• The Census of India made public the language data based on the 2011 Census.
• It appears to inadequately reflect India’s linguistic composition, and is inconsistent with global ideas.

Why now?

• The language enumeration takes place in the first year of every decade.
• The findings are made public about seven years later.
• This is because the processing of language data is more time consuming.
• The latest language data is based on the 2011 Census.

What are the highlights?

• Mother tongues - Citizens submitted 19,569 names of mother tongues, technically called “raw returns”.
• However, authorities decided that of these, 18,200 did not match “logically”.
• This was based on the previously known linguistic and sociological information.
• The left out “raw returns” represent nearly 60 lakh citizens.
• Because of the classification regime, their linguistic citizenship has been dropped.
• A total of 1,369 names, called “labels”, were picked as “being names of languages”.
• Others - In addition to these shortlisted “mother tongue” names, there were 1,474 other mother tongue names.
• These were placed under the generic label “Others”.
• These linguistic “Others” do have languages of their own.
• But the classification system has not been able to identify what or which languages these are.
• Scheduled - The 1,369 labels have been grouped further under a total of 121 “group labels”.
• These group labels have been presented as “Languages”.
• Of these, 22 are included in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, called “Scheduled Languages”.
• The remainder, 99, are “Non-scheduled Languages”.

How was language data diluted?

• The 1961 census enumerated in full the languages in the country.
• India learnt that a total of 1,652 mother tongues were being spoken.
• Strikingly, this figure was fixed at only 109, in the 1971 Census.
• The logic was that a language deserving respectability should not have less than 10,000 speakers.
• This had no scientific basis but the practice continues to be followed.

What are the concerns?

• Hindi - It is found that most of the groupings are forced.
• E.g. under the heading “Hindi”, there are nearly 50 other languages.
• Bhojpuri spoken by more than 5 crore people comes under “Hindi.”
• It notably has its own cinema, theatre, literature, vocabulary and style.
• Also, nearly 3 crore population from Rajasthan with its own independent languages is under Hindi.
• The Powari/Pawri of tribals in Maharashtra and MP, Kumauni of Uttarakhand are also added to Hindi.
• Clearly, the report shows an inflated figure on those speaking Hindi as their mother tongue.
• There is a similar and inflated figure for Sanskrit.
• This is done by counting the returns against the question about a person’s “second language”.
• English - The use of English is not seen through the perspective of a second language.
• Counting for this is restricted to the “mother tongue” category.
• In effect, it brings down the figure substantially.
• But a significant number of Indians use English as a utility language.
• It is relevant across education, law, administration, media and health care.
• To some extent it is the language of integration in this multilingual country.

Why is language significant?

• Legacy - Language facilitates access to education, protecting livelihoods, preserving culture and knowledge traditions.
• Because of its nature, a language is not visible and fails to concern anyone except its very last speaker.
• Death of a language is covered in silence and when a language disappears it goes forever.
• It takes with it the knowledge gathered over centuries and its unique world view.
• UNESCO - UNESCO has progressively developed its vision of global linguistic diversity.
• Significantly, it had debated “Multilingualism in the Context of Education for All”.
• It has proclaimed and observed February 21 as International Mother Language Day.
• In 2001, the ‘Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity’ acknowledged the linguistic heritage of humanity.
• UNESCO has also brought out an Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.
• Thus, in the community of nations, the Indian census is bound to be discussed.

What lies ahead?

• Failure to protect a language and its loss is indeed a form of violence.
• The recent data seems to be helping neither educators nor policy makers or the speakers of languages themselves.
• Language data should help in a greater inclusion of the marginal communities and not otherwise.
• India’s linguistic diversity should become an integral part of the national pride.