Rajeshwar Singh ‘Raju’
An eminent linguist K. David Harrison says,” To allow languages to become extinct along with the culture and ecologies that they encode is to risk an erosion of knowledge whose value once lost , we can never quantify.”
The extinction of languages is quite alarming because a language takes hundreds of years to evolve and doesn’t take even years to extinct when ignored by its own. Vadodra based ‘Bhasha Research and Publication Centre’ has made a shocking revelation regarding extinction of languages in India. It said that India has lost one fifth of its languages during the last five decades, which is a matter of grave concern. As per report, the country had about 1,100 languages in 1961 which reduced to 880 as 220 of them have disappeared thus forcing the think tank to take serious note of it thus making some concrete strategies to save the rest from the same fate and help for revival of the lost ones. Another report exposes the harsh reality that merely 6 percent of worlds’ languages today are spoken by 95 percent of world population.Yes, it is a matter of grave concern for mother tongues in particular and it is the concern that needs be addressed or given a serious thought when we celebrate the days dedicated to our languages.
If we talk of the reasons behind same then Migration towards urban areas within country or even abroad in search of earning fortunes or for other reasons is responsible to a larger extent, which is not an emerging threat for survival of mother tongue only but for cultural heritage also. A check on same is must and how to check needs deliberations at different quarters of interests. Now, coming to the focal point, Dogri is our mother tongue and December 22′ 2003 is a historical day for us, all Dogras. It was the day when after decades of struggle we succeeded in getting our mother tongue Dogri included in 8th schedule by 92nd Amendment Act of 2003 in Constitution of India. From that very day we have been celebrating DOGRI MAANTA DIN with all enthusiasm. But, what are the challenges faced by our language and are we prepared to face them and take them to logical conclusion? It’s the burning issue that should be a cause of concern for all of us.
Like many of other mother tongues throughout the Globe, we are also going through the same crisis. It’s repeated every time, resolutions are made but do they have the everlasting impact, there are doubts. Mother and Mother Tongue are co-related to each other not alphabetically only but practically also. Ironically, this significant connection remains limited to literature only where every litterateur proclaims that ‘Mother ‘ and ‘Mother Tongue’ are synonym to each other because its mother who is the first teacher of her wards and whatever she speaks will be naturally grabbed by the kids. The first word that a kid learns is ‘MAA’, followed by other words that mother teaches him or her. The irony is that mothers themselves hesitate while speaking the language which depends on them for survival to a larger extent.
I think we have reached a point from where we have to step ahead of mere discussions or feeling content with whatever our hard efforts have yielded, but have to focus more on dire consequences if corrective measure are not taken well in time. DOGRI MAANTA DINshould not be a day for celebrations only but should be a wake-up call too. It’s an honour that we have achieved a milestone of getting our language being recognized among 22 languages in Indian Constitution and also have the privilege of being one among 5 official languages of UT of J & K, but what next? This ‘NEXT’ is a long list that is looking for redressal. We have to address these vital issues which are emerging threats to our mother tongue, and this particular day should be an opportunity to have a self-analysis and instead of pin pointing others,we should account for our own accountability towards our own mother tongue.
We believe in ‘Name & ‘Blame’ Game without casting a look at our faults. Whenever the common cause demands our participation, we should be honest and be a consolidated voice to safeguard our common interests. Now promoting and preserving Dogri and Cultural Traditions of Duggar Pradesh should be our common agenda and then we should leave aside self-interests and join the movement as a combined force. Instead of cursing others we should promote the language right from our own homes and advise our wards that knowledge gained in mother tongue is everlasting and expression in own language has more impact. At the same time, it has to be understood that there should be no enmity towards any language but when it comes to priority then ‘OWN’ has to be there undoubtedly. We should seek lessons from other countries like Russia, China, Japan, Germany etc.who are so much fascinated for their languages and cultures.
Growing interest in any language is attributed to employment generation also. The employer has to give leverage to employee to use language of convenience for better output and its universal truth that comfort is always in mother tongue. More and more jobs should be created in mother tongue which will inspire younger generation to study in their own language. But, here comes the basic necessity of using and promoting mother tongue and inspiring others for same also. In order to combat with emerging threats for the mother tongues, Government has introduced new education policy but its success relies on the participation of masses.
If Mother passes on the basics of life to her kids in mother tongue, father showers his love to kids in mother tongue, grandparents revive the culture of storytelling, friends chat, everyone at home interacts in mother tongue and primary education is made compulsory in mother tongue, then it will surely help in coming out of the challenges.
However, despite all sort of challenges we have to be positive in our approach which is the only key to success. We have to sort out the challenges and look for remedial measures. Who else will come to our rescue? We have to preserve our existence for which we have to put an extra effort to face emerging threats in promoting our language, cultural and heritage. These are our roots and detachment from these will extinct our own individuality as a community. A personal experience that I wish to share through this column might be an experience of all. I feel somewhat stress and strain while expressing myself in other languages but feel more relaxed while interacting in my mother tongue Dogri. If it happens to you all, then why not to stick to this mantra of content ? Let us talk and advise others to interact in DOGRI. Let us celebrate ‘DOGRI MAANTA DIN’ with a wake-up call. Happy DOGRI MAANTA DIN.
What they say
“The greatest challenge faced by Dogri is the declining interest in the younger generation towards learning Dogri language. This has also led to a dwindling number of students who opt for Dogri as a subject of study at various levels of school and college education. More than the students, their parents are responsible for discouraging their wards to choose Dogri as a subject, and unfortunately most of such parents happen to be Dogras. On top of that the Government is not at all serious in implementing the policy of making the study of Dogri Compulsory at the primary level of education, which is mandatory as per the New Education Policy (NEP). Only the political will and vision of the local leadership of Jammu can bring some positive change in the situation. Awareness about the importance of mother tongue is also the need of hour among Dogras.”
Prof. Lalit Magotra
President, Dogri Sanstha Jammu
“Though Dogri is in 8th schedule and the court language of Jammu Kashmir, even then it is struggling for its existence. You may take the example of Education Department and Jammu& Kashmir Education Board of Studies. Duggar channel, implementation of national education policy and so many other demands are pending till date. It seems that government as well as civil servants are not serious about it and moreover Dogras are taken for granted because of their nationalistic character. Conspiracies against Dogri and Dogras are also deep rooted. While celebrating a day we must analyse to meet up the challenges.”
Padmashri Mohan Singh
Convener Dogri Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi
“When I was exposed to the first lullaby in Dogri by my mother and happily slept to the rythym of a sweet language, I knew not two things. First that a day will come when mothers would not sing these lullabyes in their mother tongue.They would prefer to put their children to sleep through Hindi/English nursery rhymes.Two, that I would eventually settle to write literature in a language i.e dogri, where readers would read your writings as a favour. So the biggest challenge to mother tongue Dogri is from mothers of the dogra babies and those students of dogri who enroll for Dogri language classes at graduate and post graduate levels by way of doing a favour to Dogri. Besides these Samajak challenges, Dogri is facing Sarkari challenge too. e.g. Govt not providing that status/ protection& ensuring advantages of regional languages teachings in school teachings.Nowhere in the world must an official language of a province/region have been ignored like this.”
Darshan Darshi (D.K. Vaid)
Sahitya Akademi Awardee
“The importance of any language is deeply rooted in its speakers. Unfortunately, the number of Dogri speakers is declining steadily. This downward trend can be attributed to several factors like Lack of job opportunities for students who pursue Dogri as a subject making it seem less viable as a career choice, Limited scope for higher education and research in Dogri language and literature, Insufficient representation of Dogri language in media, entertainment, and digital platforms, Growing influence of dominant languages, leading to a decline in the use of Dogri in everyday life, Inadequate government support and initiatives to promote and preserve the language.These challenges pose a significant threat to the survival and growth of Dogri language making it essential for stakeholders to come together and work towards its revitalization.”
Dr. Sushma Rani
Sahitya Akademi Awardee
Follow our WhatsApp channel
