Nothing taught by force can stay in the soul: B K Singh
Farooq Shah
SRINAGAR: “Forcing someone to learn a language could be quite counterproductive,” B K Singh, Principal Secretary, Department of School Education, said at the Hindi Diwas celebratory function organised by the “Education in Languages” Wing of the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) at the auditorium of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School Kothibagh here today.
Hindi Diwas is observed on
September 14 every year to celebrate its popularity and mark its adoption in
the Devanagari script as one of the official languages of India.
“It’s the love for the language that can be a defining factor in its
acquisition,” Singh told the audience via a Zoom meeting. “Language offers the
most direct link to other cultures, and nurtures an admiration for their
traditions, religions, arts, and their history.”
Hindi, Singh said, is the second most spoken language in the world
after Mandarin Chinese. “With over half a billion people speaking this
wonderful language worldwide, it should become a natural choice for a student
to learn it,” he remarked.
Earlier, Director SCERT, Prof Veena Pandita, while welcoming the
participants to the celebration said that Hindi, apart from being our national
language, holds its own dignified importance at the international level also.
She also participated in the program via Zoom.
“Students from Russia, Japan,
and the United States are always eager and ready to come to India to know our
language and culture,” Prof Pandita said. “From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every
class of person speaks and understands Hindi language easily.”
Prof Pandita lamented that in this era of changing circumstances and
modernity, the influence of the English language has started gaining ground.
“The modern generation is adopting a foreign language by calling Hindi the
‘language of the illiterates’,” she said. “Earlier, where the medium of English
was not much in the schools, but the progressive people of the modern era
consider it an ‘honour’ to take education through English medium.”
This, Prof Pandita said, has resulted in Hindi taking a backseat.
“Children neither know how to write nor speak Hindi properly,” She said. “It is
the mistake of Indians to deny the importance of Hindi being an Indian.”
Hindi, she said, was a language that embraced words of every language.
“We are not against the English language, but we cannot tolerate the
disappearance of the pride of Hindi language, that is, our national language,”
she said. “Today we celebrate “Hindi Pakhwada” in all the offices to keep the
respect of our language intact.”
In his address, Director School Education Kashmir, Dr Tasaduq Hussain,
said that we should get rid of the notion that a language is the sole property
of a religion.
“Because all languages are
filled with their own sweetness, we must cultivate a taste for as many
languages as we can,” Dr Hussain, while recommending that Hindi should be
taught right from grade-1, said. “Because we live in India where a majority of
its population speaks Hindi, we ought to learn it with a more open and frank
attitude.”
Dr Hussain, while giving the example of Munshi Prem Chand said that
many Hindus adopted Urdu language as the medium of their expression and earned
worldwide acclaim in the process. “Greater understanding of a language, in
turn, promotes greater tolerance, empathy, and acceptance of others.”
Dr Bhartendu Kumar Pathak, Assistant Professor, Department of Hindi,
University of Kashmir, impressed upon learning Hindi language to stay connected
with the rest of India in a more meaningful manner.
“The biggest advantage of
learning Hindi is that it enables wider communication with a large number of
people in India and, in turn, it can help generate trade and ideas.”
According to Dr Pathak, the situation here has improved a great deal
and it was paramount that Hindi picked pace in Kashmir.
Prof Syed Shabana Shabir, who teaches Hindi at the Institute of
Advanced Studies in Education (IASE) Srinagar, spoke on the objectives of
teaching Hindi at different levels.
“One of the main objectives of
teaching Hindi is to create an interest among the students in the language and
literature and also to master the art of communication” Prof Shabana said.
“Hindi is the national language of India so students should be motivated to
study this language.”
Ms Veneet Kour, Research scholar, Department of Hindi, University of
Kashmir, said while today’s youth are grappling with numerous unemployment
challenges, Hindi can open more doors to career avenues.
Dr Mukti Sharma, Teacher, BMS Mattan Bala, said the entire nomenclature
of Hindi language has to undergo a metamorphosis in the sense that it acquires
more pace on the communicative front.
Others who spoke at the occasion included, Ulfat Jan, Lecturer, SP Higher Secondary School Srinagar, Neetu Singh Bhat, Teacher, GMS Rambagh, Indu Raina, Teacher, GMS Natipora, Renu Raina, Teacher, BHS Sonwar, Veena Kaul Ganjoo, Teacher, GMS Hutmuraha Mattan, Manjoo Kaul, GMS Seer Shaksaz, Veena Tikoo Sapru, Teacher, GHS Anantnag, Renu Rani, Raj Janak, Teacher, Zone Pampore, Ishrat Fatima and Richi Kumari, Students, GHSS Amirakadal Srinagar.
Media Links:
1. https://kashmirobserver.net/2021/09/14/participants-of-hindi-diwas-celebrations-pledge-love-for-languages/
2. https://www.thekashmirmonitor.net/participants-of-hindi-diwas-celebrations-pledge-love-for-languages/
No comments:
Post a Comment