International Mother Language Day 2019

Greetings of the International Mother Language Day! 

Today, we are celebrating the International Mother Language Day at Sikkim University organised by the Centre for Endangered Languages. This day as — the International Mother Language Day — was first celebrated in the United Nations in 1999. A decade after, from 2009 onwards, it is celebrated by all the member states of the United Nations across the world. 

As the coordinator has already spoken about its history and importance in his introductory note, let me point few observations regarding this celebration. 

The International Mother Language Day is celebrated to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. This year being the International year of Indigenous Languages, the theme of this year’s International Mother Language Day is —  indigenous languages as a factor in development, peace and reconciliation. 

In this world, there are around 370 million indigenous peoples speaking more than 7,000 languages. These 370 million people are marginalised, discriminated and are in poverty. In order to make this world habitable for others too, on this International Mother Language Day, all UN member states recognize and enforce the rights of indigenous peoples, at the global level. 

At the local level, Sikkim has not just scenic beauty but also beauty in terms of human diversity. As we know, Sikkim is a multiethnic state with strains of various communities within the political borders of the state and their cousins in the adjoining states and countries. Similarly, Sikkim is also known (but lesser than the other) about its linguistic diversity. There are several languages and their dialectal variations; there are eleven official languages; and many of these language are part of the education system in the state. In Sikkim University, Bhutia, Lepcha, and Lepcha is taught at the master’s level — proudly, were are the first in the world to start the higher academic programmes in the world. Similarly, in many other departments related to language language, culture and society, there are research on the communities and their languages (as the Coordinator has highlighted earlier).

Language has implications for identity, communication, social integration, education and development. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain, and less than a hundred are used in the digital world. Since language is of strategic importance for people and planet, there are continuous efforts to make them sustainable. However, they are increasingly under threat, or disappearing altogether or extinct. This is a fact - that languages are endangered. More than 43% of the estimated 7000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. When such linguistic catastrophe falls - rich tapestry of cultural diversity, opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression — valuable resources for ensuring a better future — are also lost.  

Thus, this day is meant to create awareness regarding this very fact of language endangerment, and to initiate preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. In actual practice — to promote the dissemination of mother tongues to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education and also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. I strongly find that technology does have an important Roeper to play to improve the lives of the speakers as well as regarding the dissemination of mother tongues to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education. With this commitment to improve the lives of the endangered language communities and their languages, Digital India initiative has digitized content in the country's 22 scheduled languages and extended to India's other 234 recognized languages. In this initiative, our university will have a role to play in the coming days regarding languages of these regions. 

Centre for Endangered Languages is one of the such initiatives in Sikkim University. In pursuit of the local efforts to arrest language endangerment, the Govt of India established CEL in various universities to document, describe and safeguard the endangered languages. Proudly, Sikkim University has a CEL, and has a mandate to work on the more than 34 endangered languages of Sikkim and North Bengal. As I am informed, currently, the Centre is working on Magar, Gurung, Bhujel, Sherpa and Rai-Rokdung. But the Centre is not limited to these languages, in future other endangered languages of the region will be taken up. 

Apart from the vision, commitment and initiative, many departments of Sikkim University viz. sociology, anthropology, Nepali, etc. are working on various aspects of languages and communities. It is also the day and the year to celebrate such initiatives from various departments, faculty members, researchers, students and the supporting/host communities. I am hopeful that this tradition of enriching local communities and their linguistic, cultural heritages will continue — being true to the vision of Sikkim University. 

Once again as the head of this institute, I would like to reiterate that teaching and research on these languages and also inclusion of the communities in the very process will be one of the priorities to achieve the vision of this University. I look forward to a day, where this region is not just an organic state but also demographically and linguistically diverse and thriving.