Abstract

Despite the linguistic research that has already been initiated in India, sign language and deaf education in the northeastern part of India has largely remained unknown. This chapter provides a glimpse into the situation of deaf education and sign language in this area. Despite the innumerable number of studies on sign language and the deaf community, sign language is still perceived as a universal language invented by the hearing, a tool to overcome the communication barriers of the deaf. Several studies have discussed the challenges faced by deaf communities around the world, and they are no different from the deaf communities in the northeast region. This chapter examines the language barriers in education within the context of north east India and how they impact the lives of the d/Deaf individuals in the larger society. ......The idea of “inclusive education for all” is actually a paradox because, despite the noble motives of the policymakers, the gap between academic research and education persists; the majority of the deaf (especially the Deaf) are still being discriminated against and the negative attitude towards sign language continues. Within the context of one of the most diverse regions of India, a multilingual education model that can accommodate sign language as an equal with other spoken languages can truly minimize the barriers of education for the Deaf. Language is a phenomenon that needs to be understood beyond what we know in terms of sound, and such a view of language acquisition process can curtail the hegemony of speech over sign language. Hence, this chapter emphasizes that it is only within the arena of education itself that change can have a widespread impact, perhaps in the form of an improved version of “inclusive education.”