Mother tongue day

Mother Tongues in India

International Mother language Day is celebrated every year on February 21 since 1990.  To every one of us, mother language is one of the most precious gifts that we have in our lives. The loss of language is part of the loss of whole cultures and knowledge systems, including philosophical systems, oral literary and music traditions, environmental knowledge systems, medical knowledge, and important cultural practices and artistic skills. The world stands to lose an important part of the sum of human knowledge whenever a language stops being used. Maintaining the languages of ethnic and cultural groups is critical for the preservation of cultural heritage and identity of a Nation.

In India, we have more than 1635 mother tongues, of these, 29 languages have more than a million native speakers, 60 have more than 100,000 and 122 have more than 10,000 native speakers.  This basic fact of there being a multiplicity of languages spoken in India is the subject of current seminar.

National Seminar

Role of Mother Tongues in Nation Building

 Jointly Organized By

Kannada Language Chair (CIL/ JNU) and Shodhsamvad/Research Forum

February 2018 (Wednesday)

212 Committee Room, School of Language, Literature and Culture Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi-67

PROGRAM

Morning session-10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Welcome:                               Atul Vaibhav (Acting President, SS-RF)

Preliminary remarks:             Prof. Purushottama Bilimale,  Kannada Chair, CIL/SLL&CS

Moderator:                             Md. Anjar Husain

Papers:

Regional Languages and The Idea of India :                          Rahul Dev, Senior Journalist

Language Demography and Language in India:                   Dr. Shushant Mishra, JNU

Constitutional Safe Guard and Mother Tongues in India :  Prof. Asha Sarangi, CPS/ JNU

National Policy on Education and the position of Mother tongue:  Dr. Arvind Kumar Mishra ,

 Z akir Hussain Centre of Education, JNU

Vote of Thanks- Priyanka Kumari

Afternoon session- 2.00PM to 5.00 PM

Moderator- Manivannan Murugeshan

Tribal Language in India :                   Dr. Ganga Sahay Meena, CIL, JNU

Three Language Formula :                 Chandrashekhar N.P, Interpreter, Lokasabha 

Role of English in India :                     Dr. Sachin, Dayal Singh College, DU

State Language and Media :             Ramesh Aroli, Kamla Nehru College, DU

Language Politics in India :                Dr. N. Chandrasekaran, Tamil Centre,CIL, JNU)

Vote of Thanks- Sandhya Tiwari

Purushottama Bilimale

 Dr. Purushothama Bilimale 

Professor of  Kannada

Centre of Indian Languages

School of Language, literature and Culture Studies

Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Ph: 011-26738976 / 9811733378/9868176366

Address:                                             6098/8, Sector-D, Pocket-6

                                                            Vasant Kunj, New Delhi – 110 070
                                                            Phone: 011-26134345

                                                           

Area of Specialization:                      Literary Criticism, Folkloristics, Cultural Studies and Yakshagana.

Dr. Purushothama Bilimale (1955) has served for many years as Professor of Kannada at the Kannada University, Hampi, Karnataka and then as a Director at the American Institute of Indian studies, New Delhi. Currently working as Professor of Kannada at the Centre of Indian Languages, School of Language, literature and Culture Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Prof. Bilimale is a writer,columnist teacher, and consultant who helped students and researchers for over thirty-five years.  He has edited and revised publications that include reports, theses, dissertations, textbooks, proposals, essays, stories, and articles. He has led writing and editing workshops for students and teachers.

He had an extensive experience in the field of Indian folklore. He has carried out field work in both Northern and Southern India. He is also familiar with the needs of Indian folkloristics having taught students of folklore and conducted seminars and workshops in many parts of India.

A long-time student of Yakshagana (a South Indian folk performing art), he has learned and performed Yakashagana for last 30 years. He had published 20 books and more than 50 articles on Indian folklore and literature.

During his tenure as a President of Delhi Karnataka Sangha ( 2004-2008) he was able to built Delhi Karnataka Sangha Cultural complex at the cost of Rs. 8 crores which is now a center of Cultural activities at the National Capital.

He has been the recipient of many awards including Karnataka State award and Karnataka Folklore Academy award. He was a fellow of Japan Foundation during 2009.

Dr. Bilimale has visited most of the countries including USA, Japan, Belgium, Israel and Britain. He may be contacted at pbilimale@gmail.com  

Mother tongues and the Idea of India