Language Complexity and Multilingual Education in India – A Policy Perspective

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dc.contributor.authorResmi P Bhaskaran
dc.date.accessioned2026-02-12T06:52:54Z
dc.date.available2026-02-12T06:52:54Z
dc.date.issued2017-11-06
dc.description.abstractDebate on the medium of instruction in the primary education in India has a long history. Initially it was between classical Indian languages and foreign language, English. Colonial rulers promoted English education with adequate fund and trained teachers with modern education background. In the advent of independence movement, the medium of instruction became a political issue. The issue of what should be the medium of instruction for mass education has received the attention in all the education commissions from 1853 onwards. Independent India delineated this issue within the context of national integration and brought out three tier language formula in 1968. Only a few Indian States implemented it, while majority ignored this policy proposal. Meanwhile, the demand for English as medium of instruction strengthened among the urban middle class, making way out for modern Indian languages also from the classrooms. The present paper is an enquiry into the strategy and the methodology delineated to handle the linguistic diversity of the nation as well as the socio-economic mobility of the people through classrooms by Indian State using policy history framework.
dc.identifier.issn2320-7655
dc.identifier.issn2320-8805
dc.identifier.otherhttps://doi.org/10.15415/iie.2017.52013
dc.identifier.urihttps://demodspace.chitkara.edu.in/handle/123456789/591
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherChitkara University Publications
dc.subjectPrimary education
dc.subjectmedium of instruction
dc.subjectMother tongue education
dc.subjectMultilingualism
dc.subjectEducation policy
dc.subjectLanguage policy
dc.subjectThree tier language formula
dc.subjectLinguistic diversity
dc.subjectMarket
dc.subjectMultilingual Education in India
dc.subjectLanguage Complexity
dc.titleLanguage Complexity and Multilingual Education in India – A Policy Perspective
dc.typeArticle

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IIE Vol. 5 No. 2 (September 2017)