A Study Of Language Education Policy In India From The Perspective Of Nationalism

India is a multi-lingual,multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country.The language policy and education in India are complex and sensitive.The language issue has caused many social conflicts in history.As a result,developing a language policy in India is extremely challenging.India’s language policy should not only adapt to linguistic diversity,but also deal with ethnic,religious and regional issues.This study has explored complex language situation,language policy and language education policy in different periods,so we can find the factors which affect the changes of India’s language policy in different periods.And then,we can comprehend the influence of Indian nationalism,explore the complex connection of the language problems,the politics,the society,the history and nations.In the colonial period,The language policy of India mainly served for the colonial governors.English entered various fields of Indian society and played an important role as the dominant language.Although English has brought western science,technology,ideology and culture to India,cultivated a group of advanced intellectuals and elites,and promoted external contacts,it has also posed a great threat to the status of India’s native languages.The contradiction between English and native languages intensified with the development of Indian independence movement.The awakening of Indian nationalism pushed native languages as a symbol of national unity to stand against the colonial language--English.Near the independence of India,contradiction between languages becomes more serious.The oppositions of English and Indian languages exists.Except that,Gandhi nationalism advocated "a country,a language",the independent country put forward the concept of "national language" to get rid of the colonization,which has caused the fights between several nations.They all strived for the status of their own languages.In order to appease the ethnic conflicts caused by language,Hindi has been selected as the only official language in India.What’s more,English can be used in 15 years.This monolingual policy has been written in Indian constitution.In initial stage of independence,this policy provoked protests from non-Hindi-speaking regions in southern India.In the face of fierce ethnic and regional conflicts,Indian government finally solved the conflicts peacefully to ensure the unification and development of India.In 1967,India published the Official Language Act,declared that English was the auxiliary official language and proclaimed three language formula.This marked the change from monolingual policy to multilingual policy in India,and also reflected the change of main nationalism ideology after dependence.India did not base on religions,but based on secular nationalism,in order to solve ethnic and regional disputes peacefully and promote the development of unified India.Since then,the multilingual policy and three language formula have been adjusted to adapt to social development and the current situation of Indian languages constantly.The BJP became India’s largest party at the end of 20 th century.At the same time,Hindu nationalism revived.With Modi’s reappointment in 2019,the dominance of Hindu nationalism in politics has been cemented.National Education Policy 2020 issued by the Modi government reflects the thoughts of Hindu nationalism,contains India’s great ambition and cultural pride.The policy adjusts three language formula,stresses the importance of mother tongue education,develops local languages to promote the spread of Indian culture,and generalizes Hindi.However,the new language policy strengthened the status of Hindi and suppressed Chinese education,which caused a lot of controversies.The new language policy doesn’t get rid of the influence of narrow religious nationalism.The language problem in India hasn’t been eradicated.There are many difficulties to be solved.India’s language policy should face multilingual contradictions,protect linguistic diversity and improve the status of Hindi as a lingua franca in national construction.