India is a democratic multi-ethnic, multicultural, multilingual and multi-religious country. It has about 400 different languages, 22 of which are recognized as languages by the Indian government.
Despite the conflict over definition/identification of languages, India has still been able to expand the scope of recognized languages by offering official status to languages from different ethnic groups.
The Indian experience offers a valuable reference for Taiwan.
As of today, there are no stipulations in Taiwan's Constitution concerning language. This is a sharp contrast to the language stipulations in India's Constitution.
India's Constitution is not perfect, but it is capable of regulating the status and function of federal and state languages as well as protecting minority language rights. In Taiwan, legislation only provides the languages of the different ethnic groups with passive protection against language discrimination, but it does not offer positive rights.
The government should take steps towards language recognition and positive language rights.
There are lessons to be learned from India's language politics. Taiwan's proposed Language Equality Law (語言平等法) lists 14 national languages.
The draft law has been opposed by those who say that official multilingualism will lead to ethnic conflict, social unrest, and communication problems. They therefore advocate linguistic assimilation.
The Indian experience shows that language assimilation policies and non-recognition of minority languages will neither be able to build a feeling of community nor prevent social conflict, but rather will create alienation and dissatisfaction among minority groups.
Recognizing the status of the languages of the different ethnic groups will promote ethnic reconciliation and linguistic harmony. In fact, about a quarter of countries have more than one official language. For example, South Africa's Constitution recognizes 11 official languages, and Switzerland recognizes French, German, Italian and Romansh as their official languages.
That kind of multilingual policy based on diversity is the kind of language recognition model that Taiwan should pursue.
Taiwan needs a language movement modeled on India's active approach to obtaining language recognition. All ethnic groups in Taiwan should unite in their pursuit of recognition. Taiwan's past rulers have taken a divide-and-rule approach, which has led to suspicion and distrust between the different groups and made it impossible for them to unite. As a result, the linguistic dominance of Mandarin continues and the status of local languages continues to be unimportant.
Ethnic groups must build mutual trust and work together in their quest for official language status.
Tiu Hak-khiam is an associate professor in the department of Chinese literature at National Taitung University.
Translated by Lin Ya-ti
Shortly after Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) stepped down as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, his successor, Xi Jinping (習近平), articulated the “Chinese Dream,” which aims to rejuvenate the nation and restore its historical glory. While defense analysts and media often focus on China’s potential conflict with Taiwan, achieving “rejuvenation” would require Beijing to engage in at least six different conflicts with at least eight countries. These include territories ranging from the South China Sea and East China Sea to Inner Asia, the Himalayas and lands lost to Russia. Conflicts would involve Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
The Sino-Indian border dispute remains one of the most complex and enduring border issues in the world. Unlike China’s borders with Russia and Vietnam, which have seen conflicts, but eventually led to settled agreements, the border with India, particularly the region of Arunachal Pradesh, remains a point of contention. This op-ed explores the historical and geopolitical nuances that contribute to this unresolved border dispute. The crux of the Sino-Indian border dispute lies in the differing interpretations of historical boundaries. The McMahon Line, established by the 1914 Simla Convention, was accepted by British India and Tibet, but never recognized by China, which
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to bully Taiwan by conducting military drills extremely close to Taiwan in late May 2024 and announcing a legal opinion in June on how they would treat “Taiwan Independence diehards” according to the PRC’s Criminal Code. This article will describe how China’s Anaconda Strategy of psychological and legal asphyxiation is employed. The CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a “punishment military exercise” against Taiwan called “Joint Sword 2024A” from 23-24 May 2024, just three days after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sworn in and
In a recent interview with the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called President William Lai (賴清德) “naive.” As always with Ma, one must first deconstruct what he is saying to fully understand the parallel universe he insists on defending. Who is being “naive,” Lai or Ma? The quickest way is to confront Ma with a series of pointed questions that force him to take clear stands on the complex issues involved and prevent him from his usual ramblings. Regarding China and Taiwan, the media should first begin with questions like these: “Did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)