India, July 18 -- Indian Constitution provides a strong framework for linguistic rights. Articles 29 and 30 ensure minorities' cultural and educational rights, including the preservation of one's language. Article 343 makes Hindi the official Union language with a caveat that English will continue to be used. Articles 350A and 350B provide for facilities for learning in the mother language at the primary level and for a Special Officer for linguistic minorities.

Language can be a divider as well as a unifier. In the age of new forms of linguistic polarisation reappearing in political discourses and social media, it is especially important to promote a public consciousness of India's linguistic wealth not as a source of fissures but as bu...