DOI: 10.18848/2327-7882/cgp/a242 ISSN: 2327-8617

Negotiating Margins

Ajeet Singh, Swasti Mishra
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<p class="ql-align-justify">This study investigates the marginalization and socialization of Bhojpuri within the multilingual educational context of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India, focusing on the gap between policy intent and lived practice. Despite the emphasis on mother tongue–based multilingual education in the National Education Policy 2020, Bhojpuri remains largely excluded from formal schooling. Drawing on qualitative ethnographic data from urban and rural settings, the study examines how linguistic hierarchies are reproduced through classroom interactions, institutional practices, and community language ideologies. Findings indicate that Bhojpuri is systematically devalued in educational spaces, where Hindi and English are positioned as legitimate languages of learning and mobility. This marginalization operates through everyday mechanisms such as correction, discipline, and symbolic exclusion, shaping children’s linguistic identities and practices. At the same time, families reinforce aspirational ideologies that prioritize dominant languages, further entrenching Bhojpuri’s peripheral status. However, emergent forms of resistance are visible in peer interactions and digital domains, where Bhojpuri is revalorized as a resource for cultural expression. The study argues that policy limitations lie in implementation gaps and entrenched language ideologies, highlighting the need for context-sensitive pedagogical interventions to bridge the divide between policy and practice.</p>

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