GN Devy's book questions common assumptions about India's languages

The book would have enhanced its accessibility for ordinary readers if more care had been paid to its presentation and delineation of arguments in support of the author's principal thesis

India: A Linguistic Civilization

Author: GN Devy

Publisher: Aleph Book Company

Pages: 194   

Price: Rs 599

 

This book is not just a masterly exploration of India’s linguistic civilisation. More importantly, it serves as a timely warning against recent attempts at conducting the epistemic study of Indian languages through a narrow prism of singularity. 

 

As persuasively argued by the book’s author, Ganesh Narayandas Devy, plurality and diversity are inalienable attributes of any study of Indian languages. That this warning comes from India’s pre-eminent linguistic scholar is extremely reassuring at a time when cultural debates about the idea of India are increasingly focused on creating