Multilingual Education and India

Influencing policies needs to happen by forces from below , from the side and from the top . This principle from Benson and Kosonen was  put into practice in the India LEAD Community of Practice session last week. Dr. Rabha talks as an activist “from Below” , while Binay Patanayak works a lot with government institutions (“from above’) and NGOs (“from the side”) .They both had a lot of insights to offer! The LEAD India Community of Practice on Multilingual Education hosted a session titled ‘Toward Stronger Ecosystems for Multilingual Education,’ bringing together two experts to bridge the gap between policy and ground reality. The discussion featured two guest speakers: Dr. Subhash Rabha, a literacy activist turned community leader and presently holding the post of Secretary, All Rabha Students’ Union, who brings extensive experience in community-led mother-tongue pilot programs; and Dr. Binay Pattanayak, a Senior Education Consultant at the World Bank with experience across...

Happy International Literacy Day! Today, as we celebrate the power of reading and learning globally, it is essential to reflect on a fundamental truth: literacy begins with understanding. Over the past year, a wave of good reports and surveys has put Multilingual Education (MLE) front and center in India’s educational discourse. Aligned with the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the NIPUN Bharat Mission, these documents move us past theoretical debates and offer concrete, evidence-based pathways for classroom practice. On International Literacy day we can take a look at the documents published in 2025 and 2026 that demonstrate why language matters in early grade learning—and why these insights are important to India’s mother tongue education and MLE efforts. 1. Bhasha Matters: Mother Tongue and Multilingual Education (UNESCO, UNICEF & British Council) Released in December 2025, this flagship report highlights the critical connection between mother tongue-based i...