hotang Tangsa, Katin Tangsa, etc have returned only a single soul. According to the finding of „people of India‟ project conducted by the anthropological survey of India the tribal communities speaking Indo- Aryan are 163, Dravidian 107, Tibeto-Burman 143, Austro-Asiatic 30 and Andamanese 4. In spite of being so many in numbers, the speakers of these languages are very few. And there is a gradual decline in the number of speakers of these languages. One strong reason for this can be their pressure of becoming bilingual or multilingual in order to sustain their identity. “The average bilingualism claims among tribal (15.7%) run much higher than the national average (9.7%).” (Khubchandani, 1992:49). In this developing world there are various issues which are affecting one‟s identity. And in the present scene the most striving for identity are the tribal communities. In order to compete in the race of dominance the speakers of tribal languages are shifting to non-tribal mother tongues. Basically the tribal communities living in the central belt are more prone to assimilation. The central belt is basically a non-tribal or Hindi dominant area. The case is somewhat stable in the North-Eastern region i.e., among the Tibeto-Burman tribes. They are quite conscious of their ancestral identity. One reason for this can be that in spite of their being in minority, they dominate in most parts of north-east. The pressure of becoming bilingual is less there. In the central belt because of the heterogeneous communities‟ instances of monolingualism is very less.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

“According to „People of India‟ report out of 623 tribal communities, only 123 (19.47%) have been reported as monolingual.” So traces of bi or multilingualism can be found more among the tribal. Multilingualism among the tribal are rather natural than imposed. It is the heterogeneous environment which governs the verbal repertoire of the tribal. The inter group communications among tribal record a wide range of variation in the claims of bilingualism, mostly depending upon the degree of heterogeneity in their contact environments and their attitude to languages surrounding them. (Khubchandani, 2001:26)

1.4 Language and Race: There is no proof of who are the original inhabitants of India. It is assumed that all have migrated from outside. All the languages of India are an outcome of different races which came to India many years back. Some historians say that, at least, six racial elements have contributed to the formation of India‟s heterogeneous population. They are: 1. The oldest are the Negrito or Negroid race, immigrants from Africa. They are believed to be disappeared from Indian soil. However anthropologists have found traces of Negroid admixture in the North-East Assam hills and in South India. 2. The next are the Proto-Austroids, who came from the western Asia in the ancient time and were an off-shoot of the Mediterranean race. They might have mingled with the Negrito and transformed to Austro-Asiatic people, who now are represented as Kol or Munda

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

speaking Aadivasis. They are believed to be the oldest surviving group. 3. The Mediterranean people had arrived India before 3500 B.C, and now are represented as Dravidian language speakers. 4. The Mongoloids were the Sino-Tibetan language speakers. They came to India through Assam and the Himalayas and confined themselves in Assam, Chittagong Hills, and the Indo-Burmese frontiers. 5. The Alpine, Dinaric and Armenoid, mainly in Bengal, Orissa and Gujarat today. 6. And finally after 1500 B.C came the Nordic group from the west. They brought the Aryan languages with them. (Chatterji, 1963:9-11) Apart from these races and languages, many foreigners and foreign languages too came to India. Though not in a strict chronological order, India has heard speakers of Hebrew, Chinese, Greek, Sanskrit, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Armenian, Portuguese, Dutch, English, French and many more. And all of these languages, spoken by more than one ethnic group have added to the cultural diversity of India. Some of them stayed on, others went away. (Chaudhary, 2009:3)

1.5 Language and Script: The same case is with regard to script. India is not only a country of linguistic diversities, but also has many scripts. Script plays an important role in distinguishing languages. For example script defines Hindi and Urdu; also it categorizes the language used by a Hindu Punjabi and a Muslim Punjabi. Punjabi written in Gurumukhi is a marker of Sikhism 31

Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India and in Perso-Arabic represents the Muslim lot. According to the finding of „People of India‟ Project conducted by the Anthropological Survey of India there are twenty five scripts in total out of which eleven different scripts are employed to write the Scheduled languages such as Assamese, Bengali, Devanagri, Gujarati, Gurumukhi, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Perso-Arabic, Tamil and Telugu. Also there are thirteen minor scripts which have been returned are: Sl. Name of Scripts Name of States/UTs No 1. Baital Nagri Rajasthan 2. Balti Jammu and Kashmir 3. Bodhi Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim 4. Burmese Tripura 5. Hingna Arunachal Pradesh 6. Meitei-Mayak Manipur 7. Mon Arunachal Pradesh 8. Ol-Chiki Jharkhand and west Bengal 9. Takri/Tankri Himachal Pradesh 10. Tana/Thana Lakshadweep 11. Tibetan Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and west Bengal 12. U-Chhen Sikkim 13. U-Med Sikkim and west Bengal

Many of them are drawn from a common source, Brahmi Script, which further bifurcated into two types, the Northern and Southern types. (Singh and Manoharan, 1997). But earlier some scholars like Suniti Kumar Chatterji have recognized seven to eight scripts of native Indian origin. They are Nagari or Devanagri, Bengali-Assamese, Oriya, Gurumukhi, Telugu-Kannada, Tamil-Grantha and Malayalam. Also two are of foreign 32

Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India origins i.e., Perso-Arabic and Roman script. But there are languages which do not have any script and are of equal importance. But people are becoming conscious of writing system and are thus inventing new script for their language. For example Pandit Raghunath Murmu invented the script of Santhali language named Ol Chiki. Likewise more attempts are going on in the formation of script of different languages. The relationship of language and script is very deep. For some languages their script is their mark of identity. Mostly across the world, people consider a language and its script inseparable. But now this boundary is disappearing very fast. One can use different scripts to write the same language and also one can use same script to write different languages. For e.g. Devanagri is used to write several languages, likewise Sanskrit can be written by Devanagri, Kannada, Telugu etc. This is an outcome of the pluralistic tradition of India. But this kind of trend can be a threat for many languages. Like the threat Urdu is facing these days and many other oral languages can face in future. By many, Urdu and Hindi are considered same on the basis of grammar but the strong point of differentiation is their scripts, i.e. Hindi is written via. Devanagri and Urdu is written via. Perso-arabic. So many a times one cannot segregate a language from its script.

1.6 Language and Caste: Caste is one of the social variables responsible for the variation of language. Caste system is a form of social stratification where an individual gains a position or status by birth. Each caste has its own rituals, food habits and dressing style. It is also termed as jaati or varna. In India caste system prevails everywhere, whether its North or South, 33

Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Hindu or Muslim, Urban or Village etc. The notion of purity and pollution is attached with caste. Generally people of high status are associated with purity and people of low status with pollution. Earlier the low caste and the high caste people did not live together. It is still prevalent in many villages till date. In the Hindu caste hierarchy, the Brahmins are considered the upper caste. They are priestly and learned class, so their language contains more Sanskritized words. Then are the Kshatriyas, the warriors and rulers, so terminologies regarding war are more in them. After them comes the Vaisyas, the farmers and merchants. Then the Sudras, Peasants and laborers and at the lower end comes the Untouchables, now known as Scheduled Caste. Many works by different Scholars at different point of time have been done on caste variation. A very eminent work has been done by Gumperz (1958) on a North Indian village named Khalapur located in Saharanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. He divided the inhabitants into thirty one endogamous caste or jatis. He found differences in the village of three types- differences in phonemic distribution, etymological differences and phonetic differences. He concluded, “Members of the same caste living in different sections of the village speak the same dialect.” Also William Bright (1990) in his book “Language variation in South Asia” has discussed about the linguistic variations found between two Kannada dialects of Bangalore District on the basis of caste. One spoken by a young Brahmin woman born and raised in the city of Bangalore and the other of Agricultural Okkaliga community. The differences were there at the level of phonology, grammar, lexicon etc. Also Tulu, another Dravidian language of South India is spoken totally different by a

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Brahmin and a Non-Brahmin or Shudras. Similar work on caste dialects has been done by Scholars like J.H.B. Den Ouden on “Social Stratification as expressed through language: A Case study of a South Indian village.” (Contributions to Indian Sociology, Vol: 13, no- 1, 1979) and P.M. Girish on “Castelect: A critical study”.

1.7 Language and Dialect: Language varies in space and time. There are no fixed criteria for distinguishing a dialect and a language. Variation in language is often known as dialect. Dialects are mutually intelligible. We can say that every person speaks a variety of language. So we can say language is an abstract notion and dialect is concrete. Language and Dialect has always been an issue of great political conflict. So many a times this expression is used, “A language is a dialect with an army and navy.” It is totally political to consider one variety as language and other as dialect. Linguists try to distinguish between language and dialect on the basis of mutual intelligibility, script, standardization, functional dominance, lexical and stylistic elaboration etc. It is still difficult to differentiate between a dialect and language. The boundary between a dialect and language is very conflicting. In India there are many languages which are grouped as dialects under dominant languages. Among them many are striving hard to achieve the status of a language. This criterion of inclusion of smaller languages under one umbrella term has been termed as „inclusive criterion‟ by Khubchandani (2001). For e.g. Hindi is a cover term for approximately forty-nine dialects.

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

Table: 1.3: List of Dialects Covered under Hindi. Name of the dialects of Hindi Hindi 1. Awadhi 26. Laria 2. Bagheli/Baghelkhandi 27. Lodhi 3. Bagri Rajasthani 28. Magadhi/Magahi 4. Banjari 29. Maithili 5. Bharmauri/Gaddi 30. Malvi 6. Bhojpuri 31. Mandeali 7. Braj Bhasha 32. Marwari 8. Bundeli/BundelKhandi 33. Mewari 9. Chambeali 34. Mewati 10. Chattisgarhi 35. Nagpuria 11. Churahi 36. Nimadi 12. Dhundhari 37. Pahari 13. Garhwali 38. Panchpargania 14. Harauti 39. Pangwali 15. Haryanvi 40. Pawari/Powari 16. Hindi 41. Rajasthani 17. Jaunsari 42. Sadan/Sadri 18. Kangri 43. Sanori 19. Khairari 44. Sirmauri 20. Khortha/Khotta 45. Sondwari 21. Kulvi 46. Sugali 22. Kumauni 47. Surgujia 23. Kurmali Thar 48. Surjapuri 24. Labani Others 25. Lamani/Lambadi

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

In Hindi itself there are many dialects which have now gained the status of a language, e.g. Maithili. Maithili has raised its status from a dialect to a language by getting entry in the Eighth Schedule. Likewise many are on the verge of having the status of language, e.g. Bhojpuri. But the up gradation of a dialect into a language is most of the times a matter of power and politics. The terms language and dialect are used many a times for showing dominance and suppressing others. The attitude of the speakers of that dialect is also very important in this process of standardization. Variation in language is there at the level of region also. They are termed regional languages. The twenty two scheduled languages can also be termed as regional languages. Apart from these some of the regional languages and dialects of India are Aariya, Adi, Andaman Creole Hindi, Andh, Arakanese, Awadhi, Bhadrawahi, Bhattiyali, Bhojpuri, Bilaspuri, Birhor, Braj Bhasha, Chaura, Chhattisgarhi, Deccan, Deori, Dhodia, Dimasa, Gaddi, Garhwali, Garo, Godwari, Gujari, Gurung, Haryanvi, Holiya, Jad, Jarawa, Kanauji, Khasi, Korlai Creole Portuguese, Kumauni, Ladakhi, Lepcha, Lodhi, Majhi, Malapandaram, Maldivian, Marwari, Mizo, Mundari, Newar, Parsi, Powari, Rabha, Rajbanshi, Rongpo, Samvedi, Saurashtra, Shekhawati, Sherpa, Sikkimese, Tamang, Urali, Varhadi-Nagpuri, Vasavi, Wagdi, Yerukula and Zangskari. Apart from geographical variations, language variation can also be seen at two levels- Individual level and Social level. At the individual level come ideolectal differences, stylistic variations and registeral variations. The way an individual uses a language is termed as ideolect. Every individual uses language in his own way. So no two individuals can speak the same way. The other is stylistic variation. Stylistic variation involves

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India variation in the speech of an individual. It can also be defined as individual‟s choice of how he uses a language i.e., using certain stylistic devices like metaphor, simili, etc or adding certain accent etc. The next come registers. Language variations based on occupation, professions or topics are known as register. The register or the jargon used by a doctor will be different from that of engineer. Registers are basically vocabulary differences or particular situations of use. Hallyday refers to register as „distinguished by use.‟ Thus specialized registers are important in a language. At the societal level comes sociolects. Sociolect is a variety of language associated with a particular social group. It is a variety of language spoken by a particular ethnic, religious, age or employment group or social class. Thus these differences in language use give proper evidences of multilingualism.

1.8 Language and Religion: Variation in the use of language can also be seen in the different religions practiced in India. India‟s diversity can be seen at every step. This plurality is not only at the level of language but also equal extent of plurality can be seen in the cultural habits, rituals, caste, religions, i.e., in every sect of life. The religious map of India is also a unique one because it contains almost all major religions of the world. Religion percentage (%) Hindu 80.4% Muslim 13.4% Christians 2.3% Sikh 1.9% Jain 0.4% Others 0.5% (Census 2001)

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Chapter One: Social, Cultural and Linguistic Landscape of India

The relationship of language and religion mostly depend upon the liturgical and sacred texts. Sanskrit, Arabic, Hebrew etc have religious connotations. Religion too has lots of significance in shaping one‟s language. For example in India, Urdu has always been connected with the Muslim sect. so diversity is there with regard to all the social variables present in the society. An individual‟s language is groomed by all these social factors. All these linguistic, ethnic and cultural diversities lead to heterogeneity. The beauty of Indian heterogeneity lies in its diversities. So in a polity like India, one can never get instances of monolingualism. People use language differently in different domains and in different situation. The so called monolinguals too switch from one language variety to another. A person knowing only one language shows variation at one or the other level of language use. Hence there is no possibility of homogeneity in India. Thus it has been rightly said that in India at every two miles the water changes, every four miles the speech.

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2.1 Multilingualism: In the present world there are around 6000 languages grouped under various language families spoken in 200 states. The existence of all these languages side by side resulted in multilingualism. Knowing two or more than two languages became the need for communication among speech communities as well as individuals. „Multilingualism‟ can be defined as an occurrence regarding an individual speaker who uses two or more languages, a community of speakers where two or more languages are used, or between speakers of two languages. Multilingualism basically arises due to the need to communicate across speech communities. Multilingualism is not a rare but a normal necessity across the world due to globalization and wider cultural communication. Also it is not a recent phenomenon; it was prevalent in the ancient time also. This need further resulted in lingua francas, pidgins and phenomenon like code switching. These are the products of multilingualism. Multilingualism has various advantages: a) Accessibility to knowledge of other cultures; b) Communication between different linguistic and cultural groups become easier; c) Increases job opportunities; d) High cognitive development of a child; e) A broader world view, etc.

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India

According to Srivastava (1986:47) Capacity of switching codes provides an individual with a remarkable capacity and skill to adjust to different conditions she is exposed to. It makes her attitudes flexible, which leads to an awareness of the presence of diversity in and around her environment, and not only that, she has skills to deal with such situations.

Multilingualism can also be defined on the basis of maximal competence and minimal competence. The maximal definition means speakers are as competent and proficient in one language as they are in others, i.e. equally competent in all the languages. The minimal definition on the other hand is based on use, i.e. he/she is successful enough in achieving the goals of effective communication in a particular domain. According to Cook multilingual speakers mostly lie somewhere between the continuum of maximal and minimal definition, whom he called multi- competent. (Wikipedia, retrieved on 01/07/10). So the criterion of defining a multilingual speaker is not an easy task. Defining a multilingual speaker on the yardstick of monolingual speaker competence level will not be justified. According to Edward (1994) a perfectly balanced bilingual or multilingual is an exception. The linguistic repertoire of a multilingual is much more than that of a monolingual. So the multilingual speaker will have more defined distribution of functions and uses for the languages he know. The instances of monolingualism are rare which can be justified by looking into the communicative pattern of people. The need to become a multilingual arises due to various communicative functions: in-group communication, out-group communication and specialized communication (Mansour, 1993:20).

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People of same ethnic group usually communicate in one language and the fact is that no speech community lives in isolation. Speech communities or individuals are in regular contact with other group members which brings the need of out-group communication. In the process of out-group communication an individual switches from one language or variety to the other. Thus shows his/her competence/knowledge of two languages or varieties. Specialized communication covers domains like religion, education, technology, etc, which sometimes arises the need of knowing a language other than his native language. Other reasons for multilingualism can be: a) Migration or labor mobility. b) Cultural contact c) Annexation and colonialism d) Commercial e) Scientific f) Technological g) Territorial conquest, etc.

There are various descriptions of many different cases of multilingualism. Different typologies of multilingualism has been given by Kloss 1966a; Stewart 1972; Ferguson 1966. The varying type of multilingualism can be of individual, institutional or as societal multilingualism, as diglossia or dialect or as natural or artificial multilingualism. The term bilingualism and multilingualism are often used interchangeably. Haugen (1956:9) refers to multilingualism as „a kind of multiple bilingualism‟. Also Herdina and Jessner (2000) look at bilingualism as “only possible form of multilingualism.” (Dua, 2008:152). Whatever may be the type of 42

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India multilingualism, it is never an exception because the majority of the worlds‟ population is multilingual. In a plurilingual interaction no single language can cater to all the needs of the participant. So for India where linguistic diversity is a fact, multilingualism is a norm, there is no place for monolingualism.

2.2 Attitude towards Multilingualism: Multilingualism has not been always evaluated in terms of its advantages. So attitude towards multilingualism occupies two ends of the continuum. One end of the continuum reflects negative attitude while the other end shows positive attitude. Hence, for some, multilingualism is a nuisance as its acquisition is considered a load and for some it is an asset, as there is no restriction in the choice of languages. In the dominant monolingual countries two languages are considered a nuisance, three languages as uneconomic and many languages as absurd. This view can be seen in Fishman‟s writing „linguistically homogeneous polities are usually economically more developed, educationally more advanced, politically more modernized and ideologically-politically more tranquil and stable. They more frequently reveal orderly, libertarian and secular form of interest, articulation and aggregation, greater division of governmental powers, and less attraction towards personalismo and charisma.‟ (xvi, Pattanayak, 1981). Thus multilingualism is considered a hindrance or obstacle in the way of development. This was generally the view of westerns‟ and largely associated with this view is the notion of one language-one nation.

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Dua (2001:186) criticized this view of westerns by stating: The denunciation of language diversity in multilingual societies from the point of view of development, communication and mordernisation is based on the myth of monolingualism fostered by the western tradition. It is reductionist in analysis and misrepresents the crucial issues pertaining to the multilingual and multicultural ethos of plural societies.

There are others who look at multilingualism as a “resource” for linguistic, social and cognitive development. Like Dua(2008) who says “as a reality it must be cultivated as a resource for enriching the human mind, development of languages, societies and cultures. (Hasnain, 2008). Multilingualism is not an aberration, rather a normal phenomenon for the majority of the nations in the world today. According to Pattanayak (1984), in multilingual countries many languages are facts of life; any restriction in the choice of language use is a nuisance, and one language is not only uneconomical, it is absurd (cited by Srivastava 1990:40). Among elites multilingualism has always been a marker of high status and thus drawn social boundary. “Roger Bacon (1212-94), the thirteenth- century English Francisian known as „Doctor Mirabilis‟, wrote in his Opus tertium that notitia linguarum est prima porta sapientiae (knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom)” (Edward, 1994:4). But multilingualism among the elites is not natural rather acquired. Several studies have convincingly demonstrated that bi/multilingual children can perform better than monolingual. One of them is Werner Leopold who observed this phenomenon. Indian writers have to ensure that the "ambiance of languages" in which they live does not become a curse but a blessing, said Sahitya Akedemi President… By "ambiance of language" 44

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India he meant that no Indian had one single language. "We speak one language at home, one language of the street, another of the province, besides the language of communication. Even while speaking, we are always translating from one language to another," he said. (Baldridge, 1996). Indian scholars have shown that bilingualism is a natural state of language behavior involved in a social group‟s interaction (Srivastava), particularly in India, which is basically multilingual and pluri-cultural. Also Khubchandani (1978) and Pattanayak (1981) gave arguments in favor of multilingualism stating that there is no gap in communication in spite of linguistic diversity. Pattanayak (1981:44) claims: If one draws a straight line between Kashmir and Kanyakumari and marks, say, every five or ten miles, then one will find that there is no break in communication between any two consecutive points. Communication only breaks at extreme points of the scale.

So it is hard to deny that multilingualism is an asset and is not a barrier in the development of a nation like India. It is this fact which makes Indian multilingualism unique.

2.3 Types of Multilingualism: Multilingualism can be categorized into different types. There are various criteria and situations, which governs the classification of multilingualism. There are certain questions which need to be answered before establishing the types. In simple term a person who knows two or more than two languages at a time is known as multilingual. But what does knowing of two or more languages mean. A person who can understand more than one language, will he be considered multilingual? A person who can read more than one language but is unable to

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India understand them, will that be considered a multilingual? For being a multilingual is it necessary to have command on all the four skill of language, i.e., listening, reading, writing and speaking. If yes, then he should have native like command on all the languages he knows. But that sounds too vague. Multilingualism serves the necessity of effective communication and for that it is not necessary to have competence in all the languages. So multilingualism can be categorized according to degree of acquisition, manner of acquisition.

Degree of Acquisition: By degree it means the level of competence a person has in other languages which he knows. If a person has native like command in all the languages he knows, then it is known as Ambilingualism. And if a person has equal degree of competence in the languages he uses, is known as Equilingualism.

Manner of Acquisition: By manner it means how a person is becoming a multilingual. This also takes into account the stage at which a person acquires or learns other languages. When a child acquires more than one language naturally at home, it is termed as Natural bilingualism. This situation generally happens in childhood. In natural multilingualism a child grows with several languages naturally. And when a person learns other languages in an artificial or classroom setting, it is known as Artificial multilingualism. Sometimes it is also known as Elective multilingualism. This can be at childhood and adulthood too.

Many scholars use the notion of bilingualism and multilingualism interchangeably to refer to the knowledge of more than one language. 46

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India

According to Sridhar (1996:47) multilingualism is more than just a magnified version of bilingualism. He classified multilingualism as individual multilingualism and societal multilingualism.

Individual Multilingualism: The ability of an individual to have competence in two or more languages is known as Individual multilingualism. How an individual acquires a language and when it has been acquired, in childhood or later. How these languages are presented in mind. All these questions are important in order to understand the kind of multilingualism.

Societal Multilingualism: The linguistic diversity present in a society is known as Societal Multilingualism. In societal multilingualism some issues like role and status, attitude towards languages, determinants of language choices, the symbolic and practical uses of the languages and the correlation between language use and social factors such as ethnicity, religion and class are important. Societal multilingualism does not necessarily imply individuals.

According to Grosjean (1982:12-13), there are two principles that govern multilingualism at the level of society. These are:

Territorial principle of multilingualism: In this a country consists of several language groups but each one is primarily monolingual. For example, Canada it has four official languages. So the country as a whole is multilingual but not all individuals are necessarily multilingual. Personality principle of multilingualism: In this a country has many official languages and the individuals too are multilingual. For example,

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India

India which is a multilingual country and most of the populace is multilingual. Yet another principle of multilingualism can be described where the country is monolingual i.e., one official language but due to the presence of various minority languages or different dialects or variations the individuals are not necessarily monolinguals.

Mansour. G (1993:19) characterized multilingualism into two types: Horizontal multilingualism and Vertical multilingualism. These two types of multilingualism differed mostly in the potentials inherent in each social situation.

Horizontal Multilingualism: Speakers who live in their own geographic spaces and are often monolingual are grouped under horizontal multilingualism. The idea is that multilingualism may be there at the higher level of society, but separate groups are not particularly integrated into this larger society. Each does its living in its own space or lives in virtual isolation. This is like a patch work on a quilt of tiny monolingual societies.

Vertical Multilingualism: In this people of different ethnicity are in direct contact with others because they share the same territory and participate jointly in all socio-economic activities. Instances of vertical multilingualism are more in urban centre in multilingual countries where people interact more frequently in different languages.

One more type of multilingualism is known as receptive multilingualism. It is yet not an established field within research on multilingualism. It was

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India only after mid-nineties receptive multilingualism was promoted by the European commission.

Receptive Multilingualism: Receptive multilingualism is a broader term. It basically deals with reading and understanding of other languages. According to Ludger Zeevaert and Jan D. Ten Thije (2007:1-6), Receptive multilingualism is a constellation of language in which interlocutors use their respective mother tongue while speaking to each other. Receptive multilingualism as a form of language contact had been discussed at the University of Hamburg, at the Research centre 538. This had a major impact on the development of the mainland Scandinavian languages. Also Ludger and Jan have discussed how passive competence is a misnomer for receptive competence. And have argued that native like competence is no longer a prerequisite for effective communication in many domains. In India, one uses different languages with different people to communicate and yet native like competence is not a prerequisite for effective communication. Humans can establish mutual understanding if they wish to do so.

2.4 Multilingualism in India before Independence: Indian multilingualism is not a recent phenomenon. It dates back historically to ancient time. Pandit (1977:3) observes, „diverse people have come and made their home for the last five thousand years.‟ And Bayer (1986a: 1) goes a step further when she remarks that „India is one of the world‟s oldest multilingual societies‟. (Beg 1996:27). India never seems to have been pardoned by different races and ethnic groups. Thus many years of contact and convergence made India a „Linguistic Area‟ as

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India mentioned by M.B. Emeneau in his work „India as a Linguistic Area‟ in 1958. India has seen many folds of changes in its cultural, linguistic and ethnic pattern. India pluralism is being view as a „centrifugal‟ device by which different groups attempt to retain and preserve their unique cultural attributes while developing common institutional participation at the national level. (Khubchandani, 2001: 16)

Khubchandani remarked Indian pluralism as „organic‟ pluralism, which is marked by implicit etiquette and flexibility within an overall unity of communication. Indian multilingualism or pluralism can be divided into three stages of Indian history: Ancient, Medieval and Modern.

2.4.1 Multilingualism in Ancient India: Foreign invasions have always contributed a lot in making India a multilingual hub. India had contact with the outer world, right from about the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C. Not only this, multilingualism has always been considered an important tool of socialization, from Ashokan time till today. Ashokan inscription which are considered to be the earliest tool were written in four different scripts. In his empire in Afghanistan he used Aramaic and Greek scripts for his edicts, in Pakistan region he used Kharosthi and Brahmi script was used for rest of his empire from Khalsi in the north up to Mysore in the south.(Sharma, 2004: p21). Basically the period up to 998 A.D is considered as the ancient period. The Aryan rule, the coming of Alexander, Persian invasion, the coming of the Chinese pilgrims in search of knowledge, manuscript and relics between the 5th and 7th century A.D, all come under the ancient

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India period. In 1500 B.C Aryans came to India and brought with them „Sanskrit‟. The invading Aryans allegedly displaced the Dravidian who until then had occupied all of inhabitable India, from the central parts of Afghanistan to the hills of Jharkhand- Chhattisgarh, Nagaland, Arunachal, etc. (Chaudhary, 2009:56) But subsequently others too explored India, basically due to its wealth and brought with them their culture and language. Thus made India linguistically diverse. The first among them were the Persians. King Cyrus came to India in 558 B.C and ruled here approximately for 150 yrs. Persian domination continued here for about 330 B.C. Then came Greeks under the leadership of Alexander (356-323 BC) but his stay was not for long. He came to India through the Khyber Pass and dismantled the Persian Empire. From Europe they were the first one to come to India as traders and military adventurers. “Before the sway of Islam in India, Chinese contact with India reached its peak. In AD 966, a group of 157 Chinese Buddhist monks came to India and the same year, they returned with Buddhist relic and scriptures. All this also facilitated copying and the translation industry for Indian languages too, among others, Chinese and Mongol.” (Chaudhary, 2009:74). Also three great Chinese pilgrims Fa-Hien, Hiuen-Tsang and I-Tsang visited India in between 5th-7th A.D. They translated a number of texts and compiled a Sanskrit-Chinese dictionary. Also the Post-Harsha period is very relevant because it was the last stage of Prakrit i.e., Apabhramsa, which was considered important on the account of the fact that the modern languages like Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, and Bangla have all evolved from it.

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2.4.2 Multilingualism in Medieval India: By the sway of Islam started the medieval period. The first Arab to come India in 715 A.D was Mohammad Bin Qasim. After that Turk Sabuktagin invaded India in 1192 A.D. Even the rule of Turks were not long (1192- 1206), the impact of Turkish language can be seen even today in Indian languages. Various Turkish words have mingled so much in our language that it is hard to say it is not a word of our language. Also a new language was introduced i.e., Persian. In 1001 A.D came Mahmud of Ghazni, the elder son of Sabuktagin. He came with the aim of spreading Islam until then no one paid attention on the spread of Islam. After that many Sufis came to preach the Gospel of love, faith and dedication to the one God. Firoz shah Tughlaq was the first ruler who made efforts to get Hindu religious works translated from Sanskrit to Persian. Although Arabic was the main language of literature among Muslims but a lot was done in the field of Sanskrit-Persian translation. Many great works like Kok Shastra, Mahabharata, Rajatarangini, Tuti Nama etc were translated. Thus Sanskrit and Persian were the link languages for politics, religion and philosophy. Mughals too invaded India and there stay is significant in the Indian history. Baber (AD 1484-1530) was the founder of Mughal Dynasty in India. The Mughal rulers equally gave space to all languages and races to flourish.

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Table 2.1: Races and Religions of Aurangzeb’s Nobility, 1679-1707- Mansabdars of 5000 and above.

Iranian Turanian Afghan Indian Other Total Rajput Maratha Other Total Muslims Muslims Muslims Hindus Hindus

14 6 10 10 13 53 5 16 5 26 Aurangzeb‟s court had people from 28 ethnic backgrounds- Persian-centric, English- centric and Sanskrit-centric bilingualism. (Chaudhary, 2009:133)

Today „URDU‟ a Scheduled language is a result of contact between their languages and the local vernaculars. Also during Akbar‟s reign regional languages developed and many fine lyrical poetries were produced in regional languages. Great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata were translated into regional languages. People like Abdur Rahim Khan-i- Khana produced a blend of Bhakti poetries with Persian ideas, also in the verses of Tulsidas we can find the use of a dialect of Hindi spoken in the eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh. The use of vernaculars by the Bhakti saints made local language more popular. It was in medieval period that Malayalam had status of a separate language, Marathi reached its highest level by Eknath and Tukaram and Punjabi had a new direction by the writings of Sikh gurus. “In many regional kingdoms of the pre-Turkish period, regional languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Marathi etc were used for administrative purposes, in addition to Sanskrit.”(Chandra 2001, pp 130-131) Local or regional languages started developing due to the support given to them by the local rulers. Thus medieval period was a land mark in the development of regional languages. Also there were the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French and the British who came to India and

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India stayed for some centuries and added up many things in the Indian pot- pourri.

Whether it be the Asoka‟s edicts, or the Namas, or Chronicals of the Mughals such as the Babernama and Akbaranama, or classical literature, traces of multilingualism can be seen everywhere. They all tell us how people used different languages at different times in different domains in varying situations. Together they all are responsible for making India a linguistic giant.

2.4.3 Multilingualism in Colonial India: After the Eighteenth century the modern era started. The very interest towards Indian languages of the British world is a different story. This interest developed when many scholars like Herodotus, Ptolemy, John Holwell etc, wrote about the greatness of India‟s past and the Indian philosophy, logic on origin of the universe, human race etc. By their writing, these ideas started gaining acceptance. By this people of Christian faith started worrying about the Bible story of Creation. Thus to know more and to save the foundation of their faith they started learning Sanskrit and other Indian languages. People like Sir William Jones, Friedrich Max Muller and many more translated and interpreted Indian religious texts in English. Their first interest to know Indian languages was basically to retain their faith and afterwards they used this knowledge for economic exploitation. The time when East India company over took the Indian Territory, there were many kingdoms and princely states who had different languages for administration. And thus it was not possible for them to administer the whole country via one language. So they felt

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India the need to learn the local vernacular and thus promoted the Indian languages In spite of being in favor of English, the British Raj did many things for the development of Indian languages. So the British Raj was keen to preserve the linguistic diversity of India. The British were in need of languages to bridge the gap between them and their subjects. For communicating with the local populace and for smooth governance they tried to communicate with them in their languages. They saw the importance of local languages and thus made the learning of these languages compulsory for the civil servants. Thus, emphasized the learning of some major oriental languages in England by the candidates selected for the India civil service. So on 12th August, 1881, Her Majesty‟s under Secretary of State for India, India office, London wrote a letter to the Secretary, Civil Service Commission, London mentioning The reference made to the Government of India, which was communicated in the Government of India dispatch no.21 of 17th April 1881, it was decided that in future selected candidates should be required before leaving England to qualify in the following languages. For Madras: Tamil and Telugu. For Bombay: Marathi and Guajarati For North Western provinces, Oudh and the Punjab: Hindi and Hindustani. For lower provinces of Bengal: Bengali and Hindustani. For British Burma: Burmese and Hindustani. (Thirumalai 2004)

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The British had the appetite to learn Indian languages. “Some of them argued that we ought to renew our endeavors to install the popular language in the courts and offices of the Government.” (Thirumalai 4:10)

But contrary to this many of the Indian elite have acknowledged the importance of English. They saw many job prospects in learning English and also they saw a way of fighting with the British system by being a part of the system. Hay and Quereshi (1958) stated:

Men like Rammohan Roy, saw that tremendous advantages could be gained by direct contact with the whole corpus of western learning which English education would make possible, and therefore raised their voices against the antiquarian policy.

Soon more were interested in learning English in order to join the administration. Thus demands from Indian side were made in favor of teaching and learning English. This hampered the development of their own languages. Even the Indian National Congress too did not recognize the importance of the vernaculars in its first two consecutive meetings. But afterwards they too recognized the importance of Indian languages. Afterwards they might have felt that without considering the local mass they cannot achieve their goal of „Swaraj‟. So in the third Congress held at Madras in December 1887 thirteen thousand copies of „Congress- Question & Answer‟ in Tamil language were sold. Thus language has always been a tool of political consensus. (Thirumali, vol 4:10 Oct 2004). Again the concern regarding languages came in the main stream and thus multilingualism was again favored.

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2.4.4 Role of Missionaries: One more event of promotion of these vernaculars can be seen in the efforts of missionaries. The main focus of these missionaries was the spread of Christianity in India. A very significant role regarding this has been done by William Campbell, a Christian missionary, who focused on spreading Christianity. He was a very eminent language planner and a great supporter of Indian vernaculars. Many other missionaries were too engaged in the same act. They made education a medium of spreading Christianity. They opened many schools and prepared books both in English and Indian languages. Also they were very keen about the translation of the bible into local vernaculars There were other missionaries who spent a lot of their lifetime to develop the vernaculars of the peoples to spread the spiritual matters, ethics and morals of Christian. In the starting they were not worried for these languages but had concern for Christianity. Non-Christian peoples must be approached in their own language. For that reason the missionary must possess as good knowledge as possible of the local forms of speech. (Neil, 1985:191)

Apart from this the missionaries have done much constructive work for the upliftment of Indian vernaculars. William Carey started a college and a printing press at the Danish Mission at Serampore which achieved great success. He translated the Holy Bible in many Indian languages, published a dictionary and a grammar book of Bengali language. Also a 63 page grammar of Tamil was published in 1778, written by Missionary Fabricius. In 1779 he published a Tamil-English lexicon, which was

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India claimed to be „the foundation stone of scientific work in this field‟. (Chaudhary, 2009:363). Also missionaries played a very important role in the promotion of tribal languages. The tribal languages mainly had oral tradition but many missionaries brought these indigenous languages to writing through the translation of Bible and Gospel. They contributed a lot in the creation of tribal literature.

2.5 Multilingualism in Post-Independent India: In 1947 British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. At that time there were in India nine provinces and about 460 princely states. After that many Indian leaders started demanding the formation of linguistic states. The idea of linguistic state was there in the mind of many leaders even before independence. In 1928 in the Report of the Nehru Committee (consisting of Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Sir Ali Imam, Subhas Chandra Bose, etc., under the chairmanship of Motilal Nehru) stated that the present multilingual State and Provinces would create political difficulties while the homogeneous linguistic States will encourage greater political cohesion, administrative efficiency and economic development. Thus expressed the view: Partly geographical and partly economic and financial, but the main considerations must necessarily be the wishes of the people and the linguistic unity of the area concerned. …It becomes essential therefore to conduct the business and politics of a country in a language, which is understood by the masses. So far as the provinces are concerned, this must be the provincial language. …If a province has to educate itself and do its daily work through the medium of its own language, it must necessarily be a linguistic area. If it happens to be a polyglot area difficulties will continually arise and the

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media of instruction and work will be two or even more languages. Hence, it becomes most desirable for provinces to be regrouped on a linguistic basis. Language, as a rule corresponds with a variety of culture, of traditions, and literature. In a linguistic area all these factors will help in the general progress of the province. (Motilal Nehru Report, 1928). (Mukherjee, 2009)

But there were others who opposed this fearing this would break the unity of the country. People like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel were against this reorganization of states. Patel said that,

... the first and last need of India at the present moment is that it should be made a nation …Everything which helps the growth of nationalism has to go forward and everything which throws obstacles in its way has to be rejected…We have applied this test to linguistic provinces also, and by this test, in our opinion [they] cannot be supported. (Aggarwal, 1995:472)

When On January 1950 the Constitution was framed, it categorized the Indian states into three parts: part A, part B, part C. Part A states were the former governors' provinces of British India, part B states were former princely states or groups of princely states and part C states included both the former chief commissioners' provinces and princely states. But with the formation of States Reorganization Commission the distinction between part A, part B and part C was erased and steps were taken to reorganize state boundaries on linguistic lines. Some seen this reorganization as a process of homogenization and for some it was an effort to develop the regional languages by giving them power and thus eradicating the roots of English. But this reorganization of states on 59

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India linguistic basis did not succeeded in creation of homogeneous regions because in every state some speakers of other languages were there, which constituted the minority group. And because of this reason there is no one official language in one state. All the states recognize some other languages also in way of recognizing heterogeneity and multilingualism.

2.5.1 Census Record: The best way to understand Indian multilingualism is by studying its census records and the survey done by Grierson (1898-1928). The first meticulous survey of Indian languages spoken in British India was done by Sir G. A Grierson known as the Linguistic Survey of India. The linguistic survey of India is a comprehensive survey of the languages of British India, giving the number of languages as 179 and the number of dialects as 544. The only drawback of Grierson‟s work was that he relied on untrained workers and neglected the former provinces of Burma, Madras and the states of Hyderabad, Mysore, Travancore and Cochin (Beg, 1996). Basically the South India was under-represented. After that no such exhaustive work on languages has been done. Only the census records are there to tell us about the number of mother tongues or languages. Indian multilingualism is most explicitly reflected in the census of India. The main area of problem in Indian census is to define the term „mother tongue‟. This term was first included in 1881 census. In different censuses, this term has been put differently. In the censuses of 1881, 1931, 1941 and 1951, „mother-tongue was defined as the language first spoken by the individual from the cradle‟. In 1891 it became „parent tongue‟ and changed to 'Language ordinarily used' in 1901. In 1951 and 1961 Indian Censuses besides Mother-tongue a question, 'Bilingualism' 60

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India was also prescribed in the Census Schedule. Before that only attention was given to mother tongue of an individual. In 1971 Census, the information on 'Other languages' was again collected from each individual. (Census terms, Census of India) Before we go into any detailed study of the census record we must know what scheduled languages are and what the non-schedule languages, besides mother tongue are. Because the language data present in the census are represented as schedule and non schedule languages. After independence thousands of written and unwritten languages and dialects were clustered into two broad categories of the Scheduled and Non- Scheduled languages. Languages which were listed in the Eighth Scheduled were known as Scheduled languages and the others were termed Non-Scheduled. In 1950 the Eighth Schedule listed fourteen languages Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Earlier it was thought to make the schedule a rigid document were no addition will be allowed but looking into the vast linguistic diversity of India it was kept open-ended. So now the number of schedule languages has risen to twenty two. The percentage of schedule language speakers has varied a lot in different censuses. The Census in 1951 listed 845 languages (including the dialects), 60 of which were spoken by not less than 100,000 persons were returned by various individuals living in India as their mother tongue. According to the 1951 census 91% of the population speak one or the other of the thirteen Scheduled languages selected at that time.

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Table 2.2: %age of Scheduled Language Speakers according to 1951 Census. No. Scheduled Languages %age of Speakers 1 Hindi 2 Urdu/ Hindustani 46.3 3 Punjabi

4 Telugu 10.2 5 Marathi 8.3 6 Tamil 8.2 7 Bengali 7.8 8 Gujarati 5.1 9 Kannada 4.5 10 Oriya 4.1 11 Assamese 1.5 12 Kashmiri less than 1% 13 Sanskrit less than 1% (Ishwaran. K.,1969) The count of schedule languages in the 1951 census was only thirteen which rose to fifteen in the 1997. In the 1961 Census the number of mother tongue rose to 1652 from 845 as listed in the 1951 census and in 1971 it was almost doubled. i.e., more than 3000 languages/mother tongues were recorded in this census. Also the number of scheduled languages became fifteen and other languages‟ count was 91. All the language classified into four major language families: Austric family which latter on became Austro-Asiatic; Tibeto-Chinese which became Tibeto-Burman; Dravidian family and Indo-European family which became more specific as Indo-Aryan. There were others who were unclassified and of foreign origin like French, Portuguese, etc. They were categorized separately.

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Table 2.3: Mother Tongues returned in 1961 Census

ABSTRACT OF MOTHER TONGUES RETURNED IN CENSUS OF INDIA, 1961 Category Number of Total Number %age of Mother of Speakers Language Tongues speakers Austric Family 65 6,192,495 1.41 Tibeto-Chinese Family 226 3,183,801 0.73 Dravidian Family 153 107,410,820 24.47 Indo-European Family 574 321,720,700 73.30 Kisan (Classified 1 50,378 0.01 under two different families) Mother tongues outside India 103 315,466 0.07 Unclassified, including three 530 63,258 0.01 tentatively reclassified category considered unclassified TOTAL 1,652 438,936,918 100 Retrieved from www.languageinindia.com on 23rd march 2009

According to the 1961 Census, the total percentage of Scheduled language speakers is 87.07%, this number increased to 97.14% in the 1971 Census. But again in the Census of 1981 the percentage of scheduled language speakers became 89.23%. The 1991 census recognizes 1,576 classified mother tongues, which was divided into 114 languages out of which 18 were the scheduled languages and the percentage of scheduled language speakers was 97.05%. According to 2001 census there are 122 languages and 234 mother tongues. (Statement 1) the number of scheduled languages has rose from 18 to 22.

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Table 2.4: %age of the Speakers of the Scheduled and Non-Scheduled languages in India, 1951, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2001.

Census Census Census Census Census 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 Language % of total % of % of % of total % of total category populatio total total populatio population n of India populati populati n of India of India on of on of India India Scheduled 87.07* 97.14 89.23 97.05 96.56 languages

Non- 12.93 2.86 10.77 2.95 3.44 Scheduled languages Total 100 100 100 100 100

*Source: Beg M.K.A, 1996

The line chart below is showing rise and fall in the schedule language speakers since 1961-2001. The difference in the percentage of schedule language speakers between two consecutive censuses i.e. 1971 and 1981 is very high. One of the reasons can be the unavailability of Census figures of Tamil, Assamese and Bodo in the census of 1981. Due to flood Census record for Tamil Nadu was lost and no Census was conducted in Assam due to disturbed conditions. In 1991 Census data for Kashmir and Dogri are not available because of disturbed conditions in Jammu and Kashmir.

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120

100

80

60 Scheduled languages

Percentage 40 Non-Scheduled languages 20

0 Census Census Census Census Census 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001

Figure 2.1: Line chart showing trend of Scheduled & Non-scheduled languages over years

Table 2.5: %age of Scheduled Language Speakers in 1981, 1991, 2001. S.No Languages Census Census Census Census 1971 1981 1991 2001 % age of total population 1. Assamese 1.63 _ 1.56 1.28 2. Bengali 8.17 7.71 8.30 8.11 3. Bodo 0.10 - 0.15 0.13 4. Dogri 0.24 0.23 _ 0.22 5. Gujarati 4.72 4.97 4.85 4.48 6. Hindi 36.99 38.74 39.29 41.03 7. Kannada 3.96 3.86 3.91 3.69 8. Kashmiri 0.46 0.48 _ 0.54 9. Konkani 0.28 0.24 0.21 0.24 10. Mailthili 0.12 0.13 0.93 0.18 11. Malayalam 4.00 3.86 3.62 3.21 12. Manipuri 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.14

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13. Marathi 7.62 7.43 7.45 6.99 14. Nepali 0.26 0.20 0.25 0.28 15. Oriya 3.62 3.46 3.32 3.21 16. Punjabi 2.57 2.95 2.79 2.83 17. Santali 0.69 0.65 0.62 0.63 18. Sanskrit N N 0.01 N 19. Sindhi 0.31 0.30 0.25 0.25 20. Tamil 6.88 _ 6.26 5.91 21. Telugu 7.41 7.80 7.19 22. Urdu 5.11 5.13 5.01

_ No census records

There is a gradual increase in the percentage of very few Schedule languages from 1971 Census to 2001 Census. The increase can be seen only in Hindi, Kashmiri, Maithili, Bodo, Nepali and Punjabi. All other sixteen schedule languages are showing decrease in the percentage of its speakers‟. This decrease is constant in some languages but fluctuating in others. Languages like Tamil, Urdu Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese Sindhi, Dogri, and Manipuri are showing constant decrease in the percentage in the census 1971-2001. But the decrease in the percentage of speakers of Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Guajarati, Kannada, Santali and Konkani are uneven. Since the number of languages who are showing increase in the number of speakers are very low is suggestive of rise in the number of non schedule language speakers. In 1991 the percentage of schedule language speakers was 2.95%, this rose to 3.44%. This increase would have been more if four languages: Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithili would not have been recognized as schedule languages. In spite of the addition of four languages the percentage of schedule languages is less as 66

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India compared to the 1991 census. The figures of 1991 census are not complete due to unavailability of data of Jammu and Kashmir but the Census of 2001 has data of all the languages. So the decrease in the schedule language speakers is much more than it appears from the Census record. This gives a very interesting picture for analyzing multilingualism in India.

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0.140.10 0.140.130 0.460.260.310.280.24 0.540.280.250.24 100% 1.120.69 1.180.63 Sanskrit 1.63 1.28 2.57 2.83 Bodo 3.62 3.21 90% Manipuri 4 3.21 3.69 Dogri 3.96 4.48 Konkani 80% 4.72 5.01 Sindhi 5.22 Nepali 70% 5.91 6.88 Kashmiri 6.99 Santhali 60% 7.62 Mailthili 7.19 8.16 Assamese 50% 8.11 Punjabi 8.17 Oriya 40% Malayalam Kannada 30% Gujarati Urdu 41.03 20% 36.99 Tamil Marathi Telugu 10% Bengali Hindi 0% Census1971 Census 2001

Figure 2.2: 100% Stacked Column showing Distribution of Scheduled Languages in 1971 and 2001.

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2.5.3 Bilingualism/ Multilingualism in the Indian States: Even after the Linguistic Re-Organization most states are multilingual. Monolingual does not prevail anywhere. India‟s linguistic diversity has been maintained only because the people of India are basically multilingual. In every domain people are using different languages. Every year the rate of bilingualism/multilingualism is increasing as per the Census record.

25

20 19.44

15 13.04 13.44 10 rate of bilingualism

percentage 9.7

5

0 Census Census Census Census 1961 1971 1981 1991

Figure 2.3: Line Chart Showing Rate of Bilingualism 1961-1991

As we can see in the chart that there is a constant rise in the rate of bilingualism but the rise is very high from 1981 census to 1991. This rise in bilingual rate is suggestive of a multilingual language policy which is effective enough in maintain multilingualism in India. In 1961 it was only 9.7 and it rose to 19.44 in 1991. Many scholars do not agree with this percentage of bilingual in the world of globalization and mass media.

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The traditional strong constituent of multilingual groups is further strengthened in modern times from one decade to another, as mobility within the country as well as the introduction of formal education in all parts of the country that insists on learning at least two languages until the end of high secondary education. (Mallikarjun, 2004)

Scholars like Khubchandani and Pattanayak were not satisfied with the percentage of bilingualism presented in the 1961 Census. Pattanayak rejected it outright saying that, “the country average of 9.70% of bilingualism gives a distorted picture of the facts.” For this Khubchandani has argued that if this is the situation regarding bilingualism i.e. only 9.7% of the total population of the country claims bilingualism then this means that rest of the (90%) population is monolingual which concludes that the rate of interaction is very low among communities and thus multilingualism is acting as a barrier in the growth of a nation. (Mahapatra, 1990)

This figure of bilingualism has been given by Mallikarjun (2010).

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Figure 2.4: Rate of Bilingualism and Trilingualism among Schedule Language Speakers. (Series 1- bilingualism, Series 2- trilingualsim)

The above chart shows the rate of bilingualism and trilingualism among the schedule language speakers. It shows bilingualism is widely prevalent. The accurate record of bi/multilingualism has never been recorded. How is this possible that in a heterogeneous environment only 19% of bi/multilingual has been reported. As stated by Mahapatra (1990) there are 402 districts in India(1981), out of which 325 have been categorized as unilingual, 53 districts as bilingual and only 24 districts as multilingual. In such a heterogeneous environment where more than forty languages are dominant at the district level, the All India Radio

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Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India broadcasts its programmes in more than 80 vernaculars and nearly eighty languages are used as medium of instruction at different stages of education. How it is possible that most of the districts are unilingual. In most cases the language in unilingual district is the official language of that state.

Table 2.6: Linguistic Composition of Districts. Sl. India/state/union Total Unilingual Bilingual Multilingual no territory no. of districts:70 districts: districts: districts % or more- 70% or more than one more-two two language. languages languages . India 402 325 53 24 States 1 Andhra Pradesh 23 21 2 0 2 Bihar 31 25 5 1 3 Gujarat 19 17 2 0 4 Haryana 12 11 1 0 5 Himachal Pradesh 12 10 1 1 6 Jammu and 14 11 3 0 Kashmir 7 Karnataka 19 11 5 3 8 Kerala 12 12 0 0 9 Madhya Pradesh 45 38 5 2 10 Maharashtra 26 22 2 2 11 Manipur 6 2 0 4 12 Meghalaya 5 3 2 0 13 Nagaland 7 4 1 2

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14 Orissa 13 9 3 1 15 Punjab 12 11 1 0 16 Rajasthan 26 25 1 0 17 Sikkim 4 0 3 1 18 Tamil Nadu 16 13 2 1 19 Tripura 3 1 2 0 20 Uttar Pradesh 56 53 3 0 21 West Bengal 16 13 3 0 Union Territory 22 Andaman and 2 0 1 1 Nicobar islands 23 Arunachal Pradesh 9 3 2 4 24 Chandigarh 1 0 1 0 25 Dadra and Nagar 1 0 1 0 Haveli 26 Delhi 1 1 0 0 27 Goa, Daman & Diu 3 2 1 0 28 Lakshadweep 1 1 0 0 29 Mizoram 3 2 0 1 30 Pondicherry 4 4 0 0 (Mahapatra, 1990:11)

According to Khubchandani (1975:571) The population of nearly half of the total number of districts (152 i.e. 46%) is exposed to heterogeneous surroundings where minority speech exceed 20% of the total population. Such a wide spread heterogeneity can potentially be considered as a significant factor promoting

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bilingual interaction among different speech groups. But the low returns on bilingualism do not testify to the intensity of such interaction.

(as cited in Pattanayak,1990:10)

Even if all the individuals are not bi/multilingual, the societal multilingualism prevails everywhere. No state or region is homogeneous. Ever state consists of other language speakers too. This can be testified by looking at the official languages recognized by the government. All the states along with one major language have recognized other languages for official purposes. Whenever the government has tried to homogenize the states‟, the government has faced strong resentment followed by agitations. Like Gandhiji and Nehru wanted to unite the country by a single language called Hindustani/Hindi but it created a strong cleavage between the Hindi and Non-Hindi speakers. It created a lot of resentment and thus resulted in several agitations against Hindi as the sole official language. In an address in 1962, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, C N Annadurai made the following statements opposing Hindi imposition: "It is claimed that Hindi should be common language because it is spoken by the majority. Why should we then claim the tiger as our national animal instead of the rat which is so much more numerous? Or the peacock as our national bird when the crow is ubiquitous?” (Nagarajan, 2002) Thus English has been retained as the official language till date. Also for ease in administration the constitution provides right to the state to adopt Hindi or any language used in its territory as its official language or languages. (Article 345) Thus the recognition of so many languages for official purpose is symbolic of multilingualism. 74

Chapter Two: Multilingualism in India

To conclude it can be said Indian multilingualism is unique in itself. Sometimes it is need based, sometimes it is forced and at times it is natural. Pattanayak (1990:41-42) gave some special features of Indian multilingualism. They are as follows: 1. Multilingualism is sustained in India by social institutions. 2. Linguistic features transcend genetic boundaries. 3. Multilingualism is the result of nationalism and nationism. 4. Change in linguistic codes or their mixing in communication does not create problems of identity, conflict and crisis. 5. It is possible to become multilingual without being multicultural. 6. Language boundaries because of regular contact are fuzzy. 7. Indian multilingualism is bifocal, existing both at mass and elite levels. 8. The functional relation between languages is not linear but hierarchical.

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India

Language is a means of communication. Defining it so simply will not be justifiable on its part. Language can be understood better in terms of its functions and role in the society. Functions of language can be studied under two headings, micro and macro. Micro functions of language work at individual level and the macro covers the whole society. Some of the important functions of language are Physiological function (releasing physical and nervous energy), Phatic function (for sociability), Identifying function, Pleasure functions, Reasoning function (instrument of thought), Communicating function, etc. Language is the most important link between an individual and the society. Currently approximately 6000 languages are being spoken all over the world, out of which many are on the verge of extinction. Many factors affect the growth and decline of languages. And a language policy can either exacerbate or mitigate the growth or existence of a language. Every language works under certain policy. So it cannot be said, that society or community does not have a language policy. Some kind of language policy is always working in every society; at some places it is written or made prominent via Constitution and at some it is only in practice. Language policy has active role in domains like home, school, religion, work place, supra-national groupings. Before going into the details of complexities of a language policy, one must be clear regarding what is a language policy?

3.1 What is a Language Policy? Any decision or principle of action adopted with regard to the usage of language or languages by an organization or individual is known as a

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India language policy. Language polices are basically designed to promote one or more languages and also it specify the usage of language in different domains, like education, administration, media, etc. So we can say that language policy is a cover term for all the linguistic behaviours, assumptions, cultural forms, folk believes, attitude towards a language etc. A language policy is multidimensional. Language policy has been an area of interest for many scholars. Eminent work on language policy has been done by Charles Ferguson, Haugen, Heinz Kloss, Joan Rubin, and Richard Baldauf. People like Schiffman 1996; Spolsky 2004; Ricento 2006; MCarty 2002 has also done a lot in the area of language policy. Ruth Wodak viewed language policy As every public influence on the communication radius of languages; the sum of those “top-down” and “bottom-up” political initiatives through which a particular language or languages is/are supported in their public validity, their functionality, and their dissemination. (Wodak, 2006:170)

There are certain factors which affect the framing of language policy i.e. socio-linguistic settings, attitude of the language speakers, the strength of the political set up, etc. If the speaker of a language develops a positive attitude towards his/her own language s/he can change or modify the existing language policy of that society. According to Fasold (1984), language policies are constructs, and they change over time. (Schiffman 1996:40)

Language policy can either be a written clause in the Constitution of a country or a language law, or a cabinet document or on administrative regulation. 125 of the world‟s Constitution express some policy about

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India language. (Spolsky 2004:11-12). But this doesn‟t mean others don‟t have any language policy. One cannot say no to a language policy. Whether it is implicit or explicit it is present everywhere. Good language policies are always needed for the effective working of a nation and language policy cannot be studied without knowing about language planning. The need for a language policy is there at different levels. Like: For official use of language (e.g. Administration, law, etc.) Use of language at regional level Language for wider communication (mass media) Language for International communication Use of languages at specific domains like education, etc.

For all these purposes we need to choose a language and sometimes the need is to develop that language. For an effective language policy, good language planning is equally important. Planning involves a choice that is made on the basis of a conscious effort to predict the consequences of the proposed alternatives. (Chaklader, 1990:151)

In the process of language planning various academies and committees are involved. The goals of language planning differ from one nation to other and from one organization to other. Sometimes language planning is done for assimilating the languages i.e. the dominant language of the society is forced on native speakers of other languages. So they are assimilationist in nature. Some are done for maintaining linguistic pluralism i.e. multilingualism is recognized and supported. Other goals of language planning are standardization, language revitalization, language reform, language maintenance, etc. Planning can be either seen as a 78

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India management of language or manipulation of language. Most of the time language planning is governed by power and politics. According to cooper (1989:45) language planning is a “deliberate effort to influence the behaviour of others with respect to acquisition, structure or functional allocation of their language codes.” Various sociolinguists divided the process of language planning into various steps. The general sub-division is of: policy formation, codification, elaboration and implementation. To these sub-processes Eastman added two more namely language choice and evaluation. The process of language choice is never neutral. Choice inevitably means selection and selection is always at the cost of rejection. On the background of various questions language choice can be understood. For example, who is choosing whom under what circumstances? This shows the power dynamics working in the selection. The question of choice, covertly takes note of who is being eliminated and with whom, is the pressure group. In the selection process various economic, political, sociological considerations work. So planning should be so that most of the languages get benefit from it.

3.2 Types of Language Planning: Corpus Planning: Corpus planning basically takes into account the development, modernization and standardization of languages which involve coining of new terms, adopting new script, etc. All the languages in the world are not fully developed, for example some languages of the world do not have a written form and some do not have literary tradition, etc. So languages which are inadequate to perform in different domains need to be expanded in terms of lexicon, style, etc. In broader term corpus

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India planning can be divided into three categories: graphization, modernization and standardization In the process of graphization, languages which have oral tradition are made to adopt or create a new orthographic system or script. So that it can be used in formal education, literacy programs and in the development of literary traditions. The corpus planners either use an existing writing system or create a new one.

Modernization on the other hand is the expansion of the resources of a language, like its lexicon, style, etc. Modernization of a language generally occurs when there is a change in the status of a language or also we can say it is vice- versa. Every day new inventions and concepts are coming so up gradation of the languages on account of these changes is necessary.

Standardization is a process where preference is given to on variety or dialect of a language over others. Also it can be termed as a common language acceptable to the people of an area over other dialectical variations. The choice of a language as a standard language is generally power oriented. By making one language variety as a standard language we are depriving others to gain position in various domains (like education). By this one section of the society is having privileged and rest are deprived.

Status Planning: It refers to the choice of a language for various functional domains within a society. It involves the selection of a language for official purposes, for education, for mass media or for wider communication. It allocates status to the chosen language. According to

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Rubin (1977:36) status planning encompasses governmental policy decisions concerning which language should be assigned or recognized for which purpose within a country or region, as well as the various implementation steps taken to support the policy that has been adopted. The distinction of dialect and language is an area of status planning.

3.3 Typologies of Language Policy: Language policies may be categorized into different types. Schiffman in his book Linguistic Culture and Language Policy has reviewed the typologies of language policies given by Kloss (1966a). Language policy can be categorized as: Covert and Overt language policy: Covert policies do not name any language in any legal document or anywhere. In a covert language policy the agenda is hidden. Its use is implicit. Overt policies on the other hand are open-ended and clearly define the role of a language in a polity. The domains of usage, its status, everything is explicitly stated. De facto and De jure language policies: De jure policy may promote any language in any domain but the de facto policy is the usage of any other language, i.e. by law a certain language was made to be used but in reality some other language is being widely used. Promotive and Tolerance policies: A promotive policy explicitly or non-explicitly promotes or encourages the use of a language(s) by Constitution and has legal guarantees like Hindi in India. In a tolerance policy a language is

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allowed but not as such guarantee is provided and no domains are reserved. Egalitarian and Restricted policies: Policy which keeps all the languages on the same platform i.e. giving equal footing to all the languages present in that society is egalitarian policy, for example, Lenin‟s language policy in the Soviet Union. On the other hand restricted policies are made to tolerate certain languages only in restricted domains or functions. The rights to use certain languages are restricted. These are some of the typologies given by Kloss and Schiffman.

Haugen (1966b) classified language policy into four headings- „selection of norm‟, „codification of its written or spoken form‟, „implementation‟ and „elaboration‟. The same concept of selection was termed „status planning‟ and codification as „corpus planning‟ by Kloss in 1969. (Spolsky 2004:6)

Language policy can best be understood in terms of number of language(s) recognized as national or official language(s). It is not that only multilingual polities or societies require language policy for the smooth governance but the monolingual equally need one. Lambart (1999) has categorized countries into three groups and so the language policy based on that.

Monolingual Countries: Many countries claim to be monolingual in defining its policy. But if the polity is monolingual it doesn‟t mean it‟s people or individual are too monolingual. Around 78 countries claim to be monolingual out of which 32 provide special

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clause for protecting the minorities. Countries like Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Singapore, Nepal, etc claim to be monolingual but also protect the minority rights. Also there are countries that marginalize the rights of the minorities and hegimonically impose one language and claim to be ethno-linguistically homogeneous. Countries like China, Japan, United States, etc falls under this category. Dyadic/Triadic Countries: Countries claiming two or three languages as official or national languages have dyadic and triadic language policy. Both the linguistic groups are relatively equal in number and share equal power. So these polities make a dyadic policy. Countries like Switzerland, Canada, Belgium, Afghanistan, etc recognizes two or three languages. Mosaic/Multilingual Countries: There are many countries which give recognition to more than two languages either as the national or official language. In multilingual countries the debate is usually directed towards language choice. Countries like India, South Africa, Republic of Congo, etc recognizes more than four languages.(as cited in Spolsky 2004: 58-59)

Countries having one language as the National/Official language are more complex in nature. Thinking that their language policy is simple and the language policy of a multilingual country is complex is nothing more than a disguise. The mental pressures on the people of monolingual countries are no less as compared to multilingual because monolingual countries are not monolingual in the real sense. With the advent of globalization and spread of other languages the chances of resentment are 83

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India more there. Problems are everywhere whether it is a monolingual polity or a multilingual. Spolsky (2004:159) states:

While there may have been a time when it seemed for a nation state to announce its recognition of a single national and official language, analyzing actual cases reveals that countries monolingual in both practice and management are quite rare.

Multilingual Monolingual countries countries

a) External forces b) Internal conflict

No community lives in isolation. In the world of globalization all countries are in direct contact with each other. Also labour mobility or migration of people is very common among countries. Due to mass media and information technology most of the people in the world have become multilingual. So the countries who claim to be monolingual are not monolingual in the real sense. The ground reality is something different. So in a monolingual country it is not necessary that the individuals are also monolingual. But in a multilingual country apart from the internal

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India conflicts all other external factors like globalization can be easily handled as the polity and individuals are accustomed to linguistic diversity.

3.5 Language Policy of India: India‟s linguistic, cultural, ethnic, religious diversity is very strong and wide spread. Heterogeneity and multilingualism is not a recent product. It goes back to the time when Aryans came to India with Sanskrit and thereafter many came, invaded and settled in India and with them was their languages. Since that time India is managing its diversity and multilingualism very beautifully and ardently. At that time also multilingualism in India never created problem in the smooth functioning of the government. Different languages were assigned different roles in different domains but there was no conflicting situation. Even at the time of British rule, the British promoted the Indian vernaculars as well as English too. It isn‟t that the making of a language policy in India was thought after independence but it was there much before that. Even at the time of Mughal empires this policy existed. Language policy is about language choice or the usage of languages in different domains. But a very strong face of policy was seen at the time of Macaulay‟s minute. Macaulay insisted on providing English education to the Indians. Macaulay said, We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. (Thirumalai, 2003)

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Before this the British government was not very keen on promoting English language as it was seen as the tool of governance in their hand. On March 7, 1835 Governor General Bentinck issued an order in favour of Macaulay and agreed to spend funds for the purpose of education to be employed for English education alone, but with that guaranteed not to abolish any College or School of native learning. On the other hand the Orientalists wanted to promote the indigenous languages and were against English education. The conflict between the Anglicist and Orientalist led to the „polarization‟ of language policy.

The Indian language policy took a U-turn when the Indian National Congress started supporting and promoting Hindi language written in Devanagri. The nationalists wanted to compete with the British by their own language. But Gandhiji was not supportive of this view because he knew that if Hindi with Sanskritized words will be chosen then the Muslims having Urdu will be marginalized. This will create a great cleft between them and will be a threat to the unity of the country. So he went for a mid-way introducing „Hindustani‟ as the common language for pan India.

Then in 1947 India got its independence and thus formulated the Constitution. That was a great turning point in the history of this country. The essence of being independent led every heart grow with its own desire. At that time the most important task was to administer the newly independent country. For proper administration, the areas important were that of law and order, education, etc. A language was needed to convey the ideas to its people. But India being a vast polity with lots of

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India diversities led a big question in front of the leaders of the country. The leaders wanted an India where the government passing a law in a language should be understood to all, anyone can easily communicate to others via a common language. One of the motives behind this thought was the eradication of English language. The imposition of a common language was nothing but was a determination to eradicate all the memories of colonial rule, so that India can have its own voice. But the mark of colonial history was so deep that the government of India was unable to remove English. At that time many had little idea of the issues at stake. There was a need to make a language policy for India. For effective administration, a language commission was appointed to meet the need of having a language policy. The commission was formed to have a thorough study of the language policies of the multilingual countries across the world. After looking into all the reports and policies of different polities the commissioners came to the conclusion of adopting „the Soviet Model‟ of language policy. A report regarding the adoption of „the soviet model‟ was given by secretary of the commission, S. G. Barve (1957) who warned against the borrowing of any model without adapting it, saying, Obviously no two cases in a field like this are exactly or even broadly similar; therefore any lessons to be had from the experiences of like circumstances in other countries must be drawn with great care. (Schiffman, 1996:162)

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3.6 Soviet Language Policy: In the 20th century it was the Soviet Union which had its language policy for the minorities. It was Lenin who tried for the notion of „self- determination of all nations‟. At that time the Soviet language policy was to make all the ethnic languages grow and led them stand on one platform. As stated by Spolsky,(2004:116),“Martin (2002) judged this the most ambitious affirmative action program that any state had so far tried to implement.”

But Stalin revised the Leninist policy in 1930s and followed the continuation of Czarist Russification, but the Constitution kept its clauses for minority languages rights. The policy was not supportive of diversity as its prior goal was of Russification. The native language instruction was not obligatory but was made optional. The bilingualism was unidirectional i.e. many left their mother tongue by learning Russian. By the 1970s, Russian had become the primary and in many instances the sole language of instruction in education.

3.6.1 Importation of Soviet Language Policy: The effort to import the soviet language policy on India has been considered a „fatal error‟ by Schiffman. He further argued that, The 1950 policy was without any doubt a clone of the Soviet model developed and implemented by Lenin in the USSR in the 1920s, with the role occupied by Russian in that policy tailored for Hindi in India‟s policy. (Schiffman 1996:150)

Russia and India undoubtly are multilingual polities but the role and status of the languages working in different domains in these two 88

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India countries are totally different. Russian was and is the majority or dominant language i.e. more than all the minorities in Russia. This position is there since the Czarist rule but in India, Hindi is not a dominant language. Hindi is a major language (39%) but still the percentage is not even 50%. Also the regional languages of India are very strong as compared to the indigenous languages of Russia.

Table 3.1: Speakers of Hindi and the State Dominant Languages in each State

State Dominant No. of Hindi No. of %age of %age of Language of Speakers Dominant Hindi Dominant the state Language speakers Language Speakers Speakers Andhra Telugu 2,464,194 63,924,954 03.25 84.41 Pradesh Arunachal Nepali 81,186 94,919 7.39 8.70 Pradesh Assam Assamese 1,569,662 13,010,478 5.89 48.84 Bihar Hindi 60,635,284 60,635,284 73.06 - Chhattisgarh Hindi 17,210,481 17,210,481 82.61 - Delhi Hindi 11,210,843 11,210,843 80.94 - Gujarat Gujarati 2,388,814 42,768,386 4.71 84.53 Haryana Hindi 18,460,843 18,460,843 87.31 - Himachal Hindi 5,409,758 5,409,758 89.01 - Pradesh Jammu & Kashmiri 1,870,264 5,425,733 18.44 53.88 Kashmir Jharkhand Hindi 15,510,587 15,510,587 57.56 - Karnataka Kannada 1,344,877 34,838,035 02.54 66.06 Kerala Malayalam 26,386 30,803,747 0.08 96.75 Madhya Hindi 52,658,687 52,658,687 87.26 - Pradesh

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Maharashtra Marathi 10,681,641 66,643,942 11.03 68.88 Manipur Manipuri 24,720 1,266,098 01.14 53.01 Meghalaya Khasi and 50,055 1,091,087 02.16 47.31 Garo 990,000 Mizoram Mizo 10,530 674756 01.19 75.73 Nagaland *Nagamese 56,981 30000 02.86 - Orissa Oriya 1,043,243 30,563,507 02.83 83.26 Punjab Punjabi 1,851,128 22,334,369 07.60 91.95 Rajasthan Hindi 51,407,216 51,407,216 90.97 - Sikkim Nepali 36,072 338,606 06.67 62.65 Tamil Nadu Tamil 189,474 59,377,942 0.30 95.60 Tripura Bengali 53,691 2,147,994 01.68 67.31 Uttar Hindi 151,770,131 151,770,131 91.32 - Pradesh Uttaranchal Hindi 7,466,413 7,466,413 87.95 - West Bengal Bengali 5,747,099 68,369,255 07.17 85.23

*In Nagaland English is the official language but people of Nagaland speak 60 dialects of Sino-Tibetan family. No one language is dominant here but the wide spoken among them is nagamese which is a Creole.

From the above table we can see that in all the states Hindi is not the dominant language. Out of twenty eight states Hindi is dominant in ten states which is not even half of the total states. In almost sixteen states the percentage of Hindi speakers is even less than 10%. By seeing the bar diagram it is clear that Hindi is dominant mostly in the northern states. In the southern and north-eastern states Hindi speakers occupy less space. Therefore Hindi cannot be said the dominant language of India and so the importation of the soviet language policy is not justified in Indian context.

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West Bengal Uttaranchal Uttar Pradesh Tripura Tamil Nadu Sikkim Rajasthan Punjab Orissa Nagaland Mizoram Meghalaya Manipur Maharashtra State Dominant Language Madhya Pradesh Speakers Kerala Karnataka Hindi speakers Jharkhand Jammu & Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Haryana Gujarat Delhi Chhattisgarh Bihar Assam Arunachal Pradesh Andhra Pradesh

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Percentage

Figure 3.1: Bar Diagram showing Distribution of Hindi and Dominant Language Speakers of each State.

One more distinction is that Hindi consists of 49 dialects in itself and then it makes up the 39% and the speakers of these languages do not agree they speak Hindi. Hindi is spoken in the Northern belt but Russian occupies a wider territory. So we can see that like Russian, Hindi do not have a strong background and platform. The selection of a language policy without looking into the historical, social, cultural, educational and 91

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India religious history will land up the nation in utter confusions. The kind of promotion being given to Hindi is leading India towards Stalin‟s model of language policy i.e. hegemony of Hindi over all. The Government of India for three consecutive years i.e. 1963-64, 1964-65 and 1965-66, has spent Rs 4, 65, 00,000 for the propagation and development of Hindi. for all other languages put together- Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu...... have spent a meagre amount for Rs 21,79,000. For Hindi alone...... about Rs 4,65,00,000...... for Hindi alone, they have spent twenty times more than the amount spent for all the other languages put together.” (CAD April 7, 1967:3632-33)

The idea of National flag, National Anthem, National bird, etc had occupied the minds of the leaders but they were unaware of the resentments being aroused by the idea of National language. So Schiffman rightly said that, ”The biggest mistake of post-Independence language policy in India was not that planners sought a policy that would remove English and better suit Indian circumstances, but that they chose another foreign model for their language policy, one that on the surface seemed egalitarian and multilingual but was otherwise ill-equipped for Indian circumstances”.(Schiffman, 1996:165)

3.7 Hindi: From National to Official Language: Hindi is our National Language, this is what most of the Indians know, in fact more than half of India‟s population is under the same impression. They are ignorant of the fact that Hindi is only our official language and there is no one national language in India. So it is very important to know what is a national language, what is the difference between a national

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India language and an official language. A language which serves the whole country is a national language or a language which is spoken by the majorities or a language which binds the society with effective communication. According to V. V. Vinogradov national language, is the presence of a single standardized literary language, formed on a popular basis, common for the whole nation and covering all the spheres of communication. (Kluyev,1981:4) For monolingual countries this term can be used successfully but for a multilingual nation like India, this term is a bit abstract one, because it is not possible to have an effective communication across the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Gujarat to extreme east in one language. A language which integrates the people of a nation and serves the function of nationalism is known as a national language and „when employed to achieve the end of nationalism is designated as official language‟. (Srivastava,1984:111) At the time of gaining Independence every one‟s primary attention was on removing English by one language and that will be the national language of India. Before Independence it was Hindustani which was proposed as the national language of India. Gandhi, Nehru and others thought that to represent a multi-ethnic nation like India it is important to have a neutral language as the national language, so that the controversy of Hindi-Urdu can be avoided. According to Gandhi (1956:3) the criteria of a language for becoming the national language were: 1. It should be easy to learn for Government officials.

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2. It should be capable of serving all the domains, religion, politics, etc. 3. It should be the majority language. 4. It should be easy enough to learn for everyone. 5. No temporary or passing interest should be considered while choosing this language.

Gandhi while his Presidential address at the Second Gujarat Educational Conference, Broach, Oct.20, 1917 gave these criteria. In his speech he said that English can‟t fulfil all the criteria but Hindi can. So he very strongly said,

Hindi has already established itself as the national language of India. We have been using it as such for a long time. The birth of Urdu is due to this fact. (Gandhi, 1956:6)

Gandhi fully supported Hindustani because he knew that the Hindi-Urdu controversy can become a hindrance in the path of development. So in any case he wanted a common language i.e., ‟Hindustani‟. His mind was preoccupied with the fact of replacing English. He was more afraid of the English encroachment than the Hindi-Urdu controversy. So his ideal language of integration was „Hindustani‟. But in doing so he forgot that the language he was considering as a common language was made up of Hindi-Urdu, which has nothing to do with the whole of South India. A common language cannot be produced synthetically but the use and development of a language by its user, flourishes a language into a pan language.

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In the “making of a „common‟ that is, national language, it is necessary to take into account that in the relationship between language and society there are present not two, but three elements: language, society and communication.”(Kluyev,1981:5) The basic function of a language is communication and in a multilingual country where there are more than hundred languages spoken, communication will seize with the use of a single language, which is not even spoken by half of the population. The people of South India had more fear of dominance of Hindi than of English. In the essays written by Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, it has been mentioned that: “we must have two scripts: the composite Devanagri-Bengali-Guajarati-Marathi; and the Urdu-Sindhi; and if necessary, a script for the Southern languages, unless this can be approximated to the first.” (Gandhi, 1956:192) While saying „we‟ was he referring the whole India and if so then why he used this „if necessary‟ for scripts used in the south. Script is also one of the important factors in determining a language as a standard language and sometimes it plays even a bigger role as in Hindi-Urdu case. Gandhi knew that to make Hindustani the pan India language it is important to have the conscience of the South. So Gandhi in his Presidential address at the second meeting of the All India Sahitya Parishad in Madras (1937) said that: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada must be there and will be there. But why not teach the illiterate in these parts these languages through Devanagri script? In the interest of the national unity we desire to achieve, the adoption of Devanagri: as a common script is so essential. (Gandhi, 1956:46)

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But Gandhi failed to popularize Hindustani Prachar Sabha in north India because of some hard core orthodox movements like „Shudhi‟ and „Sangathan‟ movements in favour of Hindi by Shraddhananda and Madan Mohan Malaviya. Not only Gandhi tried to promote Hindustani but there were others too working in favour of Hindustani. Like Hindustani academy founded in 1927 by Raja Rajeshwar Bali, Hindustani culture society in 1945 by Bhagwan Das, Tara Chand etc tried to promote Hindustani so that in future it can be easily made the national language without entering into any controversy. Some other important leaders who supported Hindustani to become the national language are Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Maulvi Abdul Haq, Mian Bashir Ahmad, Dr. Zakir Husain, Kaka Kalelkar, Maulana Sulaiman Nadvi, Mr. Asaf Ali, Prof. Amaranath Jha, and Mr. Rajagopalachariar etc. But there were others who considered Hindustani as an abstract notion and thus not fit for becoming the national language. Also there were some who were of the thought that Hindustani is nothing but a simpler form of Urdu. So they strongly backed up Hindi with Sanskritized form. People like Purushottamdas Tandon, K.M. Munshi, Govind Das, Dr. Dhirendra Verma were of this view. There were some like Sumittranandan pant, Mohammad Din Taseer who said there is no need of a common language at this point and let Hindustani grow and get accepted by all. Before partition people agreed for Hindustani but after July 1947 the orthodox Hindi leaders dislodged Hindustani and demanded that Hindi alone, written in the Devanagri script, be made the national language but latter agreed on the term official instead of national (Das Gupta, 1970:131). Despite the support of many important leaders like Mahatma, Nehru, etc Hindustani failed to achieve its position. As

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India soon as it happened many from the south started showing their disagreement on behalf of Hindi. Even in the proceedings of the Constitution assembly, the southern representatives regardless of their mother tongue (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam) were showing their resistance against Hindi as the sole national language.

So after that Hindi along with English with a term of fifteen years was termed as an associate official language. But still there was a strong resentment against Hindi, because in the name of Hindustani, Hindi was given the status of official language. “The drafting Constitution which appeared in 1948 changed Hindustani to Hindi even without the official sanction of the assembly.” (Chaklader, 1990:63). So it was wrong on part of some leaders and scholars to use Hindustani and Hindi interchangeably. The form of Hindi which became the official language was never the Hindustani spoken at that time. So we can say that they are two different forms, one being neutral and other being charged with communal feelings. Mr. R. V. Dulekar in the Constituent Assembly on 13th Sep. 1949, while speaking on the question of the official language, said:

I say, it is….. -„it‟ means Hindi- …….the official language and it is a national language. You may demure it; you may belong to another nation. But I belong to Indian nation, „the Hindi nation‟, „the Hindustani nation‟, „the Hindu nation‟. (CAD,1967:3630)

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Is Hindi fit to be called the „national language or official language‟? It was an important question which needed a strong answer. S. V. Krishnamoorthy Rao of Karnataka “argued that it was unfair to declare a language that was not even understood by one third of the country and still not standardized as an official language.” (Agnihotri, 2007:192)

In 1961 only 30% of the population returned Hindi as their mother tongue and is still being spoken only by 41.03% (2001 census), i.e., not even by half of the population despite being promoted with a higher degree. As we know Hindi in itself is an amalgamation of many dialects (as many as 49). There are many languages grouped under Hindi which are as competent to be known as a language. Languages like Bhojpuri, Maithili, Rajasthani etc are to be considered a dialect or language. The representatives of these major regional languages are trying hard to get them affiliation in the Eighth Schedule. Maithili has got and may be in future others to will get. The growth of these dialects into languages will ultimately affect the Hindi speaking claimants in future. Likewise there are many contradicting situations which bring Hindi under question. With the growing consciousness among the speakers of other languages and dialects and with the growing popularity of English, where will Hindi stand. English is more popular as a second language than Hindi, 8% speak English as their second language, 3.15% as a third language, whereas just 6.15% of Indians, not having Hindi as their mother tongue choose Hindi as second and 2.16% as third languages. (Benedikter, 2009:170)

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Not only Hindi was opposed by the Southern people but also by the supporters of Bengali and Sanskrit. So Hindi faces conflicts at various levels: 1. As a language of national communication it comes into conflict with English, which is recognized as an associate official language of the union. 2. As a developed (inter-) regional language at the state level it comes into conflict with Tamil, Bengali, etc. 3. As a lingua franca for its own dialects, it comes into conflict with Maithili, Bhojpuri, etc. 4. As an alternate literary variant it comes into conflict with Urdu. 5. As an interethnic link language, it comes into conflict with Santhali, Khasi, etc. (Sridhar, 1996)

Any coercive method of homogenization under the popular banner of „national integration‟ or „assimilation of cultures‟ will give rise or can be said has given rise to agitation and revolt.

3.8 The Official Language Act, 1993: After facing lots of resentment and controversies on the issue of making Hindi as the national language, the Constitution dropped this term national and adopted official which was acceptable to all. The forthcoming crisis was of making Hindi the sole official language of India. The non-Hindi people wanted English also as one of the associate official language. They were not ready to accept Hindi as the sole official language. So a special committee was formed to bring out a compromising position. The committee consisted of members like

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Ayyangar, Krishnamachari, Munshi, Ayyar, Ambedkar, Sadulla, Rao, Azad, Tandon, Pant, Sharma, Mookherjee and Santhanam. The committee suggested English would be the sole official language for ten years and for five more if Parliament agreed by two-thirds majority. Somehow the formula did not have acceptance. Then a new formula was suggested by Munshi-Ayyanagar which got popularized as the ‟Munshi- Ayyanagar formula‟, which got the largest support. The Munshi- Ayyanagar formula was considered as the building blocks of the language provisions of the constitution. Further with some modification this formula got its place in the part XVII of the Constitution. (Chaklader, 1990:67) th, Thus on Sept. 14 1949, the Constituent Assembly passed the Constitutional provision regarding the Official Languages. Hindi was made an official language instead of national language. So the Constitution nowhere mentions or describes the term „national‟. With Hindi, the Constitution permitted the use of English for fifteen years from the date of promulgation of the Constitution. It was after the death of Nehru in 1964 that Gulzarilal Nanda the then Home Minister once again tried to impose Hindi on others. This attempt of dropping English as the official language led to a very strong protest from the Southern part of India. As the people of the South had the fear of getting less job opportunities as compared to the people of North. There insecurity regarding Hindi led to a massive protest in the South and in June 1965 a meeting of all the Chief Ministers held in Delhi in which it was decided to retain English.

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The Non-Hindi states were assured that Hindi would never be imposed upon them, that English will be retained as an associate additional official language as long as even a single non-Hindi state desired it. This was the Official Language Amendment Act 1967. (Brass,1994:166)

This forced the Government to retain English and thus led to amendment in the official language act. Thus Section – 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 passed by the Parliament provides for the continued use of English along with Hindi even after 1965.

The Chapter XVII (Article 343 to 351) of the Constitution gives detailed information about the official languages of the Union and the State. (see Appendix B). Also The Official Language Policy of the Union has been thoroughly described under Article 120 (Part 5), Article 210 (Part 6), Articles 343, 344 and from Article 348 to 357 of the Constitution. Like article 343 discusses the languages used for the official purposes of the Union, article 345 deals with the languages that are to be used for the official purpose of each State and Union Territory, article 346 gives an account for the language that are to be used for communication between the Union and State inter se. The provisions of the official language of India may be divided into nine parts: 1. Official language of the Union. 2. Official languages of the State. 3. Language of inter-communication. 4. Language of the Supreme Court. 5. Formation of a language commission.

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6. Language to be used in Union Parliament and State legislatures. 7. Safeguards for Linguistic Minorities. 8. Miscellaneous provisions for the promotion, development and use of Hindi language. 9. Specification of some important languages as the national languages. (Chaklader, 1990:67-68)

There are very few states in India which recognizes only one language as the official language. Each state has some clause to protect its linguistic minorities. Also Hindi is not the pan India language.

Table 3.2: Official/Officially Recognized Languages (2001) No. State Official Language Other Officially Recognized Languages 1. Andhra Pradesh Telugu (1964) Urdu, Oriya 2. Arunachal Pradesh English - 3. Assam Assamese (1960) Bengali, Bodo 4. Bihar Hindi Urdu (1980) 5. Chhattisgarh Hindi - 6. Goa Konkani Marathi, Kannada 7. Gujarat Guajarati, Hindi - (1960) 8. Haryana Hindi Punjabi 9. Himachal Pradesh Hindi Punjabi 10. Jammu & Kashmir Urdu - 11. Jharkhand Hindi - 12. Karnataka Kannada (1963) Malayalam, Tamil, Urdu, Telugu

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13. Kerala Malayalam (1969) English, Tamil, Kannada 14. Madhya Pradesh Hindi (1957) - 15. Maharashtra Marathi (1964) 16. Manipur Meitei/Manipuri - 17. Meghalaya English Khasi, Garo 18. Mizoram English Mizo 19. Nagaland English - 20. Orissa Oriya (1954) - 21. Punjab Punjabi - 22. Rajasthan Hindi (1956) - 23. Sikkim English Nepali, Lepcha, Bhotia 24. Tamil Nadu Tamil (1956) - 25. Tripura English Bengali, Kokborok 26. Uttarakhand Hindi, English Urdu 27. Uttar Pradesh Hindi Urdu (1982) 28. West Bengal Bengali (1961) Nepali (1973) Union territory 1. Andaman & Hindi, English Tamil, Telugu, Bengali Nicobar islands 2. Chandigarh Punjabi, Hindi, - English 3. Dadar and Nagar Marathi, Guajarati - Haveli 4. Daman and Diu Guajarati, English Marathi 5. Delhi Hindi, English Urdu, Punjabi 6. Lakshadweep Malayalam - 7. Puducherry Tamil, English & Malayalam, Telugu French

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Out of 28 states, 18 States do not have Hindi as their official language. They are as follows:- Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and West Bengal. To promote the use of Hindi for the official purposes of the Union, the Department of Official Language was set up in June, 1975 as an independent Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The Department of Official Language prepares an Annual Programme in which targets are fixed for different items of work for the progress of Hindi. Also Committees have been set up at different levels to promote use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union. They include, Committee of Parliament on Official Language, Kendriya Hindi Samiti, Hindi Salahkar Samitis, Central Official Language Implementation Committee and Town Official Language Implementation Committees. The Government is spending lots of money for the promotion of Hindi. In the years (2000-01,2001-02 and 2002-03) in all a sum of Rs. 1050- 00 lakhs under the Plan Programmes and Rs. 3681.00 lakhs under the Non-Plan Programmes respectively, have been allotted to Department of Official Language for the development of Official Language Hindi. (http://www.rajbhasha.gov.in/parlquesteng.htm, Question No 2129, Lok Sabha)

The continuous effort to make Hindi the sole official language is going on but in that the Government should not forget the other languages of India they are equally important. It is these languages which makes India different from any other nation and makes it a multilingual mosaic. So to maintain this multilingual essence of India the Government has given recognition to 22 scheduled languages in the Constitution. Starting 104

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India from 14 it has reached 22 and still languages are growing and finding place in the Eighth Scheduled.

3.9 The Eighth Scheduled: India has 114 languages in its Census records. Out of those only 22 languages have got place in the Eighth Schedule. It is not possible to recognize all the languages. But what was the need of having a Eighth Schedule in the Constitution. The Eighth Schedule was originally Schedule VII-A in the draft Constitution. At the time of Independence everyone was busy dealing the issue of „National language‟. But it was evident that a nation with such a vast linguistic diversity cannot be governed only by implementing one language. So in order to maintain the multilingual ethos of India the Constitution gave place to fourteen languages when the Constitution was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th Nov, 1949. This Schedule has emerged as the most important language policy statement. For the sake of national integration many stated these fourteen languages as the „national languages‟. Like Nehru in 1963 while addressing the Indian Parliament said that, “all the thirteen or fourteen” languages in the eighth Schedule are “national languages” (Nehru‟s speech, 4:65). The report of the official language commission refers to the languages in the eighth schedule as „regional languages‟, while “the official report of the Committee on Emotional Integration refers to all the fourteen languages listed in the original Eighth Schedule as having the status of national languages”. (as cited in Das, 1970:38-39) The first question which needs to be addressed is why there was a need to have a Eighth Schedule in the Constitution. Was the Government keen to 105

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India give importance to some languages to maintain national integration or there was some other political or linguistic reasons. The Schedule‟s original purpose was stated in the Article 351 and 344. First was the corpus planning of Hindi as stated in Article 351 of the Constitution- “It shall be the duty of the union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule and secondarily on other languages.” (Benidikter, 2009:25). The second Article 344-(1) states “Commission and Committee of Parliament on Official language-The President shall, at the expiration of five years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such commencement, by order constitute a Commission which shall consist of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the order shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission”. As stated by Mr. Moturi Satyanaranana, a member of the Drafting Committee on the Language Resolution States that after a discussion on the fluidity of languages in India, Pandit Nehru asked him to prepare a list of languages. He gave a list of twelve languages and after seeing that he added one more and that was Urdu. (Viswanatham, 2001:303). But still it is not clear that how he arrived at these twelve languages. The criteria of selection of these languages were never clear. It was rather on political preferences more. “The Part XIV-A of the Draft Constitution in the

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Constituent Assembly on 12th Sep, 1949 has Schedule VII-A consisting of thirteen languages. They are Assamese, Bengali, Canarese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.” (Viswanatham, 2001) In 1950 the number became fourteen by adding some and replacing others. For example the name of the language „Canarese‟ was substituted by the name „Kannada‟ through an amendment moved by S. V. Krishnamoorthy. (CAD, p. 1486). So after that the fourteen languages were Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Later on Sindhi was added in 1967 through the 21st amendment. Then Nepali, Manipuri, Konkani in 1992 through 71st amendment and finally in 2003 Maithili, Dogri, Santali, Bodo got its place in the Eighth Schedule through the 92nd amendment. Now the number has risen to twenty-two.

Table 3.3: List of Scheduled Languages and their Year of Recognition. Languages Language Yr. of Areas Spoken in. Family Recognition Assamese Indo-Aryan 1950 Assam Bengali Indo-Aryan 1950 West Bengal, Assam, Jharkhand, Tripura Bodo Tibeto- 2003 Assam Burman Dogri Indo-Aryan 2003 Jammu and Kashmir Gujrati Indo-Aryan 1950 Gujarat, Hindi Indo-Aryan 1950 Most of Northern India Kannada Dravidian 1950 Karnataka Kashmiri Dardic 1950 Jammu and Kashmiri Konkani Indo-Aryan 1992 Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra

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Maithili Indo-Aryan 2003 Bihar Malayalam Dravidian 1950 Kerala, Manipuri Tibeto- 1992 Manipur Burman Marathi Indo-Aryan 1950 Maharashtra Nepali Indo-Aryan 1992 Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam Oriya Indo-Aryan 1950 Orissa Punjabi Indo-Aryan 1950 Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana Sanskrit Indo-Aryan 1950 Mattur Santali Austro- 2003 Jharkhand Asiatic Sindhi Indo-Aryan 1967 Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh Tamil Dravidian 1950 Tamil Nadu Telugu Dravidian 1950 Andhra Pradesh Urdu Indo-Aryan 1950 Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi

Still the inclusion does not stop here. 38 languages are still on the waiting list for getting recognition. They are Angika (Bihar), Banjara, Bajika (Bihar), Bhojpuri (Bihar & Uttar Pradesh), Bhoti, Bhotia, Bundelkhandi, Chhattisgarhi, Dhatki, English, Garhwali (Pahari), Gondi, Gujjar or Gujjari, Ho, Kaachachhi, Kamtapuri, Karbi, Khasi, Kodava (Coorg), Kok Barak, Kumaoni (Pahari), Kurak, Lepcha, Limbu, Mizo (Lushai), Magahi (Bihar), Mundari, Nagpuri, Nicobarese, Pahari (Himachali), Pali, Rajasthani, Sambalpuri or Kosali, Shaurseni (Prakrit), Siraiki, Tenyidi and Tulu. In India there are five language families and out of 22 Schedule languages, 14 are of Indo-Aryan, 4 of Dravidian, 2 are of Tibeto-Burman and 1 of Austro-Asiatic group. Out of 114 languages present in India, 88 108

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India languages are tribal languages. (Benedikter, 2009:58). Still the number of tribal languages recognized under the Eighth Schedule is so meagre. The two entire language families the Tibeto-Burman and the Austro-Asiatic have been neglected. The development of the Schedule languages will lead India to a greater cleavage between the major and minor languages. This „Reductionist policy‟ of the government will hamper the multilingual ethos of the country. The big fishes will swallow the smaller one (those not listed in the Eighth Schedule). (Abbi, 2004). Abbi has pointed out several negative consequences of the Eighth Schedule. One is the marginalization and stigmatization of several languages. The Eighth Schedule has created discord and tension by creating a list of prestigious and privileged languages. The benefits the speakers of these languages are availing are being eligible candidate for employment, having the medium of instruction and examination, translation facility, being language of mass media, thus creating a hierarchy of conflict. But if taken positively this Eighth Schedule has made the speakers of other languages think of developing their language in order to have place in the Eighth Schedule. That‟s why the number has risen from fourteen to twenty-two and many more are trying hard to develop their language. Scholars like Pattanayak, Abbi, U.N. Singh are strongly against the enlisting of languages in the eighth Schedule. As stated by Pattanayak, “the Eighth Schedule instead of maintain and promoting multilingualism in the country props up dominant monolingualism. By not recognizing diversity it indirectly supports language imperialism at the national as well as regional levels.” (Pattnayak, 1995:55)

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As stated by U. N. Singh (1995: 46-47) there are three views regarding the Eighth Scheduled: 1. Some view it as the end- the ultimate goal.(like by language activists) 2. Some view the Schedule as a port that lies in the mid course- as a milestone for direction or as an instrument of change. 3. Some view the Schedule as a beginning- a preamble with expected political overtones and an avowed policy of language engineering. Table 3.4: Languages in the Eighth Schedule with their speakers’ strength. (Census 2001) No. Languages Number of Percentage of total speakers population 1 Hindi 42,20,48,642 41.02 2 Bengali 8,33,69,769 8.1 3 Telugu 7,40,02,856 7.1 4 Marathi 7,19,36,894 6.9 5 Tamil 6,07,93,814 5.9 6 Urdu 5,15,36,111 5.0 7 Gujarati 4,60,91,617 4.4 8 Kannada 3,79,24,011 3.6 9 Malayalam 3,30,66,392 3.2 10 Oriya 3,30,17,446 3.2 11 Punjabi 2,91,02,477 2.8 12 Assamese 1,31,68,484 1.2 13 Maithili 1,21,79,122 1.1 14 Santali 64,69,600 0.6 15 Kashmiri 55,27,698 0.5 16 Sindhi 25,35,485 0.2 17 Nepali 28,71,749 0.2 18 Konkani 24,89,015 0.2 19 Dogri 22,82,589 0.2 20 Manipuri 14,66,705 0.1 21 Bodo 13,50,478 0.1 22. Sanskrit 14,135 N

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However it is clear that the selection of these languages was not only on the basis of number of speakers because there are languages added in the Schedule which has lesser less number of speakers like Sindhi, Manipuri, Kashmiri, etc. And there are languages whose population are more than one million yet have not found any place in the Eighth Schedule. Table 3.5: Non-Schedule Languages (spoken by more than one million each) (2001 Census) Languages No. of speakers States spoken in

Bhili 9,582,957 Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra Gondi 2,713,790 Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa Khandeshi 2,075,258 Maharashtra Kurux 1,751,489 Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa Tulu 1,722,768 Karnataka, Kerala Mundari 1,061,352 Jharkhand

Some of the criteria for the inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule can be: 1. Literary traditions and scripts of their own. 2. Spoken by the largest number of people in large contiguous geographical zones as dominant languages of certain regions. 3. Political concessions. (Sindhi, Nepali) 4. Being recognized as official languages in newly formed states. (Konkani, Manipuri)

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5. Being a classical language of culture and heritage and also a resource language in modernizing the major literary languages.(Sanskrit) 6. Being spoken by a large population, geographically distributed and dispersed, but with its own script and literature. (Urdu) (Krishnamurthi, 1995:15)

But these criteria are not enough to justify the inclusion of certain languages and the non-inclusion of certain others. There are languages whose speaker strength is strong or have enough literature to be included in the Eighth Scheduled; also many have their own script, etc. So one can see that the choice of languages in the Eighth Schedule is not really based on these criteria. Only some got position are evident of the fact that many have got entry due to political dominance.

3.10 The Linguistic State Reorganization: The division of India on the basis of languages started under the British rule which dates back to 1858. The movements for reorganization were for the unification of territories having one language, thus making the regional languages strong. India during the British rule was divided into three presidencies, i.e. Bengal, Madras and Bombay. Later for ease in administration there were more provinces made. In 1836 the North- Western Provinces were made and in the 1861 the Central Provinces were created. Bengal presidency went through numerous changes. In 1905 Lord Curzon divided Bengal into two parts. One province consisted of Western part of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and the other province consisted of East Bengal and Assam. But in 1912 Bengal was reunified

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India under pressure of the national movement of the Bengalis. Later on in 1935, Sindh was made a separate province and Bihar and Orissa were divided into two. Then in 1986, Mahesh Narayan of Bihar began a movement for the removal of Hindi speaking regions from Bengal. With the separation of Bengal by Lord Curzon in 1905 the leaders of the nationalist movement began to give importance to the organization of states on language basis. The linguistic reorganization gave a base for the development of languages individually. Gandhi, Nehru, Tilak and other Congress men supported this reorganization of the country‟s administrative division on a linguistic basis. In November 1921 the congress working committee was emphatically of the opinion that all provincial proceedings should be conducted and provincial publications should be printed in the vernaculars of the respective provinces. (Kluyev, 1981:122)

It started before independence and was carried up to then. They were unaware of the complicacies that can come due to the reorganization of the states in India. After Independence a Commission (1948) was set to enquire about the establishment of linguistic provinces. It was being presided by S. K. Dar so was named Dar Commission. According to the Dar‟ Commission “the formation of provinces on exclusively or even mainly linguistic considerations is not in the large interests of the Indian nation and should not be taken in hand.” (i.bid, p123)

The Government intended to postpone the Reorganization. But the Linguistic Reorganization got mass support and thus the All India Congress Committee at Jaipur supervised by Nehru, Patel and Pattabhi

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Sitaramaiah started a fresh move to enquire about the conditions of reorganization. After the death of Potti Sreeramulu and the subsequent riots in Andhra Pradesh, the congress government was forced to create Andhra Pradesh in 1953. So in 1953 the Government was forced to appoint a new committee to provide recommendations on reorganization. Based on the report of the Committee, the Government of India passed the Act on the Reorganization of States on the Linguistic Basis. In December 1953 Pandit Nehru appointed State Reorganization Commission. This was headed by Justice Fazal Ali and the commission itself was also known as the Fazal Ali Commission. The efforts of this commission were overseen by Govind Ballabh Pant, who served as Home Minister from December 1954. The commission created a report in 1955 recommending the reorganisation of India's states. The state reorganization Commission on 30-09-1955 gave report on the linguistic reorganization of the states, in the report it was stated: 1. Not all the language groups are so placed that they can be grouped into separate states; 2. There are large numbers of bilingual belts between different linguistic areas; 3. There exist areas with a mixed population even within monolingual areas. As stated by Benedikter, (2009:37-38), The Commissions main aim was to ensure India‟s unity, linguistic and cultural homogeneity and to foster administrative convenience. Before the linguistic state reorganization the India was divided into part A, part B and part C.

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Figure 3.2: Indian Provinces and Princely States before 14 August 1947 www.ncert.nic.in/book_publishing/class8/our_past-II/12.pdf retrieved on 28/10/09

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This Act of Reorganization of State was a very important language policy. The first step towards the formation of Linguistic State was the making of Andhra Pradesh on 1st October 1953. Very intense protests followed by Hartal and Bandhs were made by the Telugu speakers for the formation of Andhra. This was the result of promises made by the Indian National Congress before Independence of giving each major linguistic group their own provinces. After this others too started demanding their own linguistic states and thus the States Reorganization Commission was set up in 1953. The act of reorganization of state led to the redrawing of the map of India by creating linguistically homogeneous states. It erased the distinction between Part A, Band C of the states and reduced the number of states from 27 to 14 excluding the 6 Union Territories. Keeping in mind the linguistic multiplicity of the country, the State Reorganization Commission took many factors in consideration for the Reorganization. 1. Cost of change (paragraphs 92-106) 2. Unity and security of India (paragraphs 107-116) 3. Language and culture (paragraphs 117-169) 4. Financial viability (paragraphs 170-184) 5. Requirements of national development plans (paragraphs 185-196) 6. Regional planning and a balanced economy (paragraphs 197-210) 7. Smaller vs. larger states (paragraphs 211-220) 8. Wishes of the people (paragraphs 221-228) 9. The facts of the existing situation are more important than the historical arguments. (paragraphs 229-231) 10. Geographical contiguity. (paragraphs 232-233)

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11. No proposals for reorganization should be determined by a single test. (paragraphs 235) (Report, SRC,1955 )

According to the report of State Reorganization Commission, 1955, it was decided to have sixteen constituent units, to be called States, and three administered territories.

States: 1. Madras: the state was reduced to its present boundaries by the transfer of Malabar District to the new state of Kerala. Later on the state was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969. Also the five taluks of Agastheeswaram, Thovala, Kalkulam, Vilavancode and Shencotta were to be transferred to the state of Madras. 2. Kerala: should consist of the state of Travancore-Cochin minus the five taluks given to Madras, the Malabar district, the Kasaragod taluk and the Amindive islands. 3. Karnataka: will consist of the present state of Mysore, the four Kannada speaking districts of Bombay namely Dharwar, Bijapur, North Kanara and Belgaum, the districts of Raichur and Gulbarga from Hyderabad, the South Kanara district of Madras, the Kollegal taluk and Coorg. 4. Hyderabad: it will consist of of the Telugu speaking districts of the present state of Hyderabad, namely, Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda, Warangal, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Nizamabad, Hyderabad and Medak, along with Bidar district and the Munagala enclave of Andhra. It was also decided that after the general elections likely to

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be held in or about 1961, the residuary state of Hyderabad might unite with Andhra, if gets a two-third majority support. 5. Andhra: the taluks of Siruguppa, Bellary and Hospet and a portion of the Mallapuram should be transferred. 6. Bombay: will include the Bombay state, the Marathi speaking districts of Hyderabad, namely, Osmanabad, Bhir, Aurangabad, Parbhani and Nanded; Saurashtra and Kutch. 7. Vidarbha: should be consisting of Marathi speaking districts of Madhya Pradesh, namely, Buldana. Akola, Amravati, Yeotmal, Wardha, Nagpur, Bhandara and Chanda. 8. Madhya Pradesh: after the separation of Vidarbha a new state known as Madhya Pradesh should be created consisting of 14 districts of the residuary Madhya Pradesh; Bhopal and Vindhya Pradesh; Madhya Bharat except Mandsaur district and the Sironj sub-dividion of the Kotah district. 9. Rajasthan: it will consist of Ajmer and the Abu Road taluk of the Banaskantha district of Bombay and the Loharu sub-tehsil of the Hissar district of Punjab. 10. The Punjab: there is no case of dividing the present Punjab state. PEPSU and the Himachal Pradesh should, however, be merged in the Punjab. 11. Uttar Pradesh: will continue in its existing form. 12. Bihar: Seraikella and Kharsawan should continue to be a part of bihar and no further changes required. 13. West Bengal: a portion of the Purnea district east of river Mahananda and the Purulia sub-district of the Manbhum district

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minus the Chas thana should be transferred from Bihar to West Bengal. 14. Assam: Tripura should be merged in Assam and the present arrangements with regard to the north east frontier agency should continue. 15. Orissa: no changes required. 16. Jammu and Kashmir: no recommendations are made.

Territories: 1. Delhi 2. Manipur 3. Andaman and Nicobar islands (SRC, pp-256-60) Finally in 1956 the Central Government agreed to create Linguistic States. And the whole of India was divided into 13 major states on linguistic lines.

Table 3.6: List of the Linguistic States formed on 1st November 1956. States Region included Andhra Pradesh Included Telangana region of Hyderabad state Assam Bihar Bombay state Included Saurashtra and Kutch, some part of Nagpur division, Marathawada region of Hyderabad.(in 1960 it split into Maharashtra and Gujarat) Jammu& Kashmir Kerala Included Malabar District Madhya Pradesh Included Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh and Bhopal Mysore state Renamed Karnataka in 1973 119

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Orissa Included all the 28 princely state Punjab Included Patiala and east Punjab states union Rajasthan Included Ajmer-Merwara state (earlier it was Rajputana) Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Union territories Andaman and Nicobar islands Delhi Himachal Pradesh Lakshadweep Pondicherry(now puduchery) Tripura Manipur (Wikipedia retrieved on 27/11/09)

So on, on November 1, 1956 the division of the states were as such: 1. Andhra Pradesh: it was enlarged by adding Telangana state and Hyderabad state. 2. Assam 3. Bihar 4. Bombay state: Saurashtra and Kutch, the Marathi-speaking districts of Nagpur Division of Madhya Pradesh, and the Marathwada region of Hyderabad were added to Bombay state. The southernmost districts of Bombay were transferred to Mysore State. Further in 1960, the state was split into the modern states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. 5. Jammu and Kashmir 6. Kerala: it was formed by the merger of Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar District of Madras State.

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7. Madhya Pradesh: Madhya Bharat, Vindhya Pradesh, and Bhopal were merged into Madhya Pradesh. 8. Madras State: the state was reduced to its present boundaries by the transfer of Malabar District to the new state of Kerala. Later on the state was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969. 9. Mysore State: it was enlarged by the addition of Coorg state and the Kannada speaking districts from southern Bombay state and western Hyderabad state. Later on in 1973 the state was renamed Karnataka. 10. Orissa: it was enlarged by the addition of 28 princely states including two princely states of Saraikela and Kharsawan, but later these two states merged with Bihar. 11. Punjab: the Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was merged into Punjab. 12. Rajasthan: Rajputana was renamed Rajasthan, and enlarged by the addition of Ajmer-Merwara state. 13. Uttar Pradesh 14. West Bengal (Wikipedia retrieved on 27/11/09)

Now in the present scenario there are 28 states and seven union territories and all are equally heterogeneous and support multilingualism. To maintain the multilingual essence of the states the state reorganization commission suggested some points;

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1. A state should be considered monolingual when about 70% or more of the entire population of the state speaks the same language. 2. A state should be considered as bilingual when about 30% or more of the entire population of the state speaks a language other than the language of the region. 3. The language of the minority should be used for conducting official business in a district and not the official language of the state if 70% or more of the population of the district speaks it. 4. In bilingual districts, municipal areas or in Taluks where minorities contribute 15% to 20% documents like government notices, electoral rolls, ration cards, etc. are to be reprinted in both the languages.

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Figure 3.3: Indian States after Linguistic Reorganization (www.ncert.nic.in/book_publishing/class8/our_past-II/12.pdf) retrieved on 28/10/09

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Thus at the time of independence India‟s soul was divided not only in two parts but in several smaller units. According to Khubchandani (1986:20), “in spite of the linguistic reorganization of the India states in 1956 based on the language identity of the dominant pressure groups, regions are not necessarily homogeneous……….. every state, apart from the dominant state language, has from one to six outside, or minority languages which are spoken by more than 20 persons per 1000 population.”(as cited in Pattanayak, 1990:57) Now fresh demands are being made for the creation of Telangana, Vidharbha and Gorkha land, etc. In 2008, UPA demanded the centre to set up the 2nd State Reorganization Commission (SRC) for creating new states. (Zee news, 2008) The creation of states at that time on linguistic basis was done because of administrative reasons.

But now in the present scenario this division is creating more problems. Now with so many states and still the demand is rising, the power of the Centre is weakening and the states are calling up the tune. This is leading the nation towards Linguistic chauvinism, which is resulting in ethnic killing in many places in India (Kuki-Naga clash, etc.). Recently a ruckus over language happened in the Maharashtra Assembly. On the first day of the session of the Maharashtra Assembly on 9th, November 2009 over a dozen Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) members stormed the podium and attacked a Samajwadi Party member Abu Azmi who was taking the oath of office in Hindi instead of Marathi. “The outrageous incidents took place in the wake of the MNS president Raj Thackeray‟s open letter to party legislators asking them to take the oath in Marathi, and his veiled warning against using any other language.” (The Hindu, 10 Nov 2009). This is hampering the multilingual essence of the country. If 124

Chapter Three: Language Policy of India people of same community and same language will be segregated then instances of multilingualism will decrease. Multilingualism results only when there is interaction among people of different community or different linguistic background.

3.11 Language Provisions in the Constitution: Apart from the Eighth Scheduled, keeping in mind the multilingual situation of India, the planners of the constitution have paid special attention in specifying which language to be used for official purposes, which for regional, educational and administrative. The language policy of India is pluristic in approach. For managing multilingualism the whole of part xvii of the constitution is devoted to language. Some of the articles describing the use of language in different domains are: Article 29: it enunciates the fundamental rights of any section of citizens residing anywhere in India to conserve its distinct language, script or culture. Article 30: seeks to protect the rights of all minorities based on religion or language-to establish and administer educational institution of their choice. Article 120: lays down the official language of Parliament. It says business in Parliament may be transacted in English or in Hindi. However Hon‟ble Speaker of the Lok Sabha may permit any member to address the house in his/her mother tongue under special circumstances. Article 210: lays down the corresponding language provision for State legislature.

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Article 343: stipulates Hindi in Devanagri script as the official language of the union. Article 344: enables the President of India to constitute an official language commission after five years and then to review the progress made by Hindi. Article 345: empowers the “legislature of a state to adopt one or more languages in use in that State as the official language or languages for the State.” Article 346: “provides that the official language of the union (Hindi or English) shall be the official language for communication between the Union and a State and between the States inter se.” Article 348: stipulates that the language of the Supreme Court and High Court shall be English until the Parliament by law otherwise provides. State may, in addition, use their official language(s) for this purpose but the English text will be deemed authoritative. Article 349: no change of article 348 can be contemplated for 15 years and after that period the President of India must be satisfied of the need for a change. Article 350A: inserted by the 7th Amendment provides for local authorities in every state endeavouring to extent adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups and for the President issuing necessary direction to any state. An Article 394A (part 22): inserted by the 56th Amendment act provided for an authoritative text of the constitution in the Hindi language.

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This shows that the constitution is working in favour of multilingualism. At the Union level various commissions and boards have been formed to look after the language development programs. The Government of India has set up the following prominent institutions and agencies under the Union Government of India: Parliamentary Committee The Commission for Scientific and Technical Terminology Central Institute of Indian Languages. National Council for the Promotion of Urdu language. Central Institute of Hindi or Kendriya Hindi Sansthan. Central Hindi Directorate. National Council for the Promotion of Sindhi Language. Central Translation Bureau National Council of Educational Research and Training Sahitya Akademi

The main aim and objective of these institutions and agencies are the development of Indian languages. Many textbooks, official documents, etc are being translated in the regional languages. The Constitution does favour multilingualism. However some social problems do come in the way of success of these policies and laws of the Constitution.

So the Constitution of India has always kept provisions for the proper working and development of the entire languages whether it is a major language or a minor language. The Constitution of India is flexible enough for maintaining the heterogeneous and multilingual essence of the country. The language policy of India is pluralistic in nature. The

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Chapter Three: Language Policy of India language policies of India are made keeping in mind the multiplicity of languages and heterogeneity. The only problem which it faces is at the level of implementation.

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Introduction: Language is a means of gaining knowledge. Language is also an important medium of imparting education. There is not much difference between knowledge and education. They are co-related. Education leads to knowledge. Knowledge can be self driven. But education needs proper planning and policy which predefines set of rules, regulations and curriculum. For this institutions are involved for imparting education. Education helps in the process of socialization. Education plays an important role in molding the character and personality of a person. Education is a process of learning which can be done via language. The main problem is of deciding which language will be used as the medium of instruction. It is education which can bring national integration in a multilingual nation. Also education is a good means of maintaining multilingualism and maintaining national integration. Language is not only a medium of imparting education but it is also a subject matter of education. In earlier days due importance was given to language instruction. Earlier the literary language was considered fit for imparting education. There was no place for vernaculars. The language of the common man was considered impure. So today‟s classical languages were used as a medium of instruction. Education in India can be traced back to 3rd century B.C. At that time education was mostly imparted via Sanskrit language. Also the education mostly depended on caste hierarchy. Education was only confined to the upper caste people. There were two competing system of education the pathashala and gurukul (homes of teachers) system. It was when Buddhism spread in India, education became available to everyone and

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Chapter Four: Education Policy of India this led to the establishment of some world famous educational institutions Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshashila. There were two stages of education: the primary and the secondary. The language of the common people was given due importance at that time. “The medium of Buddhist education was the common language of the people.” (Jayapalan, 2005:22) During the medieval period, the Muslims had maktabs (primary schools) and madrassas (for higher education) system. The medium was basically Persian and Arabic and even the Hindus adopted Persian in order to get jobs in the Mughal courts. In every era vernaculars were considered not fit for imparting education. The world recognized the value of mother tongue only after the publication of the UNESCO Monograph on the use of the vernaculars in education in 1953. According to the findings of UNESCO, It is through his mother tongue that every human being first learns to formulate and express his ideas about himself and about the world in which he lives. (Chaklader, 1990: p. 281) May be the world recognized the value of mother tongue education after the publication of the UNESCO. But in India the struggle for giving due importance to mother tongue education can be traced back to the early 19th century. “The Bombay education society expressed itself in favor of the native language as the medium of instruction as far back as 1821.” (Pattnayak, 1981:138-39).

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When the British came to India, already India had many schools or pathshalas. The medium of instruction in these schools were Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, etc. “In Bengal alone, it is said, there were about the year 1835 a hundred thousand such pathshala.” (Singh Y K., 2007:56) In the early days the British didn‟t paid much attention on the education of the Indian masses. Thus education continued to be imparted through classical languages. The British government gave funds and rewards to students who pursued education in classical languages like Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian etc. Later on the missionaries started imparting education via English. “The missionaries used education as a means of evangelization. They propagated for the spread of Christian religion through English medium.” (Nurullah and Naik, 1951) After the Charter of 1813 everyone was confused regarding the education policy of India. Some like H. H. Wilson, H. T. Prince were in favor of Oriental learning which stood on stipends paid to students in Sanskrit, Persian, and Arabic and by liberal grants for the publication of works in those languages. Some were in favor of teaching the elements of knowledge in the vernacular tongues, and the higher branches in English. At that time there were many institutions which provided education in the Indian languages. “An illustration is provided in the 1823 report of the collector of Bellary District, enumerating that out of 533 schools in the district, 235 schools employed Carnataca(Kannada), 226 Teloogoo(Telugu), 23 Mahratta(Marathi), 21 Persian, 4 Tamil, one English medium;” (Khubchandani, 2001). But then came to a major turning point in the educational policy of India. This is known as Macaulay‟s Minute.

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Macaulay’s Minute: Many regard Macaulay‟s minute as a very important education policy of India. Macaulay‟s stay was not for long in India. During his stay he made two important contributions. One was the drafting of the Criminal Procedure Code and another was the Minute he wrote in 1835. Macaulay came to India on June 1834 as a member of the supreme council of India. Macaulay in his minute criticized the Charter of 1813 claiming that it no where mentions the choice of languages for the promotion of knowledge and education. He was very much against the spending of money for the encouragement of studies in Arabic and Sanskrit. Also he was against the use of any of the Indian vernaculars for the learning process. The dialects commonly spoken among the natives of this part of India, contain neither literary nor scientific information, and are, moreover, so poor and rude that…… it will not be easy to translate any valuable work into them. (Thirumalai, 2003, p. 15)

He completely ignored the value of the Indian languages which has been timely honored by many British people like Sir William Jones. In his minute he has mentioned that „I have no knowledge of either Sanskrit or Arabic‟, still he made very harsh comments regarding the languages of India, “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia.” This shows how unscholarly his decision was. So he gave no place to vernaculars/mother tongues in higher studies. His full support was for English education. His ideas and imagination regarding English was very high and gave many arguments

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Chapter Four: Education Policy of India in favor of English, that „English is the language of two great European communities which are rising‟. In his minute he also raised questions regarding the choice of students in education. He claimed that students seeking education in Sanskrit and Arabic are not happy with their qualifications and even after getting education they are not able to have a decent living and get very less job opportunities. The main points of his minutes were: 1. English is worth knowing than Sanskrit or Arabic. 2. Natives also want to be taught English. 3. The English educated Indian natives will serve as interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern. 4. English stands pre-eminent even among the languages of the west.

Macaulay visualized that English will bring revival and renaissance in the same manner as Latin or Greek did in England. He concluded with these comments, “Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernaculars dialects of the country.” (ibid, p.21) A strong objection against the Macaulay‟s Minute came from H. T. Prinsep, another member of the supreme council. His argument against that was “to the great body of people of India, English is as strange as Arabic was to the knights of the dark ages.” But on 7th march 1835 the governor general William Bentinck agreed with Macaulay‟s Minute, thus making it a cornerstone of Indian educational policy. The government was eager to establish Macaulay‟s Minute, as it was a stepping stone towards getting cheap English-educated Indian servants. Also English would serve as a communicating link between the rulers and the ruled. 133

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Macaulay is highly criticized not for implementing English education but for his views regarding the Indian languages. His ignorance regarding the Indian literature and languages was his main fault. Later on in 1836, as President of the General Committee of public instruction, he wrote, “We are deeply sensible to the importance of encouraging the cultivation of the vernacular languages. We conceive the information of a vernacular literature to be the ultimate object to which all our efforts must be directed.” (Singh, Y. K, 2007:68) Where on one hand Macaulay completely ignored the Indian vernaculars, Charles Wood gave some relaxation to the vernaculars. Charles Wood sent a dispatch to Lord Dalhousie in 1854. In which he mentioned, In any general system of education, the English language should be taught where there is a demand for it; but such instruction should always be combined with careful attention to the study of the vernacular language of the districts. (Choudhary. S, 2009, p. 381)

To an extent Wood's Dispatch of 1854 can be considered the foundation of present system of education in India. With the introduction of Wood's Dispatch known as Magna Carta of Indian education, the whole scenario changed. Before the British came to India the education system was private one but with Wood‟s dispatch the government stated giving due importance to education. British government started giving funds to indigenous schools in need of help and thus slowly some of the schools became government-aided. The main purpose of it was to prepare Indian Clerks for running local administration. Under it the means of school

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Wood‟s Despatch gave a new direction to the vernaculars as well as to the education system of India. It was recommended: 1. An education department was to be set in every province. 2. Universities on the model of the London University be established in big cities such as Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. 3. At least one government school be opened in every district. 4. Affiliated private schools should be given grant in aid. 5. The Indian natives should be given training in their mother tongue also.

After that many Universities were opened at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras and many Committees and Commissions had worked on the issue of Education policy of India. During the British rule three pattern of education came into existence:

1. The English medium, in urban centers for the education of the elite, right from the primary stage; 2. The two-tier medium, vernacular medium for primary education and English medium for the advanced stage, in towns; 3. The vernacular medium, in rural areas for primary education. (Khubchandani, 1983)

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Education Commissions and their Recommendations: Indian education system is the oldest in the world as it dates back to 3rd century B.C. Education has always been an important issue and for that the government has appointed various commissions and committees to look into the issues of education. Education Commissions in India since 1858 are: 1. The Indian Education Commission, or Hunter Commission, 1882 2. The Indian Universities Commission, 1902. 3. The Calcutta University Commission, 1917-19. 4. The Hartog Committee, 1928-29. 5. Abbot-Wood Committee, 1936-37. 6. Zakir Hussain/Wardha Committee on Basic Education, 1938. 7. The Sergeant Report, 1944. 8. The University Education Commission/ Radhakrishnan Commission, 1948-49. 9. B. G. Kher Committee on Primary Education, 1951. 10. The Secondary Education Commission, 1952-53. 11. Official Language Commission, 1956. 12. The university Grants Commission/ Kunzuru Committee Report. 13. The Education Commission/ Kothari Commission, 1964-66. 14. Dr. Trigun Sen/ Higher Education Committee Report, 1967. 15. The Study Group Reports on the Teaching of English, 1967-71. 16. National Policy on Education, 1986. 17. Archarya Ramamurti Commission, 1990. (Choudhary. S, 2009, p. 518)

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Summary of Recommendations given by the Commissions (1948-66):

1. The Conference of the Vice-chancellors of the Universities (1948), recommended the replacement of English by Indian languages as the medium of instruction at the university level after five years. 2. The Conference of the Education Ministers of the State (1948), recommended the adoption of mother tongue as the medium of instruction at the primary and secondary school levels, with the state language when it differed from the mother tongue to be studied as a compulsory subject. 3. The University Education Commission (1949) also known as Radhakrishnan Commission recommended that students at the secondary and university level should know at least three languages, namely the regional language, the link language Hindi and English. 4. The Secondary Education Commission (1952) endorsed the recommendation of the Education Minister‟s Conference and additionally, it recommended the study of at least two other languages, e.g. Hindi and English, at the higher primary level. 5. The English Review Committee also known as Kunzuru Committee appointed by the University Grants Commission 1955 emphasized to „go slow‟ on the switch over to regional languages as media of instruction at the university level, and argued the need for continued study of English by all university students even after the switch in media. 6. The Central Advisory Board of Education (1957), suggested what has come to be known as the Three Language Formula, which was 137

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adopted by the state Chief Ministers in 1961. This policy recommended the study of (i) the regional languages, (ii) Hindi in non-Hindi areas and any other Indian language in the Hindi area and (iii) English or any other modern European language. 7. The Education Commission also known as the Kothari Commission (1964-66) looked into the problems faced by the states in implementing the Three Language Formula, and recommended a „modified‟, Three Language Formula which won general acceptance and is the language policy currently in force in most of India.

(Sridhar. K,1983 :17-19)

But still the development of vernaculars to meet the need of medium of education was very slow. Mahatma Gandhi too during his struggle of independence vehemently criticized English Education. “Mahatma Gandhi in 1933 proposed a scheme for basic education which was practically the antithesis of the rulers‟ elitist moorings concerning the questions of content, spread and medium.”(Khubchandani, 2001:30) So lots of attention has always been given on the educational policy of India but the major problem is of implementation and execution of these policies.

Review of Education Policies after Independence: The Constitution provides many provisions regarding the medium of instruction and education in general. Article 30 of the Constitution allows linguistic groups to receive education in their mother tongue and to set institutions of their choice for this purpose. Also according to the

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Constitution of India, elementary education is a fundamental right of children in the age group of 6-14 years. India has about 688,000 primary schools, 110,000 secondary schools and 342 universities (211 State, 18 Central, 95 deemed universities) 13 institutes of national importance,

17,000 colleges and 887 polytechnics.

Education policy of 1968: Education leads a country towards national progress and economic development. The leaders of newly independent India recognized the importance of education for national progress, security and national integration. For achieving its goal, the Government of India had various commissions and committees like the University Education Commission/ Radhakrishnan Commission(1948-49) and Secondary Education Commission, 1952-53 for reviewing the educational reconstruction. Towards the end of the Third five year plan the education commission gave its report which was widely discussed and thus the national policy of education 1968 came into being. For effective promotion of education the Government had certain principles. Some of them are as follows: 1. Free and compulsory education to children up to the age of 14. (Article 45) 2. Status, emulations and education of teachers. 3. Development of regional languages. Making it a medium of instruction at the university level. 4. Proper implementation of the three language formula. 5. Promotion of Hindi as a medium of expression in the composite culture of India. 139

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6. Development of Sanskrit language. 7. Emphasis on the study of international language, especially English. 8. Equalization of educational opportunity. 9. The acceptance of common structure of education throughout the country. The national policy of education was a good start in the way of educating the masses. The national language policy of 1968 provided a strong justification for the use and development of Indian languages. The key programme will be to develop all Indian languages and to adopt them as media of education at all stages. Unless this is done, the creative energies of the people will not be released, standards of education will not improve, knowledge will not spread to the people, and the gulf between the intelligentsia and the masses will continue to grow. (Dua, 2001:185)

The main aim of the National language policy of India 1968 was to “promote national progress, a sense of common citizenship and culture, and to strengthen national integration. It led stress on the need for a radical reconstruction of the education system to improve its quality at all stages. And give much greater attention to science and technology, the cultivation of moral values and a closer relationship between education and the life of the people.” (Yadav. B, 2002:224) The goals of the national policy were high but the way of achieving these goals were not defined. There can be various reasons for the ineffective working of the national education policy of India. The government offered free education to the children but still the illiteracy rate is high in 140

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India. The policy failed to implement education to these children in their mother tongues. The policy gave more importance to the promotion of Hindi and Sanskrit. Also “One of the most important developments in the language policy making process after the 1967 elections was the unusual importance accorded to the regional languages. Until 1967 most of the debates concerning the official language policies centered on the question of English or Hindi.”(Das Gupta, 1970, p 250) In 1966 the education commission wanted to implement the three language formula in a very liberal way. In which it asked the students to learn the students at least three languages by the time s/he completes the high school (i.e. class X). The three languages could be mother tongue and two non-native modern languages. But this formula was interpreted differently by different states. But it also failed to have its firm ground in the Indian education system. The language policy of education 1968 was unable to fulfill the demands and challenges of the society.

Education policy of 1986: The Parliament adopted the National policy of Education (NPE) in 1986. It was reviewed twice, once by the committee under Archarya Ramamurti in May 1990 and another time in July 1991 under the chairmanship of Shri N. Janardhana Reddy, the National policy of Education was submitted in January 1992. Finally in a meeting held on 5-6 May 1992 by the Central Advisory Board of education (CABE). The National Policy of Education (1986) and program of action (1992) lay down the objectives and features of Indian education policy. It includes:

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Development of International cooperation and peaceful coexistence through education.

Promotion of equality. It could be achieved by providing equal access and equal condition of success to children.

A common educational structure (10+2+3) for the whole of India.

Education for women's equality. The Indian education should be used as a tool to change the status of women in the society.

Equalization of SC population with others in the matter of education. This is ensured by giving incentives to parents who send their children to schools, providing scholarship to SC students for higher studies, reservation of seats in institution of higher studies in India, recruitment of SC teachers.

Opening of primary schools in tribal area for promotion of education in ST people.

Development of curriculum and study material in the language of tribal people.

Emphasis on the education of minorities.

Adult education - Initiation of National Literacy Mission, for teaching illiterate people of age group 15-35. And making them aware of the day-to-day realities of their surroundings.

Special emphasis on early childhood care and education by opening up of day care centers, promotion of child focused programs.

Increasing the scope of Operation Blackboard for upliftment of standard of primary education in India.

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Secondary education curriculum should expose the students to differentiated roles of science, the humanities, and social science.

Redesigning of courses of higher education to meet the increasing demand of professionalism.

Providing enhanced support to the research work in Universities. Efforts to relate ancient Indian knowledge with the contemporary reality.

Setting up of Open Universities and Distance Learning centers to promote the goal of education as a lifelong process.

A combined perspective of technical and management education.

Minimum exposure to computers and training in their use to be the part of professional education.

The All India Council for Technical Education will be responsible for maintenance of norms and standards, accreditation, funding, and monitoring of technical and management education in India.

Multiple task performance for teachers such as teaching, research, development of learning resource material, extension and management of the institution.

Providing teachers a better deal to make education system in India work in proper way, as teachers are the backbone of the system. Providing better facilities to institutions and improved services to students.

Development of languages in great deal.

Measures to be taken for easy accessibility of books at minimum costs to all sections of students.

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Strengthening of science education for the development of spirit of inquiry and objectivity in the minds of students.

The purpose of examination to be to bring about qualitative improvement in education. It should discourage memorization.

Methods of teacher recruitment to be recognized one to ensure merit and objectivity in the system.

Overhauling of the system of teacher education and establishment of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIET) to organize courses for elementary school teachers.

Reviewing of educational developments by the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE)

Involvement of local communities for school improvement programmes.

Review of the implementation of the parameters of the policy every five years,

Strengthening the base of pyramid of Indian population for proper development of education system in India.

The National Policy of Education 1986 had a target to evolve such a system of education in which apart from moving towards establishment of common educational structure for the whole country, the elements which will go into the system will cut across several areas and will promote values such as India‟s common cultural heritage, egalitarianism, democracy and secularism, equality of the sexes, protection of the environment, removal of social barriers, inculcation of scientific temper. Also it mentioned, “The new policy will lay emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalize educational opportunity by attending to the 144

Chapter Four: Education Policy of India specific needs of those who have been denied equality so far.” It gave space to all women, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, handicapped, minorities, adult education, etc. It gave new dimensions to Distance Education through Open Universities, Indira Gandhi Open University, establishment of State Open University, Rural University, technical and management education, innovative research and development, rationalization of education, etc. National Policy of Education (1992) laid down many objectives for the development of education system in India but it has not been successful in achieving all of them. It has specified that the examination system should discourage the memorizing but it is what is going on. The education in India seems to encourage rote learning instead of experimentation and questioning. There is some disparity in assessment as all the State Boards have different standards of evaluation. The center and the state both have a say on the education system but the privatization of education has some different goals. With the increase in the number of private schools, this language policy will create class difference. Is the policy competent for a multilingual hub like India? Will it be able to make free and compulsory education to all the children up to the age of 14? Will it be able to solve the language issues of India?

Three Language Formula: The Three Language Formula is a policy statement made by the union education ministry of the Government of India in collaboration with the states in 1961. But Gandhi has felt the need for this three language formula much earlier. In his speech to the Belgaum congress (1924), he gave his idea of three language formula though not using the particular 145

Chapter Four: Education Policy of India term. He proposed a) regional language (to be used by the provincial/state government), b) Hindustani (to be used in the higher courts and central government) and c) English (to be used for international diplomacy). (Satyanarayana, 1977:32) But when this formula came into being Hindustani was replaced by Hindi. At that the face of the three language formula was (a) the regional language or mother tongue when the later is different from the regional language. (b) Hindi or, in Hindi speaking areas, another Indian language (preferably a South Indian language); and (c) English or any other modern European language. “The three language formula in spite of its initial failure was strongly upheld by the report of the Education Commission in 1966, though the Commission recommended a different form of the formula.” (Das Gupta, 1970:244- 45) Then in 1968 the Three Language Formula came as a statement by the National Policy of Education. According to which the Three Language Formula meant: I. In Hindi speaking areas : a) Hindi b) English c) Modern Indian language (preferably south Indian language) II. In Non-Hindi speaking areas: a) The regional language b) Hindi c) English The government was very keen on implementing this formula in all the states. In actual different states interpreted this formula in different ways. Its implementation has been highly uneven. The Three Language Formula

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Chapter Four: Education Policy of India has become a 3+/-1 formula for political, educational, linguistic and socio-cultural reasons (Dua, 1991). Like for the speakers of minority languages the three language formula became four language formula as they have to learn their mother tongue, the dominant regional language, English and Hindi. In most of the Hindi speaking states Sanskrit became the third language instead of any modern Indian languages. Only some states accepted the three language formula in principle while others made some adjustments and some changed it to an extent that it became impossible to implement it. The failure of the three language formula can be due to some reasons, like: a) Not properly implemented as it was meant to be implemented. Like the southern states were not ready to teach Hindi and Hindi regions never included any south Indian language in its school curriculum. b) The heavy language load in the school curriculum. c) The cost for arranging for instruction.

Table 4.1: Three Language Formula as interpreted by the States

State First language Second language Third language

1. Andhra Telugu, Hindi, Urdu, Hindi (for non-Hindi English Pradesh# Kannada, Tamil, Oriya, speakers), Telugu Class VI-X Marathi, Guajarati or (for non-Telugu composite courses of speakers), any other theses languages modern Indian Class I-X language. Class V-X 2. Arunachal English Hindi Assamese Pradesh Class I-X Class I-X Class VI-VIII 3. Assam Mother tongue or English Hindi(for regional language Class V-X Assamese mother Class I-X tongue speakers), Assamese (for non-Assamese 147

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speakers) Class VI-VIII 4. *Bihar Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Hindi for non-Hindi English Oriya, Maithili and students or Sanskrit Santali (for Hindi students) 5. *Delhi Hindi English Sanskrit or any minority language 6. Goa# Hindi, Kannada, Urdu, Hindi English or any Telugu, Malayalam, classical Indian English, Marathi or language or any Konkani modern European languages. Portuguese or French language from standard VIII onwards. 7. Gujarat# Mother-tongue Hindi or Gujarati English or Gujarati

8. *Haryana Hindi from Class I English from Class Telugu, Sanskrit, VI Urdu or Punjabi from classes VII to VIII 9. *Himachal Hindi English Urdu, Tamil, Pradesh Telugu, Malayalam and Bengali

10. Jammu and Urdu or Hindi English Urdu( in Hindi Kashmir Class I-X Class VI-X medium school), Hindi (in Urdu medium schools) Class VII-X 11. *Karnataka Kannada from Class I English from Class Hindi from Class V V

12. Kerala Malayalam, (Kannada, English Hindi Tamil for minorities) Class IV-X Class V-X Class I-X 13. *Madhya Hindi, English, Hindi/English Hindi, English, Pradesh Marathi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Sindhi, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi,

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Gujarati, Tamil, Sindhi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Malayalam Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Arabic, Persian, French and Russian 14. Maharashtra Marathi Hindi English Class I-X Class V-X Class V-X

15. Nagaland Mother tongue English Hindi Class I-X Class I-X Class V-X 16. Orissa Oriya English Hindi Class I-X Class IV-X Class VI-X 17. Punjab Punjabi Hindi English Class I-X Class IV-X Class VI-X 18. *Rajasthan Hindi English Sanskrit, Urdu, Sindhi, Punjabi and Gujarati

19. Sikkim English Hindi Nepali, Tibetan, Class I-X Class I-VIII Lepcha, Limboo Class IV-X 20. Tamil Nadu Tamil or mother tongue English or any other Class I-X non-Indian language Class III-X 21. Tripura Bengali English Hindi, Sanskrit, Class I-X Class I-X Arabic, Persian, etc. Class III-VII 22. *Uttar Hindi Classes (VI to English or any Any language Pradesh VII) other Modern mentioned in the European language Eighth Schedule. Class VI-VIII Class VI-VIII 23. *West Bengali, Hindi, English, English, Bengali, Bengali, Hindi, Bengal Nepali, Urdu, Nepali Sanskrit, Pali, Assamese, Gujarati, Classes VI to X Persian, Arabic, Malayalam, Marathi, Latin, Greek, Modern Tibetan, Oriya, Classical Punjabi (Gurumukhi), Armenian, Santali, Tamil, Telugu, French, Lushai, Sudani Russian, Classes VI to X Portuguese, Spanish and Italian

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24. Andaman & Hindi, Telugu, Urdu, English Urdu, Malayalam, Nicobar Bengali, Punjabi, Class VI-X Sanskrit, Hindi Islands Tamil, Malayalam Class V-VIII Class I-X 25. Chandigarh Hindi, Punjabi Hindi, Punjabi English Class I-X Class III-X Class III-X 26. Dadra & Gujarati, Marathi Hindi English Nagar Haveli Class I-X Class V-X Class V-VIII 27. Lakshadweep Malayalam, (Kannada, English Hindi Tamil for minorities) Class IV-X Class V-X Class I-X 28. Mizoram Mizo English Hindi Class I-X Class III-X Class V-X 29. Pondicherry Mother tongue or Tamil English or other Class I-X Indian language Class III-X (Source: K. Vishvanatham 2001, p 312-318, *From site www.education.nic.in/cd50years/u/47/3x/473X0I01.htm # From Fatihi AR, Language in India)

The three language formula has not been implemented well in all the states but the results are good where ever implemented. Except Tamil Nadu, all other south Indian states have enthusiastically and sincerely implemented the three language formula. In the north this three language formula has been implemented in a different form. Basically in the north the three languages taught are English, Hindi and Sanskrit or Urdu. At the theoretical level this three language formula is a good policy statement which promotes multilingualism among the people. “A good example of a multilingual, „mosaic‟ policy is India‟s three language formula‟ where by a local language, Hindi and English would all be used at secondary school level. The crucial element of the policy is that it seeks to promote languages of wider communication at three different levels: regional, national and international.”(Orman. J, 2008:57)

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Now efforts are being made to implement the Three language Formula in the real sense. In 2007, National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities in a report compiled by a former Chief Justice Ranganath Mishra stated that, “the three language formula should be implemented everywhere in the country making it compulsory for the authorities to include in it the mother tongue of every child—including especially Urdu and Punjabi.” Many consider the three language formula a burden for children and think that it will affect the performance of the children. But now teaching or learning a second or third language has become a norm. Most of the countries are in favor of multilingual education because of many reasons. a) For national integration b) For bringing the minority groups in the main stream of national life. c) For knowing the cultural tradition/heritage of the country. d) And sometimes for getting higher education But this multilingualism should be additive in nature and not at the cost of their native languages. Also it is a known fact that children who grow up with two languages have better cognitive skills than their monolingual peers. Multilingual education in early childhood gives parents the opportunity to have this ability imparted to their children effectively in a short space of time. So children who grow up multilingual in their early years are more perceptive and intellectually more flexible.

Mother Tongue Education: Before going into details of „Mother Tongue Education‟ one should be clear „what is a mother tongue‟? For many the term mother tongue is still 151

Chapter Four: Education Policy of India not clear. To define one‟s mother tongue as the language of one‟s mother will not be appropriate. The dictionary meaning of this term is „the language first learned by a child‟. Mother tongue is often been interpreted as one‟s native language. Mother tongue is also related to the language of one‟s ethnic group. “In linguistic and educational accounts, the terms mother tongue and native speech are often used indistinguishably. The term native can be distinguished as „the first speech acquired in infancy, through which the child gets socialized: it claims some bearing on intuitive competence, and potentially it can individually identifiable‟.” According to Khubchandani (1983:45) the term mother tongue can be defined as one‟s allegiance to a particular tradition, and it is societally identifiable. According to linguists, mother tongue refers to L1 i.e. the language first acquired by the child and the first one to find expressions developed from the Language Acquisition Device placed by Chomsky in 1965. A general interpretation of the term is the language in which one think, dream or shows anger is his mother tongue. According to Pattanayak(1981), „mother tongue‟ is both a sociolinguistic reality and a product of the mythic consciousness of a people. It gives social and emotional identity to an individual with a speech community. According to Skutnabb, „a mother tongue may change, even several times in a lifetime‟. The mother tongue may vary even at a single point in time depending on which of the criteria given below is used. So, Skutnabb- Kangas gave four criteria for defining mother tongue, namely origin, competence, function and attitude.

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Four criteria can be used for defining „Mother Tongue‟: Criterion Definition of ‘Mother Tongue’ Origin The language one learnt first (the language in which one established one‟s first lasting communication relationship) Competence The language one knows best Function The language one uses most Attitudes The language one identifies with (internal identification) The language one is identified as a native speaker of by other people (external identification) (World view) (The language one counts in, thinks in, dreams in, writes poetry in, etc.) Source : Skutnabb- Kangas, 1981, p 18

In India before the 1961 census the definition of mother tongue in different censuses varied in terms of narrow and broad interpretation. The 1881 census had a narrow interpretation of the term, which defined mother tongue as “the language spoken by the individual from the cradle. It continued till 1891 but the term was changed into „parent tongue‟. Then again in 1901 census the term gained a new name i.e. „language ordinarily used‟. In 1961 census the term had a broad interpretation, “mother tongue is the language spoken in childhood by the person‟s mother. If the mother died in infancy write the language mostly spoken in the person‟s home in childhood. In the case of infants and deaf/mutes give the language usually spoken by the mother.” (Hasnain, 2001:62) This confusion regarding the concept of mother tongue has not only been seen in Indian censuses but also in the censuses of European countries too.

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In the case of the Slovene of Carinthia, in the 1923 census they were asked about their „thinking language‟, in 1934 they were asked about „the language of the cultural circle‟, in 1951 they gave the „language of everyday use‟ and in 1961 they claimed Slovene as the „language of their homes‟. (Pattanayak. D. P, 1981:48)

In 2000, in a petition the Madras High Court adjudicated that "…mother- tongue of a child should only be understood for the purpose of these cases as the language which the child is most familiar with … mother-tongue need not be the mother's tongue or father's tongue. Generally, the parents are the proper persons who can assess and say as to which is the language, that child is most familiar with." (Mallikarjun,p12, Language in India)

The UNESCO monograph of 1953 supported teaching in one‟s mother tongue. When a child gets education in his/her mother tongue s/he develops higher abstract thinking in any language. According to the Hague Recommendations on the Educational Rights of National Minorities and UNESCO Education Position Paper „Education in a multilingual world‟ (2003), those having their own language as the main medium of teaching, the better they also become in the dominant language, provided, of course, that they have good teaching in it, preferably given by bilingual teachers. In India after independence many leaders like Gandhi, Gokhale, Mohammed Iqbal, Rabindranath Tagore, etc stressed upon adopting the mother tongue as a compulsory subject of teaching and as medium of instruction. Also Article 350-A of the Indian Constitution states that for local authorities in every state endeavoring to

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Chapter Four: Education Policy of India extent adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups and for the President issuing necessary direction to any state. According to Thomas Claire (2009), children progress faster in both their language and the majority language when they first receive education in their home language. Also he favored mother tongue based multilingual education. A survey was conducted in 2004, by the Indian Institute of Language Studies, New Delhi, on „Language Preferences in Education in India‟. In the survey the data was conducted from Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Orissa. The major findings of the survey go in favor of mother tongue education and testify multilingualism. They are as follows: 1. There is a general preference for the study of mother tongue as well as English as a subject in early school education i.e., primary and middle classes. The children whose mother tongue is not taught in the schools (for example, Kolami in Maharashtra, Kashmiri and Dogri in the state of Jammu and Kashmir) opt for the state official language as a subject of study. In the non-Hindi speaking states which follow the Three Language formula, Hindi is taught in addition to the state official language as well as English. Whereas the public/private schools introduce English as a subject from the very beginning, it is introduced as a subject at the third or sixth standard in other schools. 2. The preference for the use of English as a medium of instruction increases with the education. Also both local languages as well as

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English are preferred as the media of instruction in most of the states. 3. The mother tongue is preferred as the primary language for the communication at home. 4. Appropriate to a multilingual situation, the language proficiency of the respondents reveal proficiency in more than one language in all the states. Most of the respondents have listed their mother tongues/state official languages higher in proficiency. Some languages are learnt as a result of language contact. This survey shows that the majority of the population is bi or multilingual. Monolingualism is a myth for multilingual nations. People are happy and at ease with two or three languages, it is not a burden for them. The most recent policy promoting mother tongue instruction came in July 2009 with the passing in both the houses of parliament of the right of children to free and compulsory bill, which also includes provision for medium of instruction, “medium of instruction as far as practicable, be in child‟s mother tongue.” (Groff, 2010:129)

Languages used as Medium of Instruction: In multilingual societies the system of education should be multi-tier where multilingual education since primary level should be encouraged. It also needs a high degree of planning, acquaintance with the languages of the students and a high level of teaching skills. According to the policy of the state Government every child has the right to get education in his/her mother tongue. The number of languages counted in the 1961 census was very large i.e. 1,652. So the policy states that if the majority 156

Chapter Four: Education Policy of India language of the state is not the mother tongue of many students then in that case there should be at least ten students of that mother tongue. Then that language is allowed to be used as medium of instruction. At present a total of 42 languages are being used as medium of instruction. It is very difficult for the government to impart education in all the languages present in India. Still it is flexible enough in accommodating as many as possible. Another area affecting the number and selection of language is power and politics. There is a lot of language politics playing behind selection of languages used as medium of instruction. But my study will not go deep in that area. Table 4.2: The 42 Languages Taught as Medium Languages or Subject (in 2004)

1. Angami 15. Kannada 29. Nepali 2. Ao 16. Kashmiri 30. Nicobari 3. Arabic 17. Khasi 31. Oriya 4. Assamese 18. Konkani 32. Persian

5. Bengali 19. Konyak 33. Portuguese 6. Bhutia 20. Ladakhi 34. Punjabi 7. Bodo 21. Lepcha 35. Sanskrit 8. Dogri 22. Limbu 36. Sema 9. English 23. Lotha 37. Tamil

10. French 24. Malayalam 38. Telugu 11. Garo 25. Manipuri 39. Tibetan 12. Gujarati 26. Marathi 40. Urdu 13. Hindi 27. Maithili 41. Zeliang 14. Kokborok 28. Mizo 42. Santali

Source: Benedikter, 2009:148

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On the basis of All India Survey (1974), NCERT reported as many as 80 languages used as medium of instruction, but today the number has almost dropped fifty percent. Now the Sixth All India Survey has recorded 41 languages being used as medium of instruction. This decrease in the number is due to many constraints and hurdles. a) Due to improper implementation of the Three Language Formula. b) Many languages mostly tribal languages have no script. c) Lack of text books in all the mother tongue. d) Due to the controversy of language and dialect. e) Due to financial and administrative reasons. f) Privatization of education. g) Due to dominance of English over other languages. h) Lack of interest of parents in sending their children in schools other than English medium, etc.

The education system of India up to class XII is basically divided into four stages: (a) Primary/Elementary, (B) Upper Primary/Middle, (C) Secondary/ High School and (D) Higher Secondary/Intermediate/Pre- University.

Table 4.3: Number of Languages Taught in the Schools Stage Third survey Fifth survey Sixth survey Total number of 67 44 41 languages Primary school 47 43 33 Upper primary 28 31 25 Secondary 24 22 21 Higher secondary 17 20 18 (Mallikarjun, 2004:14)

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At the primary level the number of languages used as medium of instruction is more than the secondary and higher secondary. As we move towards higher education the number of languages used as medium of instruction goes on decreasing. But now many individual institutions have taken up the work of introducing education in those languages whose speakers were not getting education in their mother tongue. “A few states such as Rajasthan and Karnataka are engaged in experimental programmes of introducing bilingual education for minorities. In Bihar text books are prepared in major tribal languages like Santali, Kurukh, Mundari, Ho, Kharia. The Madhya Pradesh tribal research bureau has also initiated a few text books in Gondi, Bhili, Korku and Halabi.” (Khubchandani, 2001:32). Also in 2005, the Education department of Tripura decided to give a push to Kok-Borok as a medium of instruction at the Junior Basic level to help tribal students learn in their mother tongue. The Higher Education minister Keshab Majumdar stated, “We have decided to introduce it as a medium of instruction at Junior Basic level in tribal areas so that tribal children of the state enjoy their constitutional right of having education in their own language. Simultaneously, we want to encourage parents to send their children to schools.”

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Table 4.4: Total Number of Languages Used as Medium of Instruction in Different States.

Third survey Fifth survey States/Union territory P UP S HS P UP S HS 1. Andhra Pradesh 6 9+1 9+1 7+1* 9 9 8 5 2. Assam 9 8 7 5 7+1 6+1 6+1 3+1 3. Bihar 5+1 4+1 NA 3 6+1 6+1 6 3 4. Delhi 11 11 NA 11 11 8 8 8 5. Gujarat 9 NA 6 NA 8 8 7 5 6. Haryana 1+1 2+1 2+1 2 2 2 2 2 7. Himachal Pradesh 4 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 8. Jammu and 4+1 4+1 4+1 4+1 4+1 4+1 4+1 3+1 Kashmir 9. Karnataka 8 8 7 5 8 8 7 6 10. Kerala 5 5 5 3 5 5 5 3 11. Madhya Pradesh 10 7 NA 7 9 8 4 3 12. Maharashtra 12 10 10 5 12 11 11 6 13. Manipur 4 4 4 3 4+1 4 4 3 14. Meghalaya 6 6 5 1 6+1 6+1 4 1 15. Nagaland 4+1 4+1 3 NA 1+1 2+1 1+1 1 16. Orissa 7 6 7 3 6 6 6 3 17. Punjab 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 18. Rajasthan 3 2 3 3 5 3 2 2 19. Tamil Nadu 9 9 9 3 6 6 6 6 20. Tripura 5 2 2 3 3+1 3 3 3 21. Uttar Pradesh 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 2 22. West Bengal 8 6 7 5 8 6 5 5 23. Andaman & 9 5 NA 4 6 4 5 5 Nicobar Islands

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24. Chandigarh 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 25. Dadra & Nagar 3 NA 2 NA 3 3 3 3 Haveli 26. Lakshadweep 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 27. Mizoram 5 6 1 NA 3+1 3+1 1 1 28. Pondicherry 2 2 2 2 4+1 4+1 4 3

*Fig. given after the + sign stands for the ‘Other Languages’ which generally consists of Tribal and non-Scheduled and non-Tribal languages. NA: Data not available Source: Koul, 2005, p 76-77

The above table shows most of the states are using more than one language as medium of instruction. Particularly at the primary level none of the states have only one language as medium of instruction. Also we can see that as we move upward in the education system, the number of language show a decrease in number. Only States like Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya are showing monolingual medium of instruction in the higher secondary. To conclude, the characteristic feature of the multilingual education scene may be seen as: I. In the process of being concerned with protection of linguistic rights of both migrant and tribal population the mother tongue based multilingual education was differentiated from regional language based multilingual education. II. The focus on mother tongue based multilingual education resulted in the use of languages, not specified in the VIII Schedule of the Constitution, as educational media.

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III. The language needs of tribal children became a matter of concern. In order to take care of their needs a multilingual transfer strategy has been recommended. The strategy consists of the use of the tribal language as medium and regional language as a subject in the first few years of schooling followed by total switch over to the use of the regional language medium. IV. Multilingual education began to be concerned with the number of languages to be studied by the entire school-going population, their purpose and the duration of their study. (Koul, 2005:92-93) V. The three-language formula if implemented well will help in fostering multilingualism.

Multilingual Mother Tongue Education:

In the education system the most privileged one are those whose mother tongue is the medium of education in the schools. Mostly the medium of education is either English or the dominant language of that region. So it becomes difficult for the linguistic minorities to have education in others‟ mother tongue. It is a known fact that children learn better if they understand and speak the language of the classroom. But only education in their mother tongue will not be fruitful to the children, as they will find difficulty in relating themselves with the outer world. So the dominant language of the region or the national language of the country and language of wider communication is also an important need. So there is a need to have a education system where the along with the mother tongue

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Chapter Four: Education Policy of India education, other language should be introduced gradually over time. Many of the multilingual countries have recognized the importance of multilingualism in their education system. Many scholars like Claire, Skutnabb, have talked about the relevance of multilingual mother tongue education. According to Thomas Claire (2009:83-91), the world‟s education ministers recommended that states should view linguistic and cultural diversity in the classroom as a valuable resource and promote the use of mother tongue in the early years of instruction. The UN forum also made strong recommendations on MTME. For promoting multilingual mother tongue education, an advocacy kit has been prepared for policy makers, educationists, etc which will aim at „including the excluded‟. Advantages of Mother Tongue based Multilingual Education (MTME) can be as follows: a) The drop-out rates of the students will lower. b) It will help students having higher self esteem. c) It will help in preventing inter-ethnic conflict. d) It will help in the revival of endangered languages. e) Various social and personal benefits. f) Last but not the least it will help in promoting multilingualism. One more direction towards handling multilingualism in a society is Multilingual Mother Tongue Education (MMTE), which is different in its perspective than MTME. In India multilingualism is a grass root phenomenon. Every child grows with at least two languages. The definition given by Skutnabb is more a reality in Indian situation, i.e. a person having many mother tongues. So education policy should be groomed keeping these things in mind. Some problems that might come

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Chapter Four: Education Policy of India in the process of executing MTME or Multilingual Mother Tongue Education can be: shortage of teachers in the respective mother tongues; investment an cost for MTME/MMTE is high; problem regarding the development of teaching materials, etc.

UNESCO is developing a number of initiatives for the promotion of mother tongue instruction and multilingual education to enhance the quality of education. It gave three-part rationale for supporting multilingual education.

1. UNESCO supports mother-tongue instruction as a means of improving educational quality by building upon the knowledge and experience of the learners and teachers. 2. UNESCO supports bilingual and/or multilingual education at all levels of education as a means of promoting both social and gender equality and as a key element of linguistically diverse societies. 3. UNESCO supports language as an essential component of inter- cultural education in order to encourage understanding between different population groups and ensure respect for fundamental rights.

The best policies are those that establish multilingual education as an integral part of formal and informal education and gives clear directives for its implementations. Thus MTME or MMTE can be a good solution for maintain multilingualism in all the countries across the world.

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

To find out the statistical support for attitude towards linguistic heterogeneity and multilinguality a pilot survey done in the university campus. The survey revealed that either the students are multilingual or bilingual. Monolingualism is rarely found anywhere in the university. The survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was made seeking the knowledge of number of languages they know, about the medium of education and their views regarding the language policy of India. A total number of sixty students from the university campus were taken as respondents. General information about their age, gender and the place, i.e. rural or urban were taken. The survey was done taking only one variable i.e. rural and urban. Out of 60 students 32 were from urban origin and 28 from rural.

Analysis of the Survey:

5.1 Statistical Details of the Languages Known

The first question was regarding the number of languages the students know other than their native language. Table 5.1: Frequency and Percentage of Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Bilingualism 12 20.0 20.0 20.0

Multilingualism 48 80.0 80.0 100.0 Valid Total 60 100.0 100.0 As shown in table 5.1, the total number of the students who are bilingual is 12 and the total number of students who are multilingual is 48 out of 60

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study students. But there is zero return of monolingual claim. All the respondents are either bilingual or multilingual.

Figure 5.1: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Percentage of Bilingualism and Multilingualism Table 5.2: A Crosstabulation of Bilingualism and Multilingualism across Origin Group

Number of languages known Bilingualism Multilingualism Total Count 8 24 32 Urban % within Origin 25.0% 75.0% 100.0% Origin Count 4 24 28 Rural % within Origin 14.3% 85.7% 100.0% Count 12 48 60 % within Origin 20.0% 80.0% 100.0% Total % within Number of 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% languages known % of Total 20.0% 80.0% 100.0%

In the above Table 5.2, the total number of urban students who are bilingual is 8 out of 32, which means 25% of the total urban respondents and the total 166

Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study number of students who are multilingual is 24 which constitutes 75% of the total urban respondents. The total numbers of rural students who claim to be bilingual are 4 which constitute 14.3% and number of students claiming multilingualism is 24 which constitutes 85.7% of the total rural respondents. So the total count of bilingualism is 12 which is 20% and of multilingualism is 48, which is 80%.

Figure 5.2: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Percentage of Rural and Urban Students being Bilingual and Multilingual

Using Mann-Whitney U test, there is no statistical difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .305

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Test Statisticsa Number of languages known

Mann-Whitney U 400.000

Wilcoxon W 928.000

Z -1.026-

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .305

a. Grouping Variable: Origin

5.2 Statistical Details of the Medium of Instruction

The second question is with regard to their medium of education, whether one language was used as medium of education i.e. monolingual or two language used as medium of education i.e. bilingual or more than two languages as medium of instruction i.e. multilingual.

Table 5.3: Frequency and Percentage of Languages used as Medium of Instruction

Medium of instruction

Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Monolingualism 36 60.0 60.0 60.0

Bilingualism 12 20.0 20.0 80.0 Valid Multilingualism 12 20.0 20.0 100.0

Total 60 100.0 100.0

The above table shows the number of students who having education via monolingual medium of instruction is 36 constituting 60%, the number of students having bilingual medium of education is 12 and multilingual is also 12 constituting 20% each.

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Figure 5.3: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency of Languages used as Medium of Instruction

The cross tabulation below shows, 26 urban students had monolingual medium of instruction which is 81.2%, 2 had bilingual which is 6.2% and 4 had multilingual medium of instruction which is 12.5%. Whereas 10 rural students had bilingual medium of instruction which is 35.7%, 8 had multilingual medium of instruction which is 28.6% and the count for monolingual is 10 which is again 35.7%.

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Table 5.4: Cross tabulation of Medium of Instruction across Origin Groups

Medium of instruction

Monolingualism Bilingualism Multilingualism i.e 0ne i.e Two i.e. more than Two Total

Count 26 2 4 32 Urban % within Origin 81.2% 6.2% 12.5% 100.0% Origin Count 10 10 8 28 Rural % within Origin 35.7% 35.7% 28.6% 100.0%

Count 36 12 12 60

% within Origin 60.0% 20.0% 20.0% 100.0% Total % within Medium of instruction 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

% of Total 60.0% 20.0% 20.0% 100.0%

Test Statisticsa

Medium of instruction

Mann-Whitney U 256.000

Wilcoxon W 784.000

Z -3.246-

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .001 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

As the result shows, there is a significant difference between the rural and urban students claiming mono, bi or multilingual medium of instruction. Because the P-value is less than .05. The P-value is .001.

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Figure 5.4: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Percentage of Medium of Instruction across Origin Group

5.3 Statistics about the Languages Taught

The third question is regarding the number of languages they have been taught in their school. So the frequency of urban students claiming monolingualism i.e. one language is 2 constituting 6.2%, claiming bilingualism is 4 constituting 12.55 and multilingualism is 26 constituting 81.2%. The total number of rural students claiming one language taught in school is zero, claiming two languages is 2 constituting 7.1% and more than two languages is 26 constituting 92.9%. So the total number of students claiming one language taught in school is 2 which is 3.3% , of bilingualism is 6 which is 10.0% and multilingualism is 52 which is 86.7%.

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Table 5.5: Crosstabulation of Number of Languages taught in School across Origin Groups

Number of languages taught in school

Monolingualism Bilingualism Multilingualism Total Count 2 4 26 32 Urban % within Origin 6.2% 12.5% 81.2% 100.0% Origin Count 0 2 26 28 Rural % within Origin .0% 7.1% 92.9% 100.0% Count 2 6 52 60 % within Origin 3.3% 10.0% 86.7% 100.0% Total % within Number of languages 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% taught in school % of Total 3.3% 10.0% 86.7% 100.0%

Figure 5.5: Frequency and Percentage of Number of Languages taught in School across Origin Group

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Test Statisticsa

Number of languages taught in school

Mann-Whitney U 394.000

Wilcoxon W 922.000

Z -1.356-

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .175 a. Grouping Variable: Origin There is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .175.

5.4 Statistics of Languages Used in the Home Domain

Question four gives an account of the number of languages used in their home domain.

Table 5.6: Cross Tabulation of Languages used at Home across Origin Group

Number of languages used at home

Monolingualism Bilingualism Multilingualism Total Count 10 12 10 32 Urban % within Origin 31.2% 37.5% 31.2% 100.0% Origin Count 12 6 10 28 Rural % within Origin 42.9% 21.4% 35.7% 100.0% Count 22 18 20 60 % within Origin 36.7% 30.0% 33.3% 100.0% Total % within Number of languages 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% used at home % of Total 36.7% 30.0% 33.3% 100.0%

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As shown in table 5.6, the total number of the urban students who use one language i.e. monolingualism in their home domain is 12 constituting 31.2%, who uses two languages is 12 constituting 37.5% and who are multilingual is 10 constituting 31.2%. Now the total number of rural students who use one language i.e. monolingualism in their home domain is 12 constituting 42.9%, who uses two languages is 6 constituting 21.4% and who are multilingual is 10 constituting 35.7%. Also the There is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .729.

Test Statisticsa

Number of languages used at home Mann-Whitney U 426.000 Wilcoxon W 832.000 Z -.346- Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .729 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

Figure 5.6: Bar Diagram Showing Frequency and Count of Number of Languages used at Home across Origin Group

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

5.5 Attitude towards Government’s Support

Question five asks about the facility the government provides for their language. Do they agree that the government is providing facility for their language or not.

Table 5.7: Cross tabulation of Students Attitude Towards Government’s Support for Languages across Origin Group

Government's support for languages

Disagree Neutral Agree Total Count 6 2 24 32 Urban % within Origin 18.8% 6.2% 75.0% 100.0% Origin Count 12 0 16 28 Rural % within Origin 42.9% .0% 57.1% 100.0% Count 18 2 40 60 % within Origin 30.0% 3.3% 66.7% 100.0% Total % within Government's support for 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% languages % of Total 30.0% 3.3% 66.7% 100.0%

As shown in table 5.7, the total number of urban students disagreeing to government’s support for their language is 6 constituting 18.8%, those agreeing is 24 constituting 75.0% and those who are neutral is 2 constituting 6.2%. So the total number of students disagreeing to government’s support for their language is 18 which is 30%, those disagreeing is 2 which is 3% and agreeing is 40 which is 66.7%. There is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .098.

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Test Statisticsa

Government's support for languages

Mann-Whitney U 356.000

Wilcoxon W 762.000

Z -1.657-

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .098

a. Grouping Variable: Origin

Figure 5.7: Bar Diagram showing Students Attitude Towards Government’s Support for Languages across Origin Group

5.6 Attitude towards Medium of Instruction

Question six illustrates the choice about the medium in which they want to have education; either it is English, Mother tongue or both. As shown in

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study table 5.8, the number of urban students wanting to have education in mother tongue is 4 constituting 12.5%, number students in favor of English is 25 constituting 71.1% and those preferring both is 3 constituting 9.4%. the number of rural students in favor of mother tongue is 6 constituting 21.4%, those favoring English is 17 constituting 60.7% and those favoring both are 5 constituting 17.9%. Total number of students wanting to have education in mother tongue is 10 which is 16.7%, those favoring English is 42 which is 70% and those wanting both is 8 i.e. 8%.

Table 5.8: Cross Tabulation of Frequency and Percentage of Preferred Medium of Education across Origin Group

Preferred medium of education English & Mother Mother Tongue English Tongue Total Count 4 25 3 32 Urban % within Origin 12.5% 78.1% 9.4% 100.0% Origin Count 6 17 5 28 Rural % within Origin 21.4% 60.7% 17.9% 100.0% Count 10 42 8 60 % within Origin 16.7% 70.0% 13.3% 100.0% Total % within Preferred medium of 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% education % of Total 16.7% 70.0% 13.3% 100.0%

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Figure 5.8: Bar Diagram showing of Frequency and Percentage of Preferred Medium of Education across Origin Group

Test Statisticsa

Preferred medium of education

Mann-Whitney U 445.000

Wilcoxon W 851.000

Z -.055-

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .956 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

There is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .0956.

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5.7 Attitude towards Multilingualism

Question seven tries to illustrate about the attitude of speakers regarding multilingualism, multilingualism hampers national integration of India or it is doesn’t.

Table 5.9: Cross Tabulation of Attitude Regarding Multilingualism’s Role in Integration across Origin Group

Attitude regarding multilingualism’s role in integration

Negative neutral Positive Total Count 10 2 20 32 Urban % within Origin 31.2% 6.2% 62.5% 100.0% Origin Count 10 0 18 28 Rural % within Origin 35.7% .0% 64.3% 100.0%

Count 20 2 38 60

% within Origin 33.3% 3.3% 63.3% 100.0%

Total % within Attitude regarding 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% multilingual role in integration

% of Total 33.3% 3.3% 63.3% 100.0%

The above table 5.9 shows, the number of urban students having negative attitude towards multilingualism’s role in integration is 10 which constitutes 31.2%, those having positive attitude is 20 constituting 62.5% and those with neutral views is 2 constituting 6.2%. The count of rural students having negative attitude toward multilingualism is 10 which constitute 31.2%, those having positive is 18 constituting 64.3% and no one claimed neutral views. Total number of students having negative is 20 i.e. 33.3%, having positive attitude is 38% i.e. 63.8% and having neutral is 2 i.e. 3.3%.

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Figure 5.9: Bar Diagram Showing Attitude Regarding Multilingualism’s Role in Integration across Origin Group

Here also there is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .0972.

Test Statisticsa

Attitude regarding multilingual role in integration Mann-Whitney U 446.000

Wilcoxon W 852.000

Z -.035-

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .972 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

5.8 Attitude towards Language Policy of India Question eight tries to illustrate about speakers attitude regarding the language policy of India, i.e. whether it is multilingual or unilingual.

Table 5.10: Cross Tabulation Regarding Attitude towards Language Policy of India across Origin Group

Language policy

multilingual Total

Count 32 32 Urban % within Origin 100.0% 100.0% Origin Count 28 28 Rural % within Origin 100.0% 100.0%

Count 60 60

% within Origin 100.0% 100.0% Total % within Language policy 100.0% 100.0%

% of Total 100.0% 100.0%

The above table shows that all the rural and urban students think that the language policy of India is multilingual and not unilingual.

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Figure 5.10: Bar diagram showing Attitude towards Language Policy of India across Origin Group

Test Statisticsa

Language policy

Mann-Whitney U 448.000

Wilcoxon W 854.000

Z .000

Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) 1.000 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

There is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is 1.

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5.9 Attitude towards Learning Other Tongues

Question nine tries to find out about their attitude regarding learning languages other than the languages they know.

Table 5.11: Cross Tabulation of Language Learning Motivation among Urban and Rural Students.

Language learning motivation

Negative Positive Total

Count 2 30 32 Urban % within Origin 6.2% 93.8% 100.0% Origin Count 0 28 28 Rural % within Origin .0% 100.0% 100.0%

Count 2 58 60

% within Origin 3.3% 96.7% 100.0%

Total % within Language learning 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% motivation

% of Total 3.3% 96.7% 100.0%

The above table shows that the number of urban students showing negative attitude towards learning a new language other than they know is 2 which is 6.2% and those showing positive attitude towards learning is 30 which is 93.8%. The number of rural students showing negative attitude towards learning a new language is zero and those showing positive attitude towards learning is 28 which is 100%. Total number of negative attitude is 2 i.e. 3.3%, positive attitude is 58 i.e. 96.7%. There is no statistically significant difference between the rural

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P-value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .182.

Test Statisticsa

Language learning motivation

Mann-Whitney U 420.000

Wilcoxon W 948.000 Z -1.334- Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .182 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

Figure 5.11: Bar Diagram showing Language Learning Motivation among Urban and Rural Students. 5.10 Attitude towards Government’s Support of Minority Languages

Question ten is regarding the government’s attitude towards minority languages. Student’s attitude attitude is negative or positive regarding this view.

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Table 5.12: Cross Tabulation of Students’ Attitude towards Government’s Support for Minority Languages

Government's support for minority languages

disagree neutral Agree Total

Count 8 2 22 32 Urban % within Origin 25.0% 6.2% 68.8% 100.0% Origin Count 12 0 16 28 Rural % within Origin 42.9% .0% 57.1% 100.0%

Count 20 2 38 60

% within Origin 33.3% 3.3% 63.3% 100.0%

Total % within Government's support 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% for minority languages

% of Total 33.3% 3.3% 63.3% 100.0%

The above table shows, the number of urban students who think the government protect and develop the minority languages is 22 which is 68.8% and those who don’t agree with this is 8 which is 25.0%. The number of rural students agreeing with this is 16 which are 57.1% and those who disagree are 20 which are 42.9%. Also there is no statistically significant difference between the rural students and the urban students in the number of languages known because the P- value is more/higher than .05. The P-value is .182.

Test Statisticsa

Government's support for minority languages Mann-Whitney U 384.000

Wilcoxon W 790.000

Z -1.126- Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .260 a. Grouping Variable: Origin

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study

Figure 5.12: Bar Diagram showing Students’ Attitude towards Government’s Support for Minority Languages

The distinction between the urban and rural variable is not statistically significant in most of the questions except for question number (2). The reason for this can be the size of data which is very less and also all the rural and urban students are educated which generally makes them bi/multilingual.

The survey shows that most of the students are multilingual but most of them had education via one language and maximum of them prefer to have education via English language. They think that the language policy of India is multilingual and the constitution provides due facility to all the languages.

The government’s effort in maintaining multilingualism can be seen through the Constitution. The Constitution enlists certain language provision or 186

Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study language rights (see Appendix B). The three language formula, the number of official languages recognized on state level, the open-endedness of the Eighth Schedule is also evident of multilingual language policy in India. Language planning in India constitutes both corpus and status planning. The nature of language planning in India as described by Chakladher (1990:164) is:

1. Nature of language planning in India is comprehensive as it covers both status and corpus planning. 2. It is structural as it aims at the replacement of English by indigenous languages at different levels of administration. 3. It is decentralized as the union and state government have their respective language planning agencies to formulate language policy of and implementing them. 4. People are not compelled to accept the policy. The planning is based on inducement. 5. It is flexible that can be seen in the amendment made by the government on people’s demand. 6. It is narrow in the sense that language planning in India has not considered the social, political and economic relevance.

Whatever may be the nature of language planning in India, the task of planning in India is not an easy task. The nature of multilingualism in India is very different from that of any other country. With such a large population, with so many races living side by side, with so many cultures existing, it is not an easy task to have a policy which will not marginalize

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Chapter Five: Linguistic Heterogeneity And Multilinguality In India: A Statistical And Attitudinal Study anyone. The problems which the language planners face while evolving a language policy are:

a. The number of language and dialects are large enough to handle. b. The categorization of language and dialect is not clear. c. The problem of script. All the languages and dialects existing in India do not have their own script. So difficulty comes in domains like education. d. Impact of English or we can say globalization is very high. e. Political interference is very high.

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Chapter Six: Summary And Conclusion

Summary: The first chapter gives an account of the social, cultural and linguistic landscape of India. It describes about the language families present in India which is an outcome of different races which came to India many years back. An individual‟s language is groomed by many social variations. So the relationship of language with the diversities present in Indian societies makes the linguistic scenario completely unique. It also talks about language variation on the basis of caste, tribe, races, region, script etc. So this diversity and heterogeneity makes the people of India multilingual. From north to south and east to west there is a lot of diversity and heterogeneity present in all aspects of life be it fooding, clothing, rituals, religion, etc. These diversities lead to variation in the use of languages too. But these social and linguistic diversities have never been problems in communication across the country.

The Second chapter talks about multilingualism in general and then multilingualism in the Indian context. It describes multilingualism, its advantages, various views regarding multilingualism, for instance the dominant monolingual countries consider two languages a nuisance, three languages as uneconomic and many languages as absurd, but for the supporters many languages is boon and a “resource” for linguistic, social and cognitive development. Multilingualism is a necessity across the world due to globalization and wider cultural communication. The chapter also discusses about the different types of multilingualism based on different criteria such as function, degree of acquisition, etc. Different scholars have looked at multilingualism in different ways. Some consider bilingualism and multilingualism as one and can be used interchangeably to refer to the 189

Chapter Six: Summary And Conclusion knowledge of more than one language. For others multilingualism is a magnified version of bilingualism. The work also describes societal multilingualism, individual multilingualism and receptive multilingualism. Then coming on to Indian multilingualism, it has been divided into two phases: pre-independence and post-independence. In the pre-independence era issues regarding multilingualism have been looked at in ancient period and medieval period. Developments in the colonial period have also been discussed. The ancient and medieval period talks about the foreign invasions and how the inscriptions give proof of the presence of multilingualism since then. In the post-independence period the best way to understand multilingualism is by studying its census records and different surveys done on languages. Finally the chapter discusses the presence of multilingualism/bilingualism in the Indian states. The census record shows that the rate of bilingualism is increasing every year. Multilingualism among the people of India is sometimes need based, sometimes it is forced and at times it is natural.

The third chapter gives a detailed account of the language policy of India like the language provisions provided in the Constitution, the status of Hindi in India, the Linguistic State Reorganization (LSR), the inclusion of languages in the Eighth Schedule, the Official Language Act and shows how they have affected the Indian multilingualism. This chapter also discusses different types of planning and policy and the setting up of language commission immediately after independence to consider to have a language policy for promoting effective administration and it also looks at how various deliberations finally agreed to converge at adopting „the Soviet Model‟ of language policy. Hence, the chapter also discusses the soviet 190

Chapter Six: Summary And Conclusion model and explores the reasons that allowed the model to lose its ground in the Indian situation.

The fourth chapter particularly describes about the educational policy of India. It gives an account of the policies with regard to education. Education is a major factor in promoting multilingualism. So what are the facilities and strategies the government has adopted to maintain multilingualism. It discusses Macaulay‟s minute and appointment & setting up of various commissions, since 1882, to look into the development of education in India. It also discusses the role of the National Policy of Education in promoting the use of languages, the three language formula and the role of mother tongue in education and the emergence of mother tongue based multilingual education.

The fifth chapter is a statistical and attitudinal study regarding multilingualism and heterogeneity in India based on a pilot survey. The survey gives an approximation of the rate of multilingualism among university students and their views regarding the language policy of India. It also discusses in brief the problems regarding the implementation of language policies in India.

Conclusion: Basically the language policies of India are made to maintain and promote diversity and multilingualism. The problem is at the implementation level. Although language policy in general supports multilingualism, there are no strict rules of execution of those policies.

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Chapter Six: Summary And Conclusion

Safeguards provided: 1. It safeguards to protect linguistic minorities from the prohibition of their languages and from some discrimination. 2. Governments grant for minority language speakers. (Article 30) 3. Amendments can be done in the Constitution according to need. 4. Three language formula 5. Various Linguistic Rights (See Appendix B)

Some views regarding the problem in implementation of language policy are: 1. Intentionally wrong reporting of the languages in the census. 2. Grouping of dialects in one language even if they are very distinct. 3. It is not possible to render all the Mother tongues of India because of economic limitations. 4. Showing only 5% speak Non-Schedule languages. 5. Unawareness among the language speakers about their mother tongue. 6. Undue interference of power and politics. 7. No definite definition of mother tongue described in the constitution. 8. All mother tongues don‟t get place in education.

The failure of a policy is not always due to government‟s wrong move. Members of the society are sometimes equally responsible for non- implementation of policy. As stated in the Wood‟s dispatch, “as a government, we can do no more than direct the effort of the people and aid them whenever they appear to require most assistance. The result depends more upon them than upon us.”

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Conceded that managing diversity is not an easy task, hence what is required is to look at as an issue and not as a problem. As an issue it can be dealt with by adopting various principles and strategies. There should be a planned framework for promoting multilingualism, in which various activities for promoting language learning and linguistic diversity should be discussed with an elaborated plan of action. Like the European Commission proposes various activities for the promoting multilingualism. They are: a) the LINGUA, Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci programmes; b) the Culture, Youth in Action and Lifelong Learning programmes; c) youth exchanges; d) Town Twinning Programmes; e) European Voluntary Service;

The objective of all the activities of Commission's multilingualism policy has three aims: 1) To encourage language learning and promote linguistic diversity in society; 2) To promote a healthy multilingual economy; 3) To give citizens access to European Union legislation, procedures and information in their own languages.

Also all the languages have its own limitation when its application comes to the technical fields. If there are explicit job opportunities in all the languages only then the use and demand of languages and dialects will grow in the education sector.

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It is a known fact that via education multilingualism can be given its best shape. So it is recognized that language use in the educational system has far reaching implications for language development, redistribution of social power and knowledge, organization of communication and information system, and politico-economic structure of society. (Dua, 2001:189). So more attention has been paid in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) of 2005 on maintain multilingualism. NCF 2005 aims at: 1. A renewed attempt should be made to implement the three language formula. 2. Children's mother tongues, including tribal languages should be considered as the best medium of instruction. 3. Proficiency in multiple languages including English should be encouraged in children. 4. Reading should be emphasized throughout the primary classes.

Suggestions: 1. Revitalization of dying languages: language which are on the verge of dying or the speakers who think there language is of no use should be renewed. For this it is important to develop a sense of pride in the speakers of these languages so that they themselves can make effort to revitalize and can seek governments help in restoring help in restoring these languages. 2. Language policy is top to bottom; it should be from below, i.e. bottom to up: the language policy of India is top to bottom means it first sees the development of majority language speakers. The languages having high status are always on the top priority and those which are minor

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languages get a small place or are even remain unnoticed. So there is a need to look into the development of minor languages first. 3. Implementation of three language formula should be made mandatory. Three language formula is a better option for maintaining multilingualism. But it should be implemented the way it was supposed to be and not the way it is being implemented in certain ways. 4. Having Multilingual Mother Tongue Education system. Many parents feel that their children will have an advantage if they grow up learning through the language of high status. (English in Indian context). So language policy attitude has to take multilingual mother tongue education perspective into account, i.e. of establishing a planned diversification so that children (and their parents) will not feel satisfied with learning English only, but also become motivated to learn their mother tongue and languages of their own neighborhood. 5. Corpus planning should be given importance over status planning. Corpus planning of those languages should be done which are unable to perform certain major functions. After that status planning should be done. 6. To have a holistic language policy inclusive of „English‟ and linguistic diversity. It should not be only mother tongue medium or only English medium education. Education should be inclusive of both. 7. Either privatization of all the schools or governments control over all. The schools run by the private sector give importance to English only, as a result people studying in government or mother tongue medium

195

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school lag behind in job sector or in status. It makes a wide divide in the society which is not good for students and for the development of the country. 8. The best way to maintain and promote multilingualism in a society is to make its individual multilingual. So more attention should be given to the promotion of individual multilingualism. 9. Before any planning there is a need to have detailed sociolinguistic surveys at different levels.

In the world of globalization, most of the societies and individuals are moving towards bi/multilingualism. This era is recognizing the need of multilingualism and people in general are particular about their identity. It can be seen, recently when the Chinese government, reportedly suggested that Mandarin, China‟s official language will slowly take the place of Cantonese in local television programming, thousands of people carried out an unprecedented protest, calling on the government to protect the Cantonese language. (The Hindu, retrieved on 29/7/10.)

Any coercive method of assimilation under the banner of national integration will give rise to agitation and revolt. So the policy should not be assimilationist rather it should be accommodationist i.e. a policy that promotes a climate that is conducive to the full expression of all languages. If a language policy is multilingual but the outcome is resulting in assimilation then instead of criticizing the policy one should come up with better solutions for overcoming these problems.

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Appendices

Appendix ‘A’ Questionnaire

Name: ______

Age: _____

Gender: Male Female

Origin: Rural Urban:

Occupation: ______

Questions:

1. Do you speak other languages, other than your native language?

Ans. No

Yes namely

a.______

b.______

c.______

2. What was the medium of your Education?

Ans.

3. How many languages you have been taught in your school?

Ans

4. How many languages you use at your home?

Ans. 224

Appendices

5. Do you think the government provides some facility for the development of your language?

Ans.

6. In which medium you wanted to have your education? (English/ Mother tongue)

Ans.

7. Does multilingualism hampers national integration of India?

Ans.

8. The language policy of India is multilingual or unilingual?

Ans.

9. Do you want to learn any of the Indian languages other than what you know?

Ans.

10. Do you think the government is able to protect and develop the minority languages of India?

Ans.

225

Appendices

Appendix ‘B’

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT, 1963 (AS AMENDED, 1967) (Act No. 19 of 1963) An Act to provide for the languages which may be used for the official purposes of the Union, for transaction of business in Parliament, for Centrtal and State, Acts and for certain purposes in HighCourts. Be it enacted by Parliament in the Fourteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

1. Short title and Commencement -

1. This Act may be called the Official Languages Act, 1963. 2. Section 3 shall come into force on the 26th day of Januray, 1965 and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

2. Definitions.-

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- a. "appointed day" in relation to section 3, means the 26th day of Januray, 1965 and in relation to any other provision of this Act, means the day on which that provision comes into force; b. "Hindi" means Hindi in Devanagari Script.

3. Continuation of English Language for official purposes of the Union and for use in Parliament-

(1) Nothwithstanding the expiration of the period of fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution, the English language may, as from the appointed day, continue to be used in addition to Hindi, a. for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before that day; and b. for the transaction of business in Parliament:

226

Appendices

Provided that the English language shall be used for purposes of communication between the Union and a State which has not adopted Hindi as its Official Language:

Provided further that where Hindi is used for purposes of communication between one State which has adopted Hindi as its official language and another State which has not adopted Hindi as its Official Language, such communication in Hindi shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in the English language:

Provided also that nothing in this sub-section shall be construed as preventing a State which has not adopted Hindi as its official language from using Hindi for purposes of communication with the Union or with a State which has adopted Hindi as its official language, or by agreement with any other State, and in such a case, it shall not be obligatory to use the English language for purposes of communication with that State.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) where Hindi or the English Language is used for purposes of communication-

i. between one Ministry or Department or office of the Central Government and another; ii. between one Ministry or Department or office of the Central Government and any corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or any office thereof.; iii. between any corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or any office thereof and another translation of such commmunication in the English language or, as the case may be in Hindi shall also be provided till such date as the staff of the concerned Ministry, Department, office or the corporation or company aforesaid have acquired a working knowledge of Hindi.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) both Hindi and the English languages shall be used for-

i. resolutions, general orders, rules, notifications, administrtative or other reports or press communiques issued or made by the Central Government or by a Ministry, Department or office thereof or by a corporation or company owned 227

Appendices

or controlled by the Central Government or by any office of such corporation or company; ii. administrative and other reports and official papers laid before a House or the Houses of Parliament; iii. contracts and agreements executed, and licences, permits, notices and forms of tender issued, by or on behalf of the Central Government or any Ministry, Department or office thereof or by a corporation or company owned or controlled by the Central Government or by any office of such corporation or company.

(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) the Central Government may, by rules made under section 8, provide for the language/languages to be used for the official purpose of the Union, including the working of any Ministry, Department, Section or Office and in making such rules, due consideration shall be given to the quick and efficient disposal of the official business and the interests of the general public and in particular, the rules so made shall ensure that persons serving in connection with the affairs of the Union and having proficiency either in Hindi or in the English language may function effectively and that they are not placed at a disadvantage on the ground that they do not have proficiency in both the languages.

(5) The provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1), and the provisions of sub- section (2), sub-section (3) and sub-section (4) shall remain in force until resolutions for the discontinuance of the use of the English language for the purposes mentioned therein have been passed by the legislatures of all the States which have not adopted Hindi as their Official Language and until after considering the resolution aforesaid, a resolution for such discontinuance has been passed by each House of Parliament.

4. Committee on Official Language-

(1) After the expiration of ten years from the date on which section 3 comes into force, there shall be constituted a Committee on Official language, on a resolution to that effect being moved in either House of Parliament with the previous sanction of the President and passed by both Houses.

228

Appendices

(2) The Committee shall consist of thirty members, of whom twenty shall be members of the House of the people and ten shall be members of the Council of States, to be elected respectively the members of the House of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Committee to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for the official purposes made in the use of Hindi for the official purpose of the Union and submit a report to the President making recommendations thereon and the President shall cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to all the State Governments.

(4) The President may, after consideration of the report referred to in sub- section (3), and the views, if any, expressed by the State Government thereon, issue directions in accordance with the whole or any part of that report : Provided that the direction so issued shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of section 3.

5. Authorised Hindi translation of Central Acts, etc. -

(1) A translation in Hindi published under the authority of the Prtesident in the Official Gazette on and after the appointed day- a. of any Centrtal Act or of any Ordinance promulgated by the President, or b. of any order, rule, regulation or by-law issued under the Constitution or under any central Act, shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in Hindi.

(2) As from the appointed day, the authoritative text in the English language of all Bills to be introduced or ammendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in Hindi authorised in such manner as may be precribed by rules made under this Act.

6. Authorised Hindi translation of State Acts in certain cases -

Where the Legislature of a State has prescribed any language other than Hindi for use in Acts passed by the Legislature of the State or in Ordinances promulgated by the Governor of the State, a translation of the same in Hindi, in addition to a translation thereof in the English language as required by clause

229

Appendices

(3) of article 348 of the Constitution, may be published on or after the appointed day under the authority of the Governor of the State in the Official Gazette of the State and in such a case, the translation in Hindi or any such Act or Ordinance shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in the Hindi language.

7. Optional use of Hindi or other Official language in judgements etc. of High Courts -

As from the appointed day or any day thereafter the Governor of a State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of Hindi or the official language of the State, in addition to the English language, for the purposes of any judgement, decree or order passed or made by the High Court for that State and where any judgement, decree or order is passed or made in any such language (other than the English language), it shall be accompanied by a translation of the same in the English language issued under the authority of the High Court.

8. Power to make rules -

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or more in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of on effect, as the case may be so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

9. Certain provisions not to apply to Jammu and Kashmir-

The provisions of section 6 and section 7 shall not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir. 230

Appendices

PROVISIONS RELATING TO LANGUAGES

PART III FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Cultural and Educational Rights

29. Protection of interests of minorities.-

1. Any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. 2. No citizen shall be denied admission into any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.

PART III FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS Cultural and Educational Rights

30. Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.-

1. All minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. 2. a. In making any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of any educational institution established and administered by a minority, referred to in clause (1), the State shall ensure that the amount fixed by or determined under such law for the acquisition of such property is such as would not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed under that clause. 3. The State shall not, in granting aid to educational institutions, discriminate against any educational institution on the ground that it is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.

231

Appendices

PART XVII OFFICIAL LANGUAGE CHAPTER I.- LANGUAGE OF THE UNION

343. Official language of the Union.

1. The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. The form of numerals to be used for the official purposes of the Union shall be the international form of Indian numerals. 2. Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), for a period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, the English language shall continue to be used for all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately before such commencement: Provided that the President may, during the said period, by order authorise the use of the Hindi language in addition to the English language and of the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the official purposes of the Union. 3. Notwithstanding anything in this article, Parliament may by law provide for the use, after the said period of fifteen years, of- 4. a. the English language, or b. the Devanagari form of numerals, for such purposes as may be specified in the law.

PART XVII OFFICIAL LANGUAGE CHAPTER I.- LANGUAGE OF THE UNION

344. Commission and Committee of Parliament on official language.-

1. The President shall, at the expiration of five years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years from such commencement, by order constitute a Commission which shall consist of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the order shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission. 2. It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to- 232

Appendices

3. a. the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union; b. restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union; c. the language to be used for all or any of the purposes mentioned in article 348; d. the form of numerals to be used for any one or more specified purposes of the Union; e. any other matter referred to the Commission by the President as regards the official language of the Union and the language for communication between the Union and a State or between one State and another and their use. 4. In making their recommendations under clause (2), the Commission shall have due regard to the industrial, cultural and scientific advancement of India, and the just claims and the interests of persons belonging to the non-Hindi speaking areas in regard to the public services. 5. There shall be constituted a Committee consisting of thirty members, of whom twenty shall be members of the House of the People and ten shall be members of the Council of States to be elected respectively by the members of the House of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. 6. It shall be the duty of the Committee to examine the recommendations of the Commission constituted under clause (1) and to report to the President their opinion thereon. 7. Notwithstanding anything in article 343, the President may, after consideration of the report referred to in clause (5), issue directions in accordance with the whole or any part of that report.

PART XVII CHAPTER II.-REGIONAL LANGUAGES

345. Official language or languages of a State.-

Subject to the provisions of articles 346 and 347, the Legislature of a State may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that State:

233

Appendices

Provided that, until the Legislature of the State otherwise provides by law, the English language shall continue to be used for those official purposes within the State for which it was being used immediately before the commencement of this Constitution.

346. Official language for communication between one State and another or between a State and the Union.-

The language for the time being authorised for use in the Union for official purposes shall be the official language for communication between one State and another State and between a State and the Union: Provided that if two or more States agree that the Hindi language should be the official language for communication between such States, that language may be used for such communication.

347. Special provision relating to language spoken by a section of the population of a State.-

On a demand being made in that behalf the President may, if he is satisfied that a substantial proportion of the population of a State desire the use of any language spoken by them to be recognised by that State, direct that such language shall also be officially recognised throughout that State or any part thereof for such purpose as he may specify.

PART XVII CHAPTER III.-LANGUAGE OF THE SUPREME COURT, HIGHCOURTS, ETC.

348. Language to be used in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts and for Acts, Bills, etc.-

1. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this Part, until Parliament by law otherwise provides- 2. a. all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High Court, b. the authoritative texts- 3. 234

Appendices

i. of all Bills to be introduced or amendments thereto to be moved in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State, ii. of all Acts passed by Parliament or the Legislature of a State and of all Ordinances promulgated by the President or the Governor _304*** of a State, and iii. of all orders, rules, regulations and bye-laws issued under this Constitution or under any law made by Parliament or the Legislature of a State, shall be in the English language. Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause (a) of clause (1), the Governor of a State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorise the use of the Hindi language, or any other language used for any official purposes of the State, in proceedings in the High Court having its principal seat in that State: Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to any judgment, decree or order passed or made by such High Court.

Notwithstanding anything in sub-clause (b) of clause (1), where the Legislature of a State has prescribed any language other than the English language for use in Bills introduced in, or Acts passed by, the Legislature of the State or in Ordinances promulgated by the Governor _304*** of the State or in any order, rule, regulation or bye-law referred to in paragraph (iii) of that sub-clause, a translation of the same in the English language published under the authority of the Governor _304*** of the State in the Official Gazette of that State shall be deemed to be the authoritative text thereof in the English language under this article.

349. Special procedure for enactment of certain laws relating to language.-

During the period of fifteen years from the commencement of this Constitution, no Bill or amendment making provision for the language to be used for any of the purposes mentioned in clause (1) of article 348 shall be introduced or moved in either House of Parliament without the previous sanction of the President, and the President shall not give his sanction to the introduction of any such Bill or the moving of any such amendment except after he has taken into consideration the recommendations of the Commission constituted under clause (1) of article 344 and the report of the Committee constituted under clause (4) of that article.

235

Appendices

PART XVII CHAPTER IV.-SPECIAL DIRECTIVES

350. Language to be used in representations for redress of grievances.-

Every person shall be entitled to submit a representation for the redress of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union or a State in any of the languages used in the Union or in the State, as the case may be.

350A. Facilities for instruction in mother-tongue at primary stage.-

It shall be the endeavour of every State and of every local authority within the State to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups; and the President may issue such directions to any State as he considers necessary or proper for securing the provision of such facilities.

350B. Special Officer for linguistic minorities.-

1. There shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by the President. 2. It shall be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under this Constitution and report to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct, and the President shall cause all such reports to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to the Governments of the States concerned.

351. Directive for development of the Hindi language.

It shall be the duty of the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language, to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India and to secure its enrichment by assimilating without interfering with its genius, the forms, style and expressions used in Hindustani and in the other languages of India specified in the Eighth Schedule, and by drawing, wherever necessary or desirable, for its vocabulary, primarily on Sanskrit and secondarily on other languages.

236

Appendices

EIGHTH SCHEDULE (Articles 344 (1) and 351) Languages

1. Assamese. 2. Bengali. 3. Bodo 4. Dogri 5. Gujarati. 6. Hindi. 7. Kannada. 8. Kashmiri. 9. Konkani. 10. Malayalam. 11. Manipuri. 12. Marathi. 13. Maithili 14. Nepali. 15. Oriya. 16. Punjabi. 17. Sanskrit 18. Santali 19. Sindhi. 20. Tamil. 21. Telugu. 22. Urdu

237