National Education Policy 2020 highlights multilingualism and visualizes Indian languages as a great tool for national unity

Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav

India has a rich linguistic heritage. The National Education Policy 2020 highlights

multilingualism and visualises Indian languages as a great tool for national unity. It suggests

that the students of the country should be encouraged to learn the importance of Indian

languages under the 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat' initiative.

Indian languages share common phonetics and scripts, they have common grammatical

structures, and the origins and sources of the vocabularies are from classical languages of

India. Their diversities are also linguistically as rich as their inter-influences. Celebrating

'Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav' will give us all a sense of unity and introduce us to the beautiful

cultural heritage and diversity of India as we meet people from other parts of the country.

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, there are hundreds of languages spoken in India. Despite so

many languages, we live together in love and peace. While 'Unity in Diversity' defines the

social fabric of our country, 'Diversity in Unity' is another one of our unique features.

Bharatiya Bhashas, with their inherent similarities and commonalities, are very important

elements of this concept of Diversity in Unity'and serve to bind us together.

Bharatiya languages have co-existed, complemented and nurtured each other throughout the

ages. Languages shape the mind and wisdom of the society. Languages bring the people

together. There is a need to strengthen 'language harmony,' to develop a 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 prestige, a

matter of joy and cherishing experience!

To spark and encourage an enthusiasm for learning Indian languages, it is proposed to

observe Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav on 11th December on the Janma Jayanti of Subramania

Bharati, the great nationalist poet. Subramania Bharati was popularly known as "Mahakavi

Bharati", a freedom fighter and a social reformer in Tamil Nadu. He was one of the first to

speak about India as one entity. He gave emphasis on the need for national integration and

motivated Indians to ignore regional differences and think of all as one, i.e., Indians, in his

writings. This gave a strong message on Indian oneness. His poems bring out the best of each

region and how they should be brought together for the glorious future of the country.

Though Mahakavi Bharathi was conversant with 11 languages, he emphatically declared in

one of his poetic works that the sweetness of Tamil language is unparalleled. In an

autobiographical poem, Bharathi launched a scathing attack on the denial of opportunity to

study in the medium of mother tongue in primary education, citing his own predicament. Far

from being emotional, Bharati envisioned translation of scientific works from many lands

into Tamil. All the same, he cautioned against punditry in linguistic expression and aspired

for recognition to works in simple Tamil, indeed a far-sighted appeal, as it emanated from

across a century. Bharati wanted the nectar-like Tamil language to resonate across the globe.

He applied the knowledge of the illustrious past to contemporary realities and dreamt of

shaping a new brighter future. He was a man with extraordinary vision, passion and erudition.

It is proposed to celebrate the Janma Jayanti of the great poet as a full day 'Bhasha Utsav' in

universities, colleges and schools across the country.Students, faculty, parents and society

members will participate in various cultural activities throughout the day.

Objectives are to acquaint the students and the youth about the inherent oneness of all

Bhartiya Bhashas, i.e., the concept of 'Bhartiya Bhasha Parivar', to celebrate the rich variety

and wonders of Bhartiya Bhashas, to make the students and the youth aware about the

spiritual and cultural message emanating from the literature of all Bhashas, to show how

language learning can be a fun and enjoyable experience, and to highlight the need to focus

on Bhartiya Bhashas for the development of the nation and "Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat".

All the schools, colleges, universities and INIs will organize the Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav. The

Utsav will have:

a) Exhibitions of basic & interesting information about Bhartiya Bhashas, information about

letter, scripts, history of language, common words, key historical figures, famous literature,

etc. and the historical, cultural and spiritual unity of all Bhartiya Bhashas

b) Tech Zone - Tech-savvy amenities showing different tools and software that students may

use to learn languages, do machine translation, etc. and down-loading and teaching few

simple tools.

c) My Language My Signature' campaign to promote the habit of signing in Bhartiya Bhasha,

Sign on dedicated boards for the purpose and upload selfies, E-Certification may be provided

in multiple languages

d) Bhasha Stalls- one dedicated stall of the language of the region and at least one stall for

languages of some other region, Books and Literature in different languages and Language

Games.

e) Competitions - Language Quiz, Speech/Debate/Extempore in different languages, Poetry

recitation & Essay writing competition in various languages

f) Cultural programs - Creative performances depicting Lok-parampara and folk-art forms,

Open mic/stage sessions, Street plays & dramas etc.