Just finished this GN Devy book
It is absolutely a read for our times, explains well how Hindi and its many, many speakers get manufactured over time to suit state narratives.
That aside it is a true scholarly exploration of India and its identity as a nation amongst such linguistic variety.
I underlined quite a lot.
It is a small book (180 pages) but very vast, uses language as the basis and touches everything from indian historiography, colonisation and decolonisation, hindi imposition, artificial intelligence, the erosion of languages, the erosion of natural language itself in the age of AI and the digit, and ofcourse linguistics (I might be missing a few).
It will be an easy read if you've read history, and a very easy read if you've read linguistics as well. For the new reader, the linguistic terms can make the text feel alien to digest as the author explains the grammars with specific terminology (sphota, dhvani, anukarana, aporia, bhava, svabhava etc.) They are well explained though, so while the other book feels easy - this is your place to learn bits about linguistics.
This & Tony Joseph's Early Indians are complementary reads. I would recommend both, especially in this hindi hindu hindustan type of India.