Multilingualism as a Tool for Inclusive Higher Education in South Asia

South Asia is home to one of the richest linguistic ecologies in the world—stretching from the Indo-Aryan
languages of the Gangetic plains to the Dravidian, Tibeto-Burman, and Indo-Iranian families across the
subcontinent. This linguistic mosaic has shaped not only cultural identities but also the architecture of
higher education across the region. Yet, despite its immense multilingual heritage, South Asian higher
education has historically been dominated by monolingual or bilingual hierarchies—most notably the
continued pre-eminence of English as the language of academic prestige. The resulting linguistic imbalance
has perpetuated inequities in access, participation, and knowledge creation, marginalizing students from
vernacular and indigenous language backgrounds. This paper investigates multilingualism as a strategic
and ethical tool for inclusive higher education in South Asia. It explores how the incorporation of multiple
languages into pedagogy, policy, and institutional culture can democratize learning and promote epistemic
justice.
The argument is situated within contemporary educational reforms such as India’s National Education
Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), Bangladesh’s Education Policy 2019, Pakistan’s National Language Action Plan
2021, Nepal’s Language Commission Reports (2020–2023), Bhutan’s Education Blueprint 2025, and Sri
Lanka’s post-war Trilingual Initiative 2018. These frameworks collectively signal a regional awakening to
linguistic inclusion as a driver of social equity and innovation. The research employs a mixed -method
approach that combines policy analysis, quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews across universi ties
in six South Asian countries. Findings reveal that multilingual teaching environments enhance conceptual
comprehension, reduce dropout rates, and strengthen student identity formation. At the same time,
structural challenges—such as faculty unpreparedness, limited translation infrastructure, and ideological
resistance—continue to impede implementation.
By re-examining the relationship between language, knowledge, and power, the paper posits multilingualism
not merely as a pedagogical device but as a transformative philosophy of higher education. It argues that
sustainable educational inclusion in South Asia requires a paradigm shift from linguistic hierarchy to
linguistic pluralism, supported by digital translation technologies, open-access repositories, and regional
research networks.