Preserving the Linguistic Diversity of Uttarakhand: Role of Language and Education Policies

Abstract

The People’s Linguistic Survey of India has listed at least 13 languages from Uttarakhand, none of which are a part of Indian Constitution’s Eight Schedule. However, two of them (Kumaoni and Garhwali) are a part of UNESCO’s list of endangered languages. Garhwali is spoken by 23 lakh people in Uttarkahnd, while Kumaoni is the native language of about 20 lakh people. More than 40% of the state's population communicate using native languages and yet Hindi is the only official language of Uttarakhand. This research article seeks to examine the language and educational policies at both state and national level, their goals, implementation, and effectiveness in supporting the regional languages of Uttarakhand.