A Study On The Multilingual Education In India

India is a typical multilingual and multi-dialect country,with as many as 1,652 languages and dialects.Thousands of years of division and centuries of colonial history under Britain have created the extremely complex multilingual environment in India.Therefore,it is crucial for India to formulate appropriate language policies and language education policies.After the independence of India in 1947,the federal government of India planned to replace English by Hindi within 15 years and make Hindi the national language in order to get rid of the remnant of the British colonial period.However,this provision was strongly opposed by the southern states of India,and the language conflicts broke out across India.Afterwards,for domestic stability,the Indian government stipulated that Hindi is the official language and English is the associate official language,and the other languages of the Union is specified in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India under the game of interests of all parties.Under such language policy,it launched the multilingual education policy known as the “Three-language Formula” which requires students to learn their mother tongue/regional language,English and other modern Indian languages.Since then,the multilingual education policy of India has been gradually formed and continuously improved.Today,Indian multilingual education maintains the diversity of Indian languages,ensures the unity and stability of India,and is in line with the national conditions of India and the globalized international environment.Meanwhile,China is also a multilingual and multi-dialect country.Therefore,the research on the multilingual education in India can provide reference for the development of the language policy,the language education policy and the multilingual education in China or other multilingual countries.This study attempts to explore the following questions through relevant literature analysis and empirical research: First,what has been the development of the language education policy in India from the early days of independence to today? Second,what is the current situation of the implementation of the multilingual education in India? Third,how does the multilingual education in India affect the national and ethnic identity? This study explores the development of the language policy and the language education policy in India after independence by means of literature analysis.And by the interviews and comparative research on 20 Indian students from a medical university in Kunming,this study conducts an in-depth investigation on the current situation of the implementation of the multilingual education in India.Meanwhile,this study discusses the impact of multilingual education in India on the national and ethnic identity through both literature analysis and empirical research.The research findings are as follows:(1)After independence,the language policy of India has gradually shifted from the monolingual policy to the multilingual policy,forming today’s language diversity in India.At the same time,the language education policy of India has paid more and more attention to multilingual education,and the “Three-language Formula” has been formulated and continuously improved.(2)At present,the multilingual education policy is widely implemented in India,which promotes exchanges between states and maintains the linguistic diversity of India,but it still has the following problems: inequality in policy formulation,uncertainty in implementation,and inconsistency in evaluation standards.(3)The language education policy and multilingual education in India promote Hindi and protect the mother tongue and regional languages,which enhances the national identity and ethnic identity of citizens,and promotes the harmonious development of India.This study can provide reference and inspiration for the development of the language education policy and the multilingual education in China by analyzing the development process of language policy and language education policy of India and discussing the implementation of multilingual education in India.Due to limited conditions,this study still has shortcomings in breadth and depth,and further in-depth research is needed in the future.