Language in India: A Neutral, well-researched look

Jun 28, 2025

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Controversial post ahead

This is indeed a contentious topic that often surfaces across social media and news platforms - language in India. We’ve all seen stories: a bank officer in Karnataka insisting on speaking Hindi to Kannada customers. This sparks heated debates. Are languages being imposed, neglected, or empowered? I want to write about this through personal experience, social data, and policy, without taking sides.

My experiences

I am a native Telugu speaker and learnt Odia to communicate with my father's side of the family. I also learned Hindi in school and had many friends who speak Hindi primarily. I can speak English of course. I've witnessed firsthand how language can both bridge and divide communities.

Speaking multiple languages and code-switching between them has never been a challenge for me personally. During my undergraduate years in Bhopal, I found that Hindi served as a natural bridge for communication, even with classmates from different regions.

Now, in Jaipur for my M. Des, our cohort includes three people from the North and three from the South. When I first met my Malayali-batchmate, I expected English, but we naturally switched to Hindi, a bridge amid linguistic diversity.

Yet, most fieldwork interviews in Hindi were smooth; I adapted quickly. I can’t understand Marwari, but seeing northern people struggle with other languages such as Malayalam or Telugu mirrors my own earlier experience.

Is Hindi Being Imposed or Chosen?

Many in the South feel Hindi is being forced on them, especially in tech hubs like Bengaluru. That sentiment isn't baseless. Yet, many also study and speak Hindi voluntarily.

Post-independence, Hindi was promoted to unify India, but it unintentionally overshadowed many regional tongues and scripts. Regional languages like Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, and Kannada fear losing cultural identity amid this shift.

What the Numbers Say: Policy & Funding

NEP 2020 recommends mother-tongue instruction until Grade 5 (ideally till Grade 8), with a three-language formula and clear line: "No language will be imposed”
In Budget 2023–24, ₹300.7 crore was allocated to institutions promoting Indian languages (a 20% rise from 2022–23), and ₹53.6 crore went to the Central Institute of Indian Languages.
A March 2024 initiative launched schooling in 52 non‑scheduled languages, backed with ₹9,000 crore to strengthen DIETs over five years.
Associations like the Ministry of Education and UGC are pushing for study materials in 22 languages through ASMITA.
Funding skews are stark: Sanskrit received ₹643 crore in 3 years, while Tamil got ₹23 crore, Telugu & Kannada - ₹3 crore each, and Malayalam/Odia, none.

Despite the NEP’s good intentions, critics argue the policy lacks implementation clarity and resource commitment.

Balancing Unity and Diversity

India’s linguistic diversity is its strength, not a barrier. My experiences have shown me that linguistic diversity is cultural wealth. But identity, politics, and pride are deeply tied to language.

We need common mediums to communicate - yes. But not at the cost of erasing others.

A solution?

From what I have learned:

No one language should be pushed and instead, give people a choice
Fund all languages fairly
Ensure learning materials exist in every language
At public service points (banks, hospitals, etc.), speak in the user’s preferred language
Encourage cross-cultural exchanges to appreciate linguistic diversity

In Summary

Language is more than communication - it’s identity, heritage, politics. Nobody should be forced into a linguistic identity. We also can’t ignore the need for shared mediums to unite effectively

This isn’t about Hindi vs. Tamil or English vs. Telugu. It’s about building a system that respects every tongue. I’ve seen both the comfort and the friction of India’s multilingualism. We have promising policies (NEP, NEI, ASMITA), but unless we invest in: