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Guwahati
Thursday, December 12, 2024

Mother tongue and our consciousness

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By: Himangshu Ranjan Bhuyan

A nation is formed by people living in unity, harmony and harmony within a certain geographical boundary while maintaining their own social and cultural standards and the identity of the nation is revived through the sense of national consciousness of those people. In fact, every person can love his country and nation unconditionally, sacrifice his vested interests and develop the mentality of working for the greater interests to establish the nation in a higher position and this creates the history of a better nation.

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As a part of India, the largest democratic country in the world, have the people of our state of Assam really been able to identify themselves as a healthy and strong Assamese nation with their own language, culture and social system?  This is seen as a big question nowadays.  It has been seen that the people of the developed nations of the world have always been conscious of the honor and dignity of their nation and they have been able to establish themselves on the world stage by sincerely accepting the ideals of national consciousness. But no one seems to have time to bring our nation into the open air. There is a government formed by the people in the state – but they are busy playing games of fraud, deception and mud-slinging and do not seem to have time to pay attention to the welfare of the people  There is corruption all around  What can a nation expect from corrupt ministers and bureaucrats?  What have the Assamese of Assam got in our state full of resources?  Plundering the resources of the state is the main religion of the Centre. The own Mother tongue of the Assamese is also a source of collapse. Despite the widespread agitation in the state in 1972 demanding that the medium of instruction be made Assamese, the Asom Sahitya Sabha has recently taken steps to introduce the Assamese language. The subject is positive. But there is no need to explain how satisfying or unfortunate the situation of the people who are going to agitate for the protection of the mother tongue in the motherland.

In fact, a language is the first and foremost identity of a nation  So the Assamese language is the main component of the Assamese nation  Only when every person, every child is deeply familiar with both the spoken and written forms of the mother tongue will our state and our nation truly have the strength to raise its head  In fact, the study and practice of language enriches the vocabulary  The role of our schools is also essential in this regard  It seems that just as the government has been reluctant to use our state language in offices and courts of Assam, there are also many shortcomings in the field of education  Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to ensure that the children are enrolled in private schools. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to ensure that the children are enrolled in private schools. On the other hand it has become a natural thing for a section of our upcoming generation to lack knowledge of Assamese written language and extreme reluctance towards Assamese language. This can be said to be a downward movement and it is certain that this movement will have a negative impact on learning the Assamese language.

There is no doubt that the Assamese nation is a mixture of different ethnic groups. There is also a need to learn Assamese as well as other regional languages of the country, English, Hindi, French, Arabic etc.  There is also a need to master the indigenous languages of Assam like Boro, Karbi, Tiwa, Missing, Adibasi, Konch Rajbangshi etc. equally and all indigenous languages and cultures must be developed.  But our prime identity is Assamese. There is no doubt that the Assamese nation will survive only if this Assamese language survives. But we have to think about what we are doing for the development of our mother tongue.  Have we taught our own children to respect the language?  After birth, some Assamese today think that they will become suitable citizens only if they send their children to English medium schools and they have done so in practice.  Many Assamese children do not know how to answer questions in their own mother tongue. When we asked a child in Assamese, what your name is, the answer comes – “My name is …” These new generations have not even learned the social customs, Etiquette, Politeness, Humility etc.  This is just an example that everyone is seeing.

It is true that – no matter how much we say, the government departments have not paid any attention to the successful implementation of the Official Language Act of Assam. Therefore, the neglect of the Assamese language in government departments has put people of all walks of life in danger and the language has been forced to become lame. After the passage of the Assam Official Language Act in 1960, it was amended several times but in 1985 it was officially directed to use the Assamese language in all offices in Assam. On the other hand, according to the Act passed in 1970, people of all classes had the right to express their grievances in any language spoken in the state. In contrast, the Act, which required the government to answer people’s petitions in Assamese in the Brahmaputra Valley, Bengali in Kachar district and English in the autonomous districts, was amended about 30 years ago. Everyone knows how much difficulty the People faced when they have to submit their applications in English.  Now there is an ingrained belief that speaking or writing in Assamese is a matter of shame and those who uses English can maintain a respectable position in all respects.

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The issue is worth thinking about. The most regrettable thing is that public opinion has to be created to make the teaching of Assamese language compulsory in English medium schools in Assam. The Karnataka government made Kannada compulsory in more than 400 English medium schools in the state ten years ago. Why can’t the Assam government do it in Assam? We must not forget – first we are Assamese then we are Indian citizens.  We should know – we can never identify ourselves with a limited knowledge of your mother tongue. The state government has recently recognized the Boro language as an associate language of the Boro-populated areas. Naturally, this is welcome and acceptable.  We are sure that this appropriate step of the state government will provide enough material in protecting the dignity of the Assamese nation nourished by the coordination of the Bodo society as well as various ethnic groups.

It cannot be denied that – English is now the world’s communicative language and is considered essential at all levels of daily life. So you really need to have a good command of this language to adapt to different levels of the world  Until a decade ago, English did not gain a special status in Japan, China and other countries, but due to the pressures of circumstances and environment, these countries have to embrace English. Therefore, everyone must acknowledge that the English language has spread to the very depths of social life in different countries of the world and that is why it is essential to acquire etymology in learning English  There is no denying the need to learn other languages including English in order to work abroad, to travel, to get along in any environment anywhere in the country, to pursue higher education, etc. It’s sure that we have to go outside Assam and establish ourselves in different fields of the world. We have to learn different languages, we have to acquire etymologies, but it can never be acceptable to ignore our mother tongue and give priority to English and not know how to speak or write Assamese. The government has announced that science and mathematics will be taught in English from class III in schools. It definitely arises various questions about how acceptable it is.  The question is, will our students become proficient in science or mathematics only if they study science in English medium? Or has no one who studied science in his mother tongue made progress in these two subjects? From Dr. Bhavendra Nath Saikia, Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami, Dr. Shivnath Barman, many scientists and researchers of today’s generation have not been able to establish themselves by studying these two subjects in their mother tongue?  Then why do you want to ignore the mother tongue and teach these two subjects in English language – these questions have shaken the conscious circles today. In this context, I want to quote the words of the great scientist C.V. Raman. He said – “We should teach science in mother tongue medium. Otherwise, science will remain a matter of a handful of people. Where the common man will not be able to participate”

It may be recalled that Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan has stood up for the mother tongue as unreasonable from the point of view of pedagogy to make a foreign language a medium for acquiring knowledge. The 1953 Report of the Secondary Education Commission emphasized on mother tongue education and said that ‘Learning the mother tongue does not only mean reading the writing or increasing the vocabulary. Are we currently doing a fair assessment of our mother tongue.

We need to be strong – no matter what language we learn in the world, the mother tongue is above all and neglecting it will not be tolerated for any reason. Because the mother tongue is the director of tools, pleasures, tastes and knowledge sources, interests and feelings. That is why we have to give up the desire to become fake sahibs and accept responsibility towards the nation and the language.

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This is the call of the hour right now. (The writer is CRCC of Nalbari Cluster, Biswanath Education Block, Education Department, Assam)

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The Hills Timeshttps://thehillstimes.in/
Welcome to The Hills Times, your trusted source for daily news and updates in English from the heart of Assam, India. Since our establishment in 2000, we've been dedicated to providing timely and accurate information to our readers in Diphu and Guwahati. As the first English newspaper in the then undemarcated Karbi Anglong district, we've forged a strong connection with diverse communities and age groups, earning a reputation for being a reliable source of news and insights. In addition to our print edition, we keep pace with the digital age through our website, https://thehillstimes.in, where we diligently update our readers with the latest happenings day by day. Whether it's local events, regional developments, or global news, The Hills Times strives to keep you informed with dedication and integrity. Join us in staying ahead of the curve and exploring the world through our lens.
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