L50 - Culture in India

Last week at a book launch, Union Home Minister Amit Shah made that clear. Shah said that those who speak English in India would “soon feel ashamed” and that the creation of such a society was not far away. He went on to say that Indian languages are the jewels of our culture, and without them, “we cease to be truly Indian”. 

https://theprint.in/opinion/bjp-english-khan-market-gang/2668305/ 

Shah’s pronouncements aren’t emerging in a vacuum. For years, language debates have simmered in India, particularly around the New Education Policy’s three-language formula, which southern states view as Hindi imposition (although the policy does not explicitly mandate Hindi). Tamil Nadu has been especially vocal in its resistance, labelling the policy as a direct assault on linguistic federalism. The timing of Shah’s remarks – delivered just as Bihar prepares for October-November polls and Tamil Nadu gears up for elections next April – is carefully calibrated electoral ammo. By villainising English, the BJP is no doubt betting that linguistic nationalism will energise its base in the Hindi heartland, even if it alienates the southern states.

So when Shah promises that English speakers will feel ashamed, it begs the question: How exactly does India plan to become the “vishwaguru” if its citizens are ever more insular? Phantom enemies are fine; every government needs a few. But when you convince people that their limitations should be viewed as patriotic victories, the consequences extend far beyond politics. This is how a country talks itself into irrelevance.