The Multilingual Reality

This remarkable and important volume stands in stark contrast to reductive, partial or tendentious accounts of language in society and education. Mohanty’s book is a tour de force. It will stand the test of time due to its ability to comprehend and critique injustice and inequality without losing sight of the cultural richness, intellectual depth and sheer marvel at the ingenuity that languages represent.

* Joseph Lo Bianco, The University of Melbourne, Australia *

Highly respected and beloved professor Ajit Mohanty has worked tirelessly so that children and teachers in multilingual contexts can learn and teach in their strongest languages. This inspiring book represents a wealth of experience and provides both theoretical and practical guidance on developing appropriate policy and practice in multilingual education.

* Carol Benson, Columbia University, USA *

Ajit Mohanty’s meticulous book demonstrates why all countries can learn from the Indian experience. It reveals how educational language policy can serve the interests of the marginalised, and not merely the privileged. It is the missing link to Amartiya Sen’s books on ensuring greater social justice, with English in appropriate perspective.

* Robert Phillipson, Professor Emeritus, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark *

This book serves as an excellent resource for those interested in learning about multilingualism as a paradigm of study and also those who are interested in learning about cutting edge research in multilingual education. This book opens up a space for dialogue on mother-tongue based multilingual education with educators, researchers and policymakers.

* Anuja Sarda and Usree Bhattacharya, University of Georgia, USA, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, August 2019 *

This is a well-researched, well-articulated book for academics and practitioners working in the area of education in post-colonial and multilingual societies. It is also relevant for theorists and practitioners working in the West, whose ideas about bi- and multilingual education would be challenged and widened by exposure to the range of issues that Mohanty raises, issues that are backed by decades of detailed research conducted with different ITM populations in India, as well as the author’s personal biography as a citizen and scholar in a multilingual society.

-- Shailaja Menon, Azim Premji University, India * Psychological Studies, 20