When talking about medium of instruction NEP2020 mentions mothertongue in conjunction with other languages – “home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language”. Mothertongue is thus casually equated to the regional language when it comes to classroom practice. This discourse many times skirts the usage of minority languages, giving primacy to named local or regional languages.
An interesting dialogue with a student at Harali shows how the confusion or ‘taking for granted’ is not just in the policy but has also entered the discourse on the ground:
तुझी मातृभाषा काय? [What is your mothertongue?]
मराठी [Marathi]
आईशी कुठल्या भाषेत बोलतोस? [In which language do you speak with your mother]
बनजारी [Banjari]
devayani tirthali 