Impact of Language Policy on Indian Education Outcomes

This dataset supports an analysis of the impact of official language policies on educational outcomes in India, using historical state formation. It examines literacy and college graduation rates in districts where the official language did or did not match the local language. The analysis suggests political reorganization can mitigate negative effects of language mismatch.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between official language mismatch and the reported 18.0% lower literacy rates across Indian districts.
• Model the impact of the 1956 state reorganization on the reported 20.1% lower college graduation rates in linguistically mismatched districts.
• Compare educational achievement trends before and after the 1956 reorganization using census records on literacy and graduation.

Strengths

• Quantifies specific impacts: 18.0% lower literacy and 20.1% lower college graduation rates in mismatched districts.
• Leverages a natural experiment from India's 1956 state reorganization on linguistic lines.
• Focuses on a clear policy-relevant question regarding language and education.

Limitations

• Specific data structure, row count, and column details are unknown.
• The analysis is based on historical colonial and post-colonial periods, which may limit contemporary applicability.
• Potential reliance on aggregated census data may obscure individual-level variation.

Provenance

Source

Tarun Jain via ICPSR Harvested Dataverse.

Collection Method

Analysis based on historical census records and state formation in India.

Time Range

Colonial and post-colonial periods, specifically around the 1956 reorganization.

Freshness

Last updated metadata indicates 2026-02-27.

Geography

Districts within colonial provinces of India.