National Education Policy (NEP) promises a lot for a transformative change in the education sector; for now the section, 'Multilingualism and the power of language' caught my attention.

A quick commentary on this!

English language with its colonial legacy and eurocentrism can never dissociate itself from its long standing power and influence.

That said, in a current set-up constrained by material conditions, inequality, racism, casteism, and political landscape, 'English' as a language provides an opportunity to 'overcome' or 'resist' these constraints in our everyday life.

Decolonial methodology involves using English language by giving it back in a language known to oppressors, agents, enablers and centrist. Through this method, indigenous/tribal peoples can lay a claim on authorship and own their knowledge system.

While at it, mother tongue must be preserved, spoken, taught and learned along this whole process so that one's community identity is not subsumed into the tendency of seeing them as ahistorical; cultures to be regressive, and custom as outdated, etc.

This significance looks bleak in the NEP, especially for various ethnic tribal communities in the states of north-eastern region.

Circumstance & context must come into play when it comes to language & its relevance, for our tribal community in Manipur speaking 'English' is an act of resistance to immediate overarching socio-political conditions and history residing in languages like Meitei, Bengali & Hindi.

In the NEP's three languages to be taken up by children, two of the three have to be native languages of India. I am wondering here, which are the languages a student in one particular geography (read Imphal here) must take up, & how about when their family moves to other state.

Coming back to our tribe, we do not have script and our knowledge system centres around 'Oral Tradition'-orally transmitted from one generation to another.

There is not a single mention of Oral Tradition and Oral History in NEP, and with a special emphasis on languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India for investment and improvising language learning, the hardship staring at tribal student is alarming!

There is also a project called 'The Languages of India' mentioned in the NEP preferably for Grades 6-8 with special emphasis on 'Sanskrit'. Having read this section of NEP, it is perplexing to think of the near future.

Moving on to other section, and will wait for more clarity!

Just a clarification, the commentary here is only on the section- ‘Multilingualism and the power of language' of NEP