​Language of harmony, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Malayalam Language Bill, 2025, passed by the Kerala Assembly, aims to promote Malayalam as the official language of Kerala.
• Concerns have been raised by leaders in Karnataka regarding the potential adverse effects on minority languages like Tamil and Kannada.
• The Bill ensures that Tamil and Kannada linguistic minorities in notified areas can correspond with State offices in their languages.
• Students whose mother tongue is not Malayalam are allowed to pursue education in other available languages.

Detailed Insights:

• The Bill mandates the adoption of Malayalam as the first language for schoolchildren and promotes its use in sectors like the judiciary and IT.
• An earlier version of the Bill from 2015 was delayed for a decade before being returned by the Centre following a Supreme Court decision.
• The Centre and various States have policies to promote all Indian languages, provided the rights of linguistic minorities are protected.
• Linguistic divisions of States are approximations, and language borders have weakened due to migration, necessitating inclusive language policies.
• The Inter-State Council should be empowered to facilitate conversations across linguistic groups and prevent hostilities between communities.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Linguistic Minority: A group of people whose mother tongue is different from the official language of the state or region they reside in.
• Official Language: A language designated by law to be used in a country's or state's governmental and administrative functions.
• Inter-State Council: A constitutional body in India that facilitates discussion and coordination among states and between the Centre and states.