North-eastern India is a region known for its diverse linguistic landscape, with over 400 different languages spoken there. However, only three of these languages – Assamese, Manipuri, and Bodo – are officially listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, which designates the recognized languages of the country. According to the Census, only languages spoken by more than 10,000 people are considered mother tongues.
The issue of language is a sensitive one in this region, as it serves as a crucial marker of identity. The recent push by the Central government to make Hindi a compulsory subject in schools has brought these linguistic fault lines to the surface. In a meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee, Home Minister Amit Shah stated that 22,000 Hindi teachers have been recruited in eight states of the northeast, and all eight states have agreed to make Hindi mandatory in schools up to Class 10. However, state governments in the region have clarified that no such instruction has been issued by the Central government.
Linguists, writers, student groups, and opposition political parties are concerned about the implications of this move. They fear that it may undermine existing regional languages and hinder the development efforts of different ethnic language speakers. The North East Students’ Organization has spoken out against the imposition of Hindi, stating that it will be detrimental to the preservation and promotion of indigenous languages. Linguistic extinction would result in the loss of traditions and knowledge associated with various ethnicities.
Saikia, the president of the Asam Sahitya Sabha, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Assamese literature, emphasizes the importance of supporting every community’s mother tongue for its development and spread. He believes that strict implementation of Assam’s Official Languages Act, which designates Assamese and one ethnic language in each region as official languages, would provide equal opportunities for language development. The Asam Sahitya Sabha has undertaken a project to translate Assamese books and songs into ethnic languages and vice versa, as a means of fostering linguistic diversity.
Sociolinguist Banani Chakravarty of Gauhati University highlights the potential consequences of Hindi replacing Assamese as the lingua franca in certain areas, as observed in Arunachal Pradesh. She explains that the popularity of Hindi films and songs among indigenous language speakers in Assam may expedite the process. This could eventually lead to the marginalization of the Assamese language and a shift towards Hindi as the lingua franca. Chakravarty also mentions the phenomenon of “otherization,” where speakers of Tibeto-Burman languages are seen as inferior to Assamese speakers, which may contribute to the adoption of Hindi as a common language.
The concerns expressed by Assamese speakers are rooted in historical experiences of language suppression. During the colonial era, Assamese was replaced by Bengali as the official language in 1836 and then by Hindi as the medium of instruction in Arunachal Pradesh. These incidents have created a fear among Assamese speakers of demographic change and the erosion of their language. Census data from 2011 also indicates a decline in the percentage of Assamese speakers in the state.
The situation in other states of the northeast varies. Meghalaya, for example, became a full-fledged state in 1972, but the Khasi and Garo languages spoken there are not included in the Eighth Schedule. Mizoram has taken steps to promote its language, issuing notifications and memoranda in both English and Mizo languages. In Nagaland, English is the official language, but Nagamese, a pidgin Assamese, serves as the lingua franca for numerous Naga tribes.
Efforts to preserve ethnic languages are evident through technology adoption, multilingual dictionaries, and literary exchanges. Manipuris have been striving to replace the Bengali script with the Meitei/Meetei Mayek script, which was historically suppressed during the spread of Vaishnavism. The Bodo community in Assam has also faced challenges, particularly regarding the adoption of the Devanagari script for their language.
In summary, the issue of language and its imposition in north-eastern India is a complex and sensitive matter. The region’s linguistic diversity, cultural identities, and historical experiences all play a role in shaping the concerns and aspirations of its various communities.