An Analysis of the Recently Issued Language Policy in IOK: Process, Causes and Influences

Abstract

The language policy in IOK (Indian occupied Kashmir, i.e. Jammu and Kashmir) has been changed recently and a new “five official languages” policy has been established. This paper untangles the three steps of the language policy change: modifying the Constitution, enacting The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 and passing The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020 and reveals the root causes of the change by collecting data from the media and historical documents. Results show that the language policy change in this area has been affected by many factors such as Hindu Chauvinism, the nation-state ideology, local identity, and issues of minorities’ language right. This paper then makes a further analysis of the possible influences of the new policy: exacerbating religious disputes, aggravating separatism, and undermining social justice and complicating the regional situation. The implication can be made from the language policy change in IOK is that language policy should be made based on the language-as-resource orientation and a comprehensive analysis of the specific historical and social conditions of a country or an area so that it can promote social harmony.