Language Policy in India Essay

The general cause of the Indian Independence Movement was India’s desire for independence from British, French and Portuguese Rule. The aim of the movement was “Swaraj, a self-governing India” (Sharma, 2005, p. 22). One, more specific, cause of the Indian Independence Movement took place in 1905 when the province of Bengal was divided into two provinces,

All parties seem to be agreed on one point, that the dialects commonly spoken among the natives of this part of India contain neither literary or scientific information, and are, moreover so poor and rude that, until they are enriched from some other quarter, it will not be easy to translate any valuable work into them…

Many people believe that in the 1940’s most of India’s problems involving independence was to do with divisions within India rather than British imperialism. In this essay I will be looking at both points of view and finally giving my opinion. I will be using three sources also to help me show both sides of the story. I will also be using my further knowledge to add a wider range of knowledge.

Throughout the years many historians have compilated and examined why Indian people were so desperate to gain back their independence from the British Empire during their rule over India, from 1612 to 1947. The reasoning can most definitely be found as the British discriminated against Indian people as they believe that they were inferior; it is no surprise that Indian people fought so hard for their independence. Throughout the British Raj, they placed and put forward unbelievably racist acts and laws which discriminated against Indian people. Which of course led to Indians to rebel against the British rule and which the British reacted with causing massacres. Explaining the nationalistic many India’s felt during the British Raj.

The purpose of this historical inquiry is to analyze to what extent did British Imperialism have an effect on shaping modern India? The main source that will be discussed in this paper is the seventh book of the Spotlight on History Series called The British Raj, which explains the reasons behind the conflicts between the British Empire and Indian nationalism and assess the achievements of a memorable relationship.

The languages used by the Indians were being used less and less as the British proclaimed English as the official language. “English was forced upon us, and thanks to this, the regional languages started dying. Sanskrit is dead, and languages like Gujarati and Sindhi are under threats of extinction” (Youth Connect). Like many places and societies of the world, racism was alive and well in India. “British racist attitudes hurt Indian culture” (Weebly).

An empire on is ways to conquer the world to decorate its dear crown could not mistakenly forget to collect its chief jewel. The country of diversity, riches and abundant resources caught the avaricious eyes of the British right after the British gained political power in France in 1763. India’s peaceful atmosphere and lack of being politically unified, due to its vast culture and diversity, paved the way for the British to capture more than just a trading agreement with the British East India Company. Although the British are worthy of receiving partial credit for modernizing India, the negative effects cannot be overlooked since far more damage had been done than rectification. They greedily fueled their economy while draining India’s, socially impacted their jewel in a negative manner in the name of modernization and tore apart the land of diversity and culture while stealing words from the oppressed.

The country of Nepal is home to approximately twenty seven million people, with ninety two different identified languages spread across the numerous ethnic groups. About eighty seven percent of the country’s population speak one of the five major languages: Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, and Tamang (Weinberg, 62). However, Nepali is spoken as a primary language by about half of the total population. Out of the ninety two identified languages, fifty nine each have less than ten thousand speakers (Bista, 2). The total population speaking these fifty nine languages is about point five percent, with the majority of these non-dominant languages in danger of becoming extinct because of the declining population of speakers (Ghimire, 1). Additionally, the language of Nepali is used in legal affairs, business transactions, mass media,

On the other hand, India has spent a majority of its history as a colony of England. It was not until 1947 that India became an independent nation state, after a grassroots nationalist movement started by Gandhi, and even then they were a one party congress. They are also an interesting case of democracy because of how many unfavorable aspects towards it they had, such as high inequality, many peasants, and many different languages and religions (Lecture). In 1956, India was broken up into states by the States Reorganization Act, that made state lines based on linguistic group. India’s founding leaders mirrored the ideas of America, in balancing states rights with a central government (Sil, 2014). They have also more recently gone through a liberalization of their economy. India is unique in the way that their social hierarchy is constructed because of the fact that they have a caste system. The caste system is a combination of religious practice and community organization that is a part of Hinduism (Sil, 2014). This system was officially demolished in the country, but in the country it is still very prevalent, and the focus on helping those who were in lower castes succeed has made people more aware of the way they institute social policies.

Examples of failed multi-lingual socities are witnessed around the world. India, a country of more than ten official languages, is the worst example of chaotic society and bureaucracy nightmare, regardless English is still used extensively as an official language in India. Without a single recognized common language, the government

There are a few pieces of information to the start of the English/Indian clash. Powhatan asked John Smith when the English intend to leave, which is the main sign that he needed them gone. John smith did not react so it appeared like he had no plans of leaving at any point in the near future. Another piece of information is that, each exchange they talked about, the main exchanges that included weapons intrigued Powhatan. Either Powhatan was attempting to inspire weapons to secure himself and his kin or possibly he was endeavoring to perceive how John Smith would react. On the off chance that john smith wasn't willing to give away any weapons that would be a sign that he didn't believe the Indians or that he would require the weapons later

The depth of my cultural understanding is accumulated with the diverse norms and beliefs surrounding my country. I was born in Merced, California, a city full of culturally mixed ethnicities and traditions. My family taught me to embrace my cultural background as early as the years of my infancy. My parents believed that the sole route to input my nation’s traditions into my soon diverse mind was to teach me my nation’s primary language. Punjabi became my first and only language during the years of my early childhood. The challenges that exceeded after it became an important aspect that endorsed motivation and determination in my life. My first step in Kindergarten showed my parents that enrooting only one culture would not suffice in any nation. The language barrier between me and the other students enriched characteristics of timidness and shyness. The other students feared my cultural distinction and left me to play alone. Though this experience was difficult, it taught my parents and I to extend our culturally nativities and accept the divergent societies in America. Eventually, English became my primary language as the years of middle school taught me to adapt to the language. An accent had left my English language but impacted my Punjabi language as

Contemporary comparative erudition on the topic of nationalism proposes another reason for India’s democratic survival. Under the independence movement, with the governance of Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress party turned what formerly had been a cultural unit into a nation with a cultural political unit. This transformation perpetuated Indian democracy: “There has to be a political unit before there can be a democracy” The strategic communications between British authorities and national movement leaders also laid the fundamentals of democracy. No historical explanation can be comprehensive unless it takes the “agency” of India’s freedom movement into justification – with the attainment of India’s autonomy. (Varshney 1998: 38)

Language is an essential part of everyday life. States within India have their own languages, more than 20 officially recognized languages are there in India including English, Hindi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil etc. In that, English and Hindi are using for official purpose. I am familiar with different languages such as Malayalam, English, Telugu and Tamil, but my mother tongue is Malayalam.

One of the most important elements all cultures possess is the language which represents each one . Language is of vital importance to people’s lives, since it is a way of communicating with others. Language also offers people the ability to create and maintain relationships with others. Each language includes numerous varieties, named dialects. Languages and dialects have some main differences and the distinction of their boundaries is considered to be a difficult issue.