G.N. Devy's Linguistic Survey Reveals India's 850 Living Languages Amid Political Data Manipulation

In his book 'India: A Linguistic Civilization,' G.N. Devy offers a transformative perspective on India's history, emphasizing the significance of language over political figures. From 2010 to 2013, he spearheaded the People's Linguistic Survey of India, which cataloged 780 languages, indicating that around 850 languages are present in the country, representing 12% of the globe's 7,000 languages. Devy criticizes the 2011 Census for misclassifying nearly fifty languages as 'Hindi,' thus exaggerating its status. He contends that British colonialism favored written forms over oral traditions, influencing policies after independence. The book, published by Aleph Book Company at Rs 599 in hardcover, highlights the need for language preservation and exposes bureaucratic oversights in linguistic surveys, though its complexity may pose challenges for casual readers.