Advancing Inclusive Quality Education and Peace in India through Mother Tongue-Based Learning

Abstract

India’s educational Environment is shaped by a profound linguistic diversity, with over 780 spoken languages, yet this diversity remains largely unacknowledged in the formal school system. Despite national policy commitments such as the Right to Education (2009), the National Curriculum Framework (2005), and the National Education Policy (2020), the consistent implementation of mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) is insufficient. This paper critically examines the intersection of language, education, and equity in the context of India’s multilingual and socially stratified society. Drawing from theoretical insights offered by Becker, Bourdieu, Putnam, and Sen, the paper positions education as a transformative force that builds human, cultural, and social capital, while also interrogating how systemic inequalities particularly linguistic and socio-economic undermine its equitable potential. Through a multidisciplinary qualitative analysis of policy documents, academic literature, and secondary data sources, the study reveals that the exclusion of tribal and linguistic minority languages from early education leads to cognitive, cultural, and emotional dissonance among learners. This exclusion directly impedes India’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). The paper argues that linguistic discrimination in schools constitutes a violation of children's Linguistic Human Rights (LHR), weakening educational outcomes and perpetuating generational inequality. It calls for context-sensitive, culturally responsive, and community-driven educational reforms to build inclusive institutions rooted in India’s pluralistic identity. The findings reinforce the urgent need to implement MTB-MLE strategies and to reframe educational inclusion as both a developmental priority and a matter of social justice. Recommendations emphasize multilingual curriculum design, participatory governance, and equity-driven pedagogy as critical tools for transforming India's education system to serve all its children.