Syllabus: GS-I: Cultural DiversityWhy in the News?

The alarm over language endangerment in Arunachal Pradesh—home to over 40 languages and 100 dialects—has reignited a broader conversation on the linguistic vulnerability of Northeast India, including Assam.

More About the News

•  In Arunachal, small tribal languages like Nah, Tangam, and Mra are on the verge of extinction.
  • While in Assam, several indigenous tongues such as Tiwa, Mising (dialect variants), Rabha, Karbi, Deori, Dimasa, Aiton, Khamti, and others face an uncertain future due to diminishing speakers and limited transmission to younger generations.
• Linguists warn that nearly 60% of the languages in Northeast India could vanish by 2050 if not documented or revitalized. 
• The crisis underscores how globalization, migration, and educational shifts are silencing linguistic identities that embody centuries of oral tradition, folklore, and ecological wisdom.

The Linguistic Landscape of the Northeast

Arunachal Pradesh

• Home to 26 major tribes and over 100 sub-tribes.
• Dominated by Tibeto-Burman linguistic families, with others from Austroasiatic and Indo-Aryan roots.
• Critically endangered languages include Nah (Na), Tangam, Mra, Koro Aka, and Bugun.
• The Tangam language, spoken in Upper Siang, has fewer than 50 fluent speakers left.
  

Assam

• Assam is linguistically diverse, with Assamese, Bengali, and Bodo as major languages — but it also hosts over 20 ethnic and tribal languages, many endangered.
  

Languages Facing Decline in Assam

Fact Box: According to the People’s Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI), Assam alone accounts for over 55 languages and dialects, but nearly one-third are endangered.

Why Are Languages Dying?

1. Shrinking Speaker Base

• Small tribal populations (many below 10,000 speakers) face demographic and cultural assimilation.
• Migration to urban areas and inter-community marriages accelerate language loss.

2. Educational and Policy Bias

• The medium of instruction in Assamese or English leaves little room for mother-tongue education.
• Until recently, very few ethnic languages had approved textbooks or trained teachers.
  

3. Social Stigma and Cultural Change

• Tribal languages are often perceived as “inferior” or “unmodern”.
• English and Assamese dominate aspirational and employment spheres, leading to voluntary abandonment of native tongues.
  

4. Lack of Institutional Support

• No formal state-level Language Conservation Policy in Assam.
• Limited documentation, digital resources, and scholarly research on smaller ethnic languages.

5. Technological Exclusion

• Tribal languages have almost zero presence in digital media — no keyboards, fonts, or online content — alienating youth further.
  

Consequences of Linguistic Erosion

• Loss of Cultural Identity: Each language encodes unique folklore, songs, and rituals.
  • For instance, Tiwa oral epics and folk songs (Pha-Ke-Dhong) that describe clan lineages and agricultural customs.
• Cultural and Civilizational Loss: When languages vanish, they take with them entire cultural systems.
  • For instance, Aiton and Khamti manuscripts, written in ancient Tai script, connect Assam’s history to Southeast Asia.
• Erosion of Traditional Knowledge: Ecological and medicinal practices transmitted orally are lost forever.
  • Deori and Rabha chant about preserving forest and riverine knowledge systems.
• Weakened Social Cohesion: Language ties communities together; its loss can fragment ethnic solidarity.
• Diminished Diversity: Cultural homogenization leads to a less diverse, less resilient society.

Languages are repositories of heritage — they preserve ecology, cosmology, and collective identity. Their extinction erodes cultural diversity and weakens India’s pluralistic fabric.

Efforts for Preservation

1. Community-Led Initiatives

• Tiwa Language Education Programme (2025): The Assam Government introduced Tiwa as a medium of instruction in 62 primary schools of Morigaon district — a historic first step toward revival.
• Mising, Karbi, and Bodo literary bodies regularly hold conventions to promote creative writing and translation in native languages.
  

2. Institutional Interventions

• Centre for Endangered Languages (CEL) at Tezpur University and Department of Linguistics, Gauhati University are documenting and archiving ethnic languages.
• The State Cultural Affairs Department is funding digital documentation of folk literature in Tiwa, Rabha, and Deori.
  

3. Educational Policies

• Under NEP 2020, Assam plans to introduce tribal and mother tongues in primary education.
• Pilot textbooks in Tiwa, Rabha, and Deori are being developed by SCERT Assam.

4. Cultural Revivals

• Storytelling festivals, folk song documentation, and language melas are encouraging youth participation.
• Tiwa Cultural Council and Rabha Sahitya Sabha have started annual “Language Days” to raise awareness.
  

Challenges Ahead

• Limited number of trained teachers and linguistic experts.
• Absence of standardized script in many oral languages (e.g., Tiwa, Moran).
• Inadequate digital inclusion — no apps, dictionaries, or translation tools.
• Fragmentation among dialects within the same tribe.
• Funding constraints — most preservation efforts depend on NGOs or academic grants.
  

Way Forward

• State-Level Language Conservation Mission: Create an Assam Language Heritage Mission, modeled on CIIL’s Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL).

• Policy and Education: Integrate tribal languages in the school curriculum, at least till Class 5.

• • Develop bilingual textbooks and teacher training modules.
  • Encourage research fellowships for language documentation.
• Digital and Media Inclusion: Digitize archives and create online dictionaries, typing tools, and podcasts in tribal languages.
  • Promote YouTube, community radio, and local film content in Tiwa, Rabha, and other tongues.
• Cultural Empowerment: Support folk music, storytelling, and theatre as tools of language revival.
  • Celebrate “Indigenous Language Week” across the Northeast.
• Inter-State and Academic Collaboration: Collaborate with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, where similar linguistic issues exist.
  • Partner with UNESCO and CIIL Mysuru

    for standardized documentation.
    

Conclusion

The fading echoes of Tiwa, Nah, Tangam, and dozens of other tribal languages are a warning that India’s famed linguistic diversity is under siege.
Language death is not merely a cultural tragedy — it is a loss of identity, ecological knowledge, and social memory. The survival of these voices depends on policy support, community ownership, and youth involvement.

Reviving dying languages in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh is not about nostalgia; it is about preserving India’s plural soul — where every tribe, tongue, and tale contributes to the collective rhythm of the nation.

Sample UPSC Mains Question

“The loss of indigenous languages in Northeast India poses both cultural and developmental challenges. Discuss the reasons behind the linguistic decline and suggest policy measures for revival.”

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