Remember your school days?
I’m talking to people born in the 1980s and earlier generations of Indians. When we had to write an essay on India, we would proudly write:
“India is a vast and diverse nation where every 100 kilometers the language, cuisine, climate, landscape, clothing, and food change.”
What I once wrote with immense pride in my heart is now turning into a nightmare for many of us.
Oh God! I’m in the land of a language I don’t know…
With a growing number of incidents across the Country, mainly in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and West Bengal, where native residents are harassing people from other states to speak only the local language or face dire consequences, the situation has become alarming.
Sitting miles away from these places, I can still see clearly that these are politically motivated actions. Many Maharashtrians are condemning such behavior, where Marathi is being forced on non-Marathi speakers.
A few days ago, I read in The Times of India about a proposed rule that would require schools to teach and communicate in the “mother tongue” or state language until Grade 2. This is worrying for CBSE and international board schools, where both students and teachers come from diverse linguistic backgrounds.
This kind of ‘local language’ enforcement is going to affect:
- Armed forces personnel
- Government officials
- Diplomats
- Doctors
- Bankers
- Students who move across states for education
- Employees who choose companies, not states
- And many more.
The reasoning behind the rule is that a child should not be confused by learning in a language different from the one they speak at home. Fair enough.
But now read that again from the perspective of lakhs of children studying in states where their home language is not spoken. Will a Marathi-speaking child not be confused when they’re taught in Telugu at school but speak Marathi at home?
The education department must understand a basic truth: young children can pick up languages quickly. And as they grow, whether we like it or not, the common mode of communication is going to be English. English enables them to move across regions—and even countries. We should focus on building a strong foundation while they are young.
Now, let’s address this growing obsession with “My State, My Language ONLY”. What are we trying to achieve through such enforcement? Should Maharashtra only have Marathi speakers? Does Karnataka only have Kannada speakers? West Bengal, only Bengali speakers?
I read an article a few months ago in which a pro-Marathi party worker claimed that the influx of people speaking other languages is causing Marathi to disappear.
How delusional!
A Hindi-speaking person cannot barge into your home and force you to speak Hindi. You can continue speaking Marathi with your children. I know several Marathis living in Telangana who speak to me in Hindi or English—because those are the languages I understand. But as soon as another Marathi joins the conversation, they switch to Marathi. They talk to their children in Marathi.
Now, if a Marathi parent admits their child to an English-medium or international school for a certain ‘status’ but then expects the school to operate in Marathi, the solution is not to force everyone to speak Marathi. The solution is to admit the child to a Marathi-medium school.
Let’s reflect for a moment: why did people start moving to other states in the first place? Why would a Telugu person go to Karnataka, or a Gujarati to Maharashtra?
Because they were looking for better opportunities—jobs, education, a livelihood. Migration worked because it benefited everyone. That’s how a country grows. Not every state offers every opportunity. If one excels in agriculture, another in industry. A farmer’s child may want to work in a factory, and should be free to move. If they know the local language, great. If not, they’ll manage—or learn. But making language a condition to live somewhere? That’s absurd.
Here’s another question:
Can a state sustain itself solely with its native population? Should armed forces be made up only of local recruits? Can every state have top-class doctors, healthcare, industry, and educational institutions? Of course not.
Expecting people to quickly learn a new language every time they move is unreasonable. If we take this obsession to the extreme, we’d have to organize mass migrations. Let the Ambani family move back to Gujarat and shut down all businesses in other states. If we can’t tolerate our fellow Indians, we certainly can’t accommodate foreign companies either. So let’s ask all MNCs to pack up.
And if someone falls seriously ill? Well, no traveling across states for treatment—the doctor might not speak your language.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
That’s the point. We must not let language become a wedge between us.
If you want to preserve your language, be creative:
- Organize language festivals
- Promote authors from your state
- Introduce Indian language history in schools
- Provide Indian language options like Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, etc., alongside French or German as additional/optional language option in schools
- Support regional movies across the country
- Most importantly, speak your language at home so the younger generation stays connected to it
Let’s celebrate India’s diversity, not destroy it with fear.
No Indian should feel alienated in their own country because of the language they speak.
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Important Note:
I understand that this blog may make some people angry or uncomfortable, as their language is being mentioned repeatedly. However, I urge you to be mature enough to recognize that these incidents are not happening across the entire country or in every state. There are a few specific states where this language-related conflict is actively taking place, and I’ve mentioned them here solely to provide context.
Personally, I’ve lived in more than 5–6 Indian states and have received immense warmth and kindness from the native residents. Many of them taught me basic words from their language with love, just so I could manage better, and that is how it should be.
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Image Courtesy: Photo by zhendong wang on Unsplash
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