ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the subtractive influence of the monolingual education policy on Adibashis in Bangladesh. It enquires into how a ubiquitous use of Bangla in all educational practices of elementary and high schools in Bangladesh reduces the usage of Adibashi languages, contributes to the loss of many languages and cultural practices, and reshapes Adibashi identities. It develops an analytical framework of linguistic subjugation to elucidate the role of education policy in marginalising minority students and impacting their linguistic preferences. The chapter applies a narrative approach to examine the lived stories of ten Adibashi participants from Chakma and Manipuri communities, collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The analysis discloses how the language of instruction in schools generates learning struggles, stigmatises identities, and causes language and identity shifts for Adibashi students. This research sets a critical investigation of the existing education policy and opens a scope for further research on this less-addressed area of minority languages in Bangladesh.
