Language, Power and Politics in India: From the Perspective of Gender and Marginalized
Abstract
Language plays a very crucial role in the lives of human beings. It has been used as a tool to dominate, subordinate, exploit, enslave, and colonize others at different times and places. Consequently, it empowered some sections of society and disempowered others. It represents people, culture, and shapes their ideas which consequently create social, political, religious, and economic structures. Language is power, life, and the instrument of culture, the instrument of domination and liberation (Carter, 1998). Taking into account, language as a power of domination and liberation, this paper attempts to examine how language dominates on the axis of caste, class, and gender and how the other language liberates the subjugated from the trauma of being humiliated by the tool of language. It also tries to explore how dominated sections perceive the use of language and why. The study reveals that Indian languages have been used only as a tool to dominate and hardly serious efforts are made by the linguists to gender neutralize Indian languages. Contrarily, English linguists have attempted to make English gender-neutral and it has helped all marginalized sections to progress economically, socially, and linguistically in addition to boosting their confidence, self-respect, knowledge, and identity formation. English, though colonial language, has proved a great tool in decolonization.
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