How Will the NEP 2020 Affect Indian Languages?

The NEP is a big step in the right direction, more so when you compare it to the previous Education Policy of 1986 in terms of promoting Indian languages and preventing the dominance of any one Indian language.

The old policy advocated for a three-language formula that aimed at making Hindi the link language that would connect Indians. How? It mandated that of the three languages, one would be English, second Hindi, and third “preferably” a Southern Indian language in Hindi-speaking states. However, students in southern India would have to learn English, their mother tongue, and Hindi.

But NEP 2020 says that students can learn any three languages as long as two of them are of Indian origin.

Looks harmless, right? If anything, it’s clearly rejecting the idea of Hindi being the link language for India and promoting other Indian languages.

However, some states have clearly said that they will not be implementing the NEP chiefly because of the language clause.

Why?

These states insist that it’s a veiled attempt at imposing Hindi. And their concern is not without reason.

While the policy does say that the third language can be any Indian language, the reality on the ground is that resources for providing additional language teachers and learning materials for languages other than Hindi are very limited.

So, even though students might want to learn other languages, schools won’t be able to provide the necessary resources. Besides, the Central government has taken great efforts to make it easier for schools in non-Hindi speaking states to teach Hindi.

In conclusion, if we really implement the NEP as it is envisioned, it will provide a great boost to all Indian languages; however, if it isn’t executed properly, the opposite will become true.