However, there exists a chasm between the goals and principles and the policies envisaged for attaining them. The endeavour to promote the mother tongue must be appreciated and its significance understood in a multilingual country like India. This will be followed by both public and private schools” (para 4.11). Thereafter, the home/local language shall continue to be taught as a language wherever possible. While acknowledging the power of languages, the Centre has proposed to promote multilingualism through NEP: “Wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.

It is in this context that NEP 2020 with its multilingual formula becomes relevant. The declining percentage of the speakers of other scheduled languages can be attributed to a faulty language policy, which promotes bilingualism that is a negation of the idea of a multicultural India. But there are critics who describe Hindi’s astonishing growth of 161 per cent between 19 as ‘linguistic imperialism’. Apart from these, Mizoram (9.83 per cent) Jharkhand (9.73 per cent), Meghalaya (7.84 per cent) and Arunachal Pradesh (7.27 per cent) have Bengali-speaking people too.Ī number of reasons can be cited to explain the rise in the number of speakers of a particular language. Census 2011 says that Bengali is the second most spoken language in India but its speakers are concentrated in three states and one Union territory: West Bengal (86.22 per cent), Tripura (65.73 per cent), Assam (28.92 per cent) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (28.49 per cent).

In 2001, the figure dropped to 8.11 per cent and dipped further to 8.03 per cent in 2011.

The percentage of Bengali-speaking people in 1991 was estimated to be 8.30 per cent of India’s population. Bengali, the sixth most spoken language of the world, is shrinking. According to census figures, barring Hindi, which has shown a spectacular growth from 36.99 per cent in 1971 to 43.63 per cent in 2011, almost every other scheduled language, with the exceptions of Gujarati, Kashmiri and Manipuri, is on a downward trend. The comparative speakers’ strength of the 22 scheduled languages reveals that Bengali is showing signs of decline. An examination of these concerns merits a glance at the linguistic map of India presented by Census 2011. Language and the medium of instruction in schools, for instance, are contentious issues. While the pros and cons of the NEP are being analysed, there are stakeholders who have expressed several apprehensions. The National Education Policy proposes to bring fundamental changes to the Indian education system.

Bengali language