Language, Identity, and Social Cohesion in Multilingual India

Abstract

This paper examines the intricate relationship between language, identity formation, and social cohesion in the multilingual landscape of contemporary India. Drawing upon sociolinguistic theory, postcolonial criticism, and literary analysis, the study investigates how linguistic practices shape communal identities, mediate social hierarchies, and influence literary representations of belonging and exclusion. The paper argues that language functions not merely as a communicative tool but as a transformative agent in constructing social realities, negotiating displacement, and articulating caste-based and regional identities in Indian fiction and public discourse. By synthesizing perspectives from sociolinguistics and contemporary Indian English literature, this study contributes to an integrated understanding of language as a site of social negotiation in a postcolonial, multilingual democracy.