Language and Ethnic Identity in India

Contents: Preface. 1. Symbolic Construction of ethnic boundaries. 2. Andhra Mahasabha Movement in Telangana. 3. Anatomy of Telangana Regionalism. 4. Dialogue and remedial formulae. 5. Commitment to the Movement. 6. Conclusion. Bibliography. Index.

Ethnicity is an identity concept. In the last three decades word like ethnic group ethnic identity and ethnicity home become very important not only in a academic analysis but also in the mass media. In fact, in recent times ethnicity is among the most common categories that present day human beings have to establish their ideas about who they are to evaluate their experiences and behavior and to understand the world around them. Ethnic group refers to category of people, who can be distinguishes on the basis of their culture, religion, race or language, individuals participating in their categories assert their criteria for accentuating in group Solidest language remains one of the most significant medium of establishing the cohesiveness, and it is this feeling of intra group solidarity. In this book an attempt has been to understand how language is used to construct ethnic boundaries especially in a situation of social conflict, where symbols develop a common consciousness, which helps in the formation of a group? How is language used as a symbol that distinguishes ethnic groups? From where do groups derive their symbols? Who constructs there symbols? How do these symbols conflicts. An attempt is to see how objective makes of identity are transformed into subjective experience of the people. The telangana agitation which ultimately culminated into a mass movement in 1969 is an example of this influence and the focus of this book.