ABSTRACT
The term 'symbolic power' refers not so much to a specific form of power as to an aspect of most forms of power. It is an invisible power that suffuses all spheres of social life in such a manner that the very people who are subjected by it are directly complicit in their subjection. The nation-state has continued the language policy for the last half century. Pierre Bourdieu's academic endeavour facilitates the analysis and understanding of the indigenous language situation in post-colonial India as well as the psychology of second-language acquisition and use in each context. The problems faced by tribals during the colonial period in the form of loss of control over land and other resources because of alienation of land from tribes to non-tribes and displacement caused by state-sponsored development projects have continued unabated in the post-independence period.
