Port Blair, Nov. 17: The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India is celebrating 75 days ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav’ with the theme ‘Bhashaye Anek, Bhav Ek’, which is being conducted in all Schools of A&N Islands since 28th September and will continue up to 11th December, 2023 to promote language learning through the use of regional languages and technology.
This programme has been scheduled as per the direction of Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of A&N Islands with an indicative list of activities i.e. Exhibition, Bhasha Stall, Drama, Street Plays, Speech, Essay and Quiz in various languages etc. This programme is being conducted at all levels i.e. the Schools, Cluster Resource Centers/Block Resource Centers/Panchayats, Districts (Including District Institute of Educational Training) to build up the momentum for the grand finale Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav on 11th December, the Janma Jayanti of the great nationalist Tamil poet Subramania Bharati. Born on 11th December, 1882 in the village of Ettayapuram, Tamil Nadu, he is popularly known as ‘Mahakavi Bharathi’. He was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil Literary figures of all time. He was one of the first to speak about India as one entity and 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.
The National Education Policy 2020, while deliberating on Language Education in school emphasizes the need for recognizing and promoting multilingualism as a path to realizing the fundamental aims of education and schooling. Moreover, since times immemorial, Indian languages have coexisted, complemented and enriched each other, thus contributing to the unity and harmony of the nation. In the process of understanding ‘Ek-Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’, students need to experience and enjoy the underlying oneness of India in the linguistic diversity.
Andaman and Nicobar, a group of Islands are a confluence of rich cultural heritage and various Indian languages, due to which, it is also called Mini India. These languages include Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Sadri, Marathi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bhojpuri as well as local tribal languages like Nicobari. The schools in these Islands have Hindi, English, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu as first language and Sanskrit, Urdu, Punjabi and Nicobarese (tribal language) as third language. Andaman and Nicobar Islands are pioneer example of ‘Unity in Diversity’ and people live in harmony, setting aside the regional differences, language, caste, creed, religion etc. It is evident to see that, the Islands’ Administration is fully committed to promote Indian languages.
Day to day activities of Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav are being conducted in a befitting manner under the guidance of Andaman and Nicobar Administration and it will be a grand success with active participation of all i.e. Schools, DIET and community as a whole in the days to come.