Hugo Ribadeau Dumas

Hugo Ribadeau Dumas writes on cities, languages, cinema and friendship. Originally from France, he has spent the last 15 years in Southasia. He holds a PhD in geography.

How Annie Ernaux’s story parallels the struggles of local languages in Bihar

What France’s vanishing dialects reveal about language politics in India, and how pride and shame shape Bihar’s tongues amid the dominance of Hindi and English

By Hugo Ribadeau Dumas

/ 19 Aug 2025

A lively crowd of people from the Oraon community in Purnea celebrates the spring festival of Sarhul. Men and women link arms