‘Shift in linguistic politics’

New Delhi: Poll promises like providing English-medium education in states like Telangana (erstwhile part of Andhra Pradesh, a linguistic state), Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar (the Hindi heartland states), seem to have led to a paradigm shift in the trend of the country’s linguistic politics, say experts.

In the Telangana Assembly elections which concluded on 7 December, the Bahujan Left Front—a new political outfit comprising 28 social groups and political parties led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)—promised to introduce English-medium education along with Telugu in its manifesto, and this has triggered a debate whether the country is witnessing a dichotomy from the past linguistic movement. Although the Bahujan Left Front is electorally insignificant, social scientists say it is interesting that even smaller outfits are looking beyond linguistic identity. According to political observers, the poll promise of providing English-medium education in Telangana has significance as the region witnessed a violent agitation in the 1950s and 1960s when the demand for a linguistic state had hit its peak. With the demand for a separate Telugu speaking state, on 19 October 1952, Gandhian activist Potti Sriramulu sat on a hunger strike and died after 58 days of being on hunger strike. His death prompted a massive violent protest and led to the carving out of the formerly Andhra State from Madras State in 1956.

Ravindran, a spokesperson of Bahujan Left Party, told The Sunday Guardian: “The Bahujan Left Front’s manifesto is a reflection of changing priorities of Telugu people from the time of Sriramulu’s Telugu movement. The rise of Information Technology based industries and economic mobility in the region has led to a massive demand for an English speaking work force and to cater to this demand, we need to provide English-medium education.”

However, the trend of promising English-medium education started from Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand where the RSS’ political wing Bharatiya Janata Party-led governments announced to provide English-medium education to all students from kindergarten. But the manifesto of the Bahujan Left Front has attracted much praise due to the history of linguistic politics in the region. Manindra Nath Thakur, professor of political science at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: “The expanding size of the middle class population, rapid urbanisation and the globalised economy’s needs have forced political parties and social groups to redraft their linguistic political strategy. The RSS has always been stressing on the creation of ‘one nation, one language and one flag’. But the changing social, economic and political landscape of the country has forced traditional social groups like the RSS to redraft their manifesto,” Thakur said.