Rutgers University professor speaks about how language influences India

An intimate gathering of 16 students and faculty listened to Rutgers University history professor Sumit Guha give a lecture last Friday on how language influences India.\nThe India Studies Program hosted the hour–long lecture, titled “Language Politics in Pre-modern Western India c.1300-1800,” at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the India\nStudies house.\nGuha, who teaches classes at Rutgers dealing with Asian civilizations, based his lecture on a paper he wrote after researching language for \nthree years. \nThis was Guha’s first visit to IU. India Studies Director Sumit Ganguly said he saw Guha speak at a conference and decided to invite him to share his insights at IU.\n“I think very highly of his work,” Ganguly said. “It’s a pity we didn’t have a \nlarger turnout.”\nGuha described how language was a key component in determining how much power and education a person can acquire in India. Guha said language was used to keep the government in power. For example, he said, the public spoke one language, and government officials spoke another.\nGuha will continue to do research on India, he said after the lecture. He advised everyone to “learn languages when you are young.”\nAlthough the lecture was presented by the India Studies Program, not everyone who attended was associated with\nthe program.\n“It was informative,” said Rajat Chadha, a Ph.D. student in the School of Education.