ONE MORE BHASHA, MANY QUESTIONS

THE University Grants Commission’s recent directive ambitiously titled ‘Learn One More Bharatiya Bhasha’ presents itself as a progressive reform couched in the rhetoric of cultural pride and linguistic revival.

- JOHN J KENNEDY

It promises to promote multilingualism, bridge regional divides and shift India away from an ‘English-dominant framework’ to a ‘Bharatiya bhasha-centred learning ecosystem’. Yes, it sounds uplifting. However, a closer examination of both the wording and the structure of the guidelines reveals a series of longstanding anxieties that this initiative does little to address.

The very title raises suspicions from states with a history of opposing central language policies. ‘Learn one more Bharatiya bhasha’ may sound innocent, but this is precisely the phrasing that Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and even Maharashtra have objected to for decades, viewing it as a thinly-disguised version of the old three-language formula. The document reaffirms that every higher education institution (HEI) must offer courses in at least three Indian languages. The logic is unclear: if the goal is multilingualism, why limit it to three?

More importantly, who decides the additional languages? Going by experience, Hindi will undoubtedly find a place, further fuelling the charge that the new guidelines are not new at all; they simply repackage an older, contentious formula in glossy language about national integration and employability. Even the celebrated idea of awarding students who learn five or more languages seems more symbolic than real.