UGC to celebrate ‘Bhasha Divas’ to create Language Harmony
| Date :03-Nov-2022 |
Staff Reporter
There is a need to create language harmony, to develop conducive environment for learning more and more Indian languages apart from mastering one’s own mother tongue, and an attitude and aptitude to love and enjoy the ‘neighbouring language’. Learning, speaking another Indian language should be made a fashion, matter of joy and cherishing experience.
To catalyse this enthusiasm, Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, Ministry of Education, Government of India has proposed to observe ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas’ (Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav) on occasion of birth anniversary of great Tamil poet Subramania Bharati. Against the backdrop, universities, colleges should conduct activities promoting languages on December 11 to be celebrated as Bhasha Divas, asked University Grants Commission (UGC) to Universities.
Prof Rajnish Jain, Secretary, University Grants Commission, in its letter sent to universities said, “As you are aware, the National Education Policy-2020’ emphasises on promoting projects/activities for students where they can learn about the unity of most of the major Indian languages, starting with their common phonetic scripts, their common grammatical structures, their origins and sources of vocabularies from Sanskrit and other classical languages, as well as their rich inter-influences and differences.”
Confirming the development Dr Subhash Chaudhari, Vice-Chancellor, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University told ‘The Hitavada’, “We welcome the move as it would surely help students in developing their personality. Being an engineering student I know the importance of languages. In our education system, the language part is ignored totally. For the survival of students in global competition language helps them to large extent. This particular initiative is really laudable.”
As suggested by the National Education Policy-2020, students in the country will be encouraged to participate in a fun project on ‘The Languages of India’, sometime in Class 6-8, under the ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ initiative. This kind of project will facilitate students learn about the unity of most of the major Indian languages, starting with their common phonetics and scripts, their common grammatical structures, their origins and sources of vocabularies from Sanskrit and other classical languages, as well as their rich inter-influences and differences. They will also learn about the languages spoken in different areas, the nature and structure of tribal languages, to say commonly spoken phrases and sentences in every major language of India, and also learn a bit about the rich literature of these languages.
According to Dr Feroz Haidry, Professor of Urdu at Vasantrao Naik Institute of Arts and Social Sciences, this initiative of Central Government would lead to students generate interest in languages. “Most youngsters are going away from the language study as they read very little. Bharatiya Bhasha Divas initiative will change their view about lanaguage. I appeal all colleges, universities to participate in the activities to make students enable to learn language.
In-depth study of languages brings several good changes in students. Such an activity would give them both a sense of the unity and the beautiful cultural heritage and diversity of India as they meet people from other parts of India,” expressed Dr Feroz Haidry.