At the time of Independence from the British rule in 1947, there were many princely states. Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, the then home minister, played a stellar role in amalgamating these states into the union of India. The Constitution of India was adopted on 20th November 1949 and came into effect on 26th January 1950, which defined Union of India, comprising of different states and union territories. In 1956, the states were recognized on linguistic basis.
Language is a system of mutually intelligible vocal symbol by which the member of a society communicates. It serves as a medium of communication and expression of and for the masses, thereby instilling in them a sense of belongingness and warmness. In a broader sense, language plays an essential ROK in constructing a sense of identity.
India is one such country which holds more than a billion population comprising of a vast communities having its own ethnocentric and distinctive profile of spoken and written languages. About 400 languages and 300 dialects spoken across 29 states and 7 Union Territories of India. According to 2011 linguistic survey, census at a reports there are a total of 121 languages and 270 mothertongues. There are 22 languages specified in the 8the constitution of India, of which Hindi is the predominant language spoken by about 43.63% of the population followed by Bengali (8.03%), Marathi (6.83%), Telugu (6.70%) and Tamil (5.70%).
The multilingual aspect of the country affects every aspect of its national life. At present the language problem has become so acute that it has posed a major threat to national integration. Most often linguistic tensions are being manifested in the borders which are bilingual.
Of course English is a great language, but the problem is that, no nation can grow great with the help of a foreign language, simply because a foreign language fails to represent the indigenous culture. In the past, India did not have the problem of languages, because Sanskrit and Prakrit served as link language. At present, although Hindi has been recognized as the official language of the Union, but his has promoted bitter hostilities, particularly in the South.
Development of one national language, that is, Sanskrit maybe keep the linguistic unrest under control as most of the languages owe their origin to the Sanskrit grammar and literature. States should be recognized as administrative unit rather than linguistic units. There should be ban on the political organizations which try to solidify linguism.
In conclusion, language is the most delicate part of the body of community. It should not ordinarily be disturbed in the process of national development or social regeneration.
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