The 'Rājyavyavahārakośa', commissioned in 1677, was primarily designed to:

Replace Persian and Arabic administrative terms with Marathi or Sanskrit equivalents

Codify the laws of the Mughal court for local administration

Standardize the use of Persian in administrative documents

Promote English as the language of governance in the Deccan

Which of the following best describes B.R. Ambedkar’s position on linguistic states as articulated in his writings and speeches?

He argued that 'One State, one language' is a fundamental democratic principle for administrative stability

He believed linguistic states would inevitably lead to the fragmentation of the Indian Union

He opposed the creation of Maharashtra as a linguistic province to maintain national unity

He advocated for the immediate imposition of a single national language to replace regional tongues

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10 July 2026

Language politics in Maharashtra schools

The topic provides historical and sociological context regarding linguistic identity and federalism in India, which is useful for framing answers on regionalism and constitutional language provisions, though the specific political event itself is not directly examinable.

Notes

In 2025, the Maharashtra government issued resolutions mandating Hindi as a compulsory third language from Class 1 in state board schools, citing the National Education Policy 2020.
The orders were withdrawn following widespread public protests.
Historical linguistic resistance in Maharashtra includes the 1677 Rājyavyavahārakośa, which replaced Persian/Arabic administrative terms with Marathi/Sanskrit equivalents.
Jyotirao Phule advocated for compulsory primary education in Marathi (Modi and Balbodh scripts) to empower the Shudra classes.
Vinayak Savarkar’s 'Bhāshā Shuddhikaran' project sought to replace foreign borrowings in Marathi with Sanskrit-rooted terms, influencing modern terminology like 'Sansad' and 'Doordarshan'.
B.R. Ambedkar argued that mother-tongue education is a prerequisite for democratic participation and that forcing a foreign language on children is a barrier to civic life.
The Samyukta Maharashtra movement (1956-1960) resulted in the formation of a unified Marathi-speaking state, with 106 deaths recorded during protests.
The renaming of Bombay to Mumbai in 1995 was framed as a de-anglicisation and re-Marathicisation effort.
Ambedkar’s 1949 Constituent Assembly speech emphasized that Indian identity should not be compromised by competitive loyalties to religion, culture, or language.

Questions

Discuss the significance of mother-tongue education as a prerequisite for democratic participation and social equity in the context of India's linguistic diversity. 150 words

Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min

0 / 150 words 8:00
Analyze the evolution of linguistic identity in India since the colonial period. How have the tensions between regional linguistic aspirations and the push for a national language shaped the federal spirit of the Indian Constitution? 250 words

Attempt this — 250 words in 11 min

0 / 250 words 11:00

Prelims

The 'Rājyavyavahārakośa', commissioned in 1677, was primarily designed to:

Which of the following best describes B.R. Ambedkar’s position on linguistic states as articulated in his writings and speeches?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

Marathi and the long politics behind the language question

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