The Politics of Language in India and Ceylon
- 1 May 1967
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Modern Asian Studies
- Vol. 1 (3) , 215-240
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0026749x0000247x
Abstract
A Member of Parliament, representing Orissa State, once said in the course of a debate: ‘My first ambition is the glory of Mother India. I know it in my heart of hearts that I am an Indian first and an Indian last. But when you say you are a Bihari, I say I am an Oriya. When you say you are a Bengali, I say I am an Oriya. Otherwise I am an Indian’ (cited in Harrison, 1960). The same words could plausibly be spoken by a Ceylonese or Burmese with other labels substituted. If we succeed in unravelling the meaning of this statement we shall understand a major aspect of South Asian politics.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- Caste, Class, and PowerPublished by University of California Press ,1965
- CeylonPublished by Walter de Gruyter GmbH ,1960
- Caste and the Andhra CommunistsAmerican Political Science Review, 1956