International Mother Language Day 2023

Context

As the world celebrates International Mother Language Day on February 21, 2023, the situation in India in this regard is grim, mainly due to a lack of education. 

Probable Question

India is one of the most linguistically diverse countries, however, the country is losing many of its tongues fast owing to the forces of modernization and globalization. Comment (150 words, 10 marks)

About International Mother Language Day

• February 21 was announced as International Mother Language Day in 1999 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
• The day is commemorated in recognition of the Bengali people’s struggle for their language and culture. On this day students of the University of Dhaka launched a nationwide protest against the imposition of Urdu on what was then East Pakistan. 
• Aim: It is celebrated on 21 February to spread awareness of linguistic, and cultural diversity, and to promote multilingualism.
• Theme of 2023: “Multilingual education, a necessity to transform education”, emphasizing Indigenous people’s education and languages.

About Mother Language

Significance of Mother Language

• Each of the more than 7,000 languages spoken by humanity carries within it a unique view of the world, of things, and of beings, a way of thinking and feeling.
• Mother-tongue-based education is essential to the full development of individuals and to the transmission of linguistic heritage.

Global Scenario of Mother Language

• According to UNESCO, the linguistic heritage of humanity is priceless, however, the disappearance of a language constitutes an irretrievable loss.
• 40% of the world’s students do not have access to education in the language they speak or understand best. 
• Such a situation severely undermines learning,  cultural expression,  and the building of social relations, and significantly weakens the linguistic heritage of humanity. 

Condition of Mother Languages in India

• India is one of the most linguistically diverse countries, however, the country is losing many of its tongues fast owing to the forces of modernization and globalization. 
• Lack of education is also one of the main drivers of language death in India.
• In many Indian states such as Odisha, it is mandatory to provide literature and learning material in various tribal dialects or languages.
• However, Mostly educators in primary schools do not belong to that particular district or locality, thus language barrier is there between teachers and students.
• Also, Odisha has 62 tribal groups including 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, but literature and educational material are available only in Santali and Ho.

Initiative to Preserve Mother Languages

The National Education Policy 2020 advocates mother tongue-based education from the early stage to higher education. 

• The United Nations agency initiated the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022-2032) in a bid to mobilize the international community for safeguarding a major part of the world’s cultural diversity.
• The Government of India has initiated a Scheme known as the “Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India” (SPPEL) to preserve mother tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 people which are called endangered languages.
• Bhashini Initiative is an ambitious national-level program that aims to build vast crowdsourced datasets with samples of Indian voices in several local languages.
• The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also initiated the following two schemes for the protection of endangered languages: ‘Funding Support to the State Universities for Study and Research in Indigenous and Endangered languages in India’ and ‘Establishment of Centres for Endangered Languages in Central Universities’. 

Way Forward

• The world must commit to the preservation of the diversity of languages as a common heritage and work for quality education in mother tongues that is accessible to all.
• It's essential to integrate more mother tongues into the academic curriculum, as it will help these tongues to survive in the long term.
• Everyone in India, from the frontier to the heartland, should get access to everything and language should not be a barrier. 
• It is high time we should work in this direction before it's too late.

News Source: Down To Earth

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/governance/international-mother-language-day-2023-adivasi-children-in-india-unable-to-study-in-their-own-tongues-needs-redressal-87815

Frequently Asked Questions about International Mother Language Day 2023

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