Goa-Language and Identity

Linguistic States Not a Mistake RAJIV GANDHI's statement at the Darjeel- ing public meeting that the reorganisation of states on a linguistic basis "has become a tool for politics" cannot be regarded as a profound discovery. For, ever since the demand for a redrawing of political maps on the linguistic basis made its appearance in India, or elsewhere, no one has ever sought to underplay its political thrust. Consolidation of the linguistic self-awareness of a community of people is essentially a dimension of the struggle for power, or at feast a better sharing of power, In the pre-independence days the demand for a linguistic reorganisation was almost solely an expression of the smaller linguistic community's distrust of the larger or dominant partner in a composite province. While this continued to be the principal motivation for similar aspirations in the post- independence period too, an entirely new element, however, entered into the contention, that is, the dominant pan-Indian and multilingual bourgeoisie's concern about retain ing its firm grip over the national polity as a whole. That is why the national leadership began to take a second look at the whole question of the reorganisation of states.