Language Politics, Elites and the Public Sphere

The exploration of linguistic hierarchies in colonial western India reveals how local intellectuals navigated their "middling" status to influence cultural and political dynamics. Dr. Naregal investigates the role of print media, particularly newspapers, in transforming the relationship between "high" and "low" languages. By analyzing the efforts of the "native" intelligentsia in education, the press, and voluntary associations, the book highlights their strategic positioning and self-definition prior to the rise of a dominant anticolonial nationalist discourse.