Mother Tongue and English: The Politics of Language in Indian Higher Education 

The National Democratic Alliance government of India advocates for education in the mother tongue in its National Education Policy 2020. While English is aspirational in India for people of all social backgrounds, the policy discusses English only in the context of its offering as a subject of study and the need for bilingual textbooks. Mother Tongue and English by Christina Davis and Chaise LaDousa, incorporates interviews and participant observation at three higher education institutions—Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Delhi University, and Jawaharlal Nehru University—to consider how students wrestle with ideologies of mother tongue and English. It examines education policy, national media activity, and a campus cultural event to trace ideological constructions of mother tongue and English. It analyses student reflections to show that their senses of mother tongue are more complex, varied, and critical than what is possible in national or performative contexts. It also demonstrates how the students struggled to make sense of the crucial place of English in their lives. Finally, the book considers students’ digital practices to show that they embody creative capacities with respect to languages they identify as mother tongues and English.