The language of suppression: Muslims, migrant workers, and India's response to COVID-19

When a society faces a moment of crisis, its language can mirror, expose, and reinforce societal chaos and fault lines. As India came to terms with COVID-19, the coronavirus’ impacts on different populations exposed and widened India's deep social, economic, and religious divides. This article...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Language in society 2023-04, Vol.52 (2), p.321-344
Main Author: Nagar, Ila
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID-19
Crises
Curfews
Disease transmission
Epidemics
False information
Hindus
Language
Language usage
Linguistics
Marginality
Mass media images
Migrant workers
Migrants
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority groups
Modi, Narendra
Muslims
Otherness
Pandemics
Presuppositions
Prime ministers
Religion
Roads & highways
Silence
Social exclusion
Social meaning
Social media
Social networks
Sociolinguistics
Speeches
Violence
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Summary:When a society faces a moment of crisis, its language can mirror, expose, and reinforce societal chaos and fault lines. As India came to terms with COVID-19, the coronavirus’ impacts on different populations exposed and widened India's deep social, economic, and religious divides. This article studies the language of India's response to COVID-19 surrounding three major events that occurred in the early months of the pandemic: the janta curfew, the Tablighi Jamaat incident, and the migrant worker crisis. Through an analysis of media reports, speeches made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and representations on social media, we see how forms of linguistic trickery—silence, presuppositions, accommodations, othering, dog whistling, and povertyism—were used to suppress, harm, and marginalize two minority groups: Muslims and migrant workers. This article demonstrates how those in power use language to reflect, shape, and reinforce meaning, social hierarchies, and marginalization in a time of crisis. (Linguistic trickery, othering, silence, presupposition, accommodation, dog whistling, povertyism)
ISSN:0047-4045
1469-8013
DOI:10.1017/S0047404521000816