- Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu raises the issue of preserving India’s Diverse Languages and Regional Dialects which are on-the-verge extinction during Zero Hour
- Demands Digitalization of Literature & Creation of Dictionary of Indian Languages & Regional Dialects
- Rajya Sabha MP praises new education policy which aims to preserve India’s linguistic heritage
New Delhi, 4 February 2025- Member Parliament (MP) Satnam Singh Sandhu today raised the issue of preserving India’s Diverse Languages and Regional Dialects which are on the verge of extinction during the Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha.
While raising the issue during the on-going budget session, MP Sandhu said, “India was a nation with more than diverse 120 languages and 270 mother tongues being practiced by the people of different regions. In addition there were 19,500 regional dialects which were used by people to communicate. But due to standardization of major Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali majority of the regional dialects and mother tongues are today facing the threat of being extinct”.
Citing the example of Punjab, PM Sandhu said, “There were 28 different dialects in Punjab which were practiced by the different communities. Today the local dialects practiced in Punjab has reduced to 4 only which are Majhi, Malwai, Doabi and Puadhi. These local dialects had a good reflection of regional heritage and culture. Therefore it the need-of-hour to work for preservation of regional dialects through Government efforts otherwise we will lose our linguistic heritage which is in the form of literature written in these languages.”
Sandhu demanded from Government to initiate the work on publishing of dictionary of Indian languages and dialects, digitization of literature written in Indian Local Languages and Dialects which are under the threat of extinction and making the provision of use of local dialects in teaching especially in Primary Education.
MP Satnam Singh Sandhu praised the efforts of PM Narendra Modi for recognizing the importance of India’s Linguistic heritage and promoting the use of India’s local languages through the implementation of New Education Policy.
“This is for the first time that practice of teaching in local Indian languages has been prioritized in teaching of STEM subjects and technical education which helps the students learn better and ensures that linguistic heritage is maintained, as the students can grasp concepts more easily in a language they are familiar with”.
MP Sandhu cited the example of education model being practiced in countries like Singapore and Philippines where the implementation of teaching in mother tongue, local languages has shown positive results in enhancing the learning power and ability of the student community. In addition this model has also shown exemplary results in the teaching the children having intellectual disability, he added.
In his speech, the RS MP Sandhu began by acknowledging the revolutionary and transformative impact of the new education policy, which mandates the use of mother tongue or local language as the medium of instruction up to at least grade 5, and preferably until grade 8.
He praised the policy for promoting the use of local languages, particularly in STEM education, and noted that 19 institutions across 10 states have already launched courses in regional languages, which he commended as a positive step forward.
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