National-Level Language and Education Policies in India: Kumaunis as Linguistic Minorities

Known to be a diverse country of multiple cultures and multiple languages, India has faced the challenge of dealing with this resource called diversity. This chapter provides an overview of national-level language and education policies relevant to linguistic minorities and thus to Kumaunis. Language policies, both explicit and implicit, are evident in the Indian Census and Constitution as well as language-related education policies, including the Three-Language Formula and national recommendations related to medium of instruction. These policies accommodate Indian multilingualism and yet in some ways ignore diversity, grouping together many linguistic minorities and relying on linguistic categories that are arguably inventions from colonial times. Another layer of language planning involves the implementation of these policies and the actual use of language in the classroom, including translanguaging.