The International Mother Tongue Day was celebrated with gaiety and in a grand manner by Dogri Sanstha at Dogri Bhawan, Karan nagar, Jammu. On this occasion multiple programs were held which included – a Seminar on the
importance of Mother Tongue in education & culture, a Day-long Dogri Book-Exhibition and Release of a Children Novel authored by Gianeshwar.
Anuradha Gupta (K.A.S) Director of School education was the Chief Guest in the function. The other highlights of this celebration were the participation of the Dogri teachers working in various Colleges of Jammu region, presentation of a set of Nami Chetna, the quarterly literary magazine published by Dogri Sanstha to each of the participants along with a set of the Calendars for the year 2021, also published by Dogri Sanstha.
In her address, Anuradha Gupta said that there is no doubt that mother tongues must be protected and promoted as these are the carrier of culture and social values of a community. In this regard the individuals as well as the society as-a-whole should play its role. The Dogras must speak Dogri with their children & encourage them to speak in this sweet language. She said that if we want that Dogri should progress & flourish in future then we must connect it to new technology. Further the technical terminology of various subject and areas must be adopted & appropriately translated in to Dogri. She shared that the Directorate of Education is taking various steps for popularizing Dogri, in addition to other languages of the region, especially in light of the new education policy, which lays special stress on the regional languages. She complemented Dogri Sanstha for working untiringly for the promotion of Dogri language.
Prof. Lalit Magotra, President of Dogri Sanstha congratulated all on this auspicious day, and emphasized the importance and relevance of Mother Tongue in the psychological and social growth of an individual, which leads to the growth of the society as a whole. He lamented that mother tongue have not been given the importance in our country which they deserve. He pointed out that whereas the number of teachers at Secondary and Hr. Secondary level in Dogri should be more than the number of teachers at College level, but ironically, the situation is exactly the opposite. He stressed that this is a great hindrance in the development of Dogri language.
The three papers presented in the seminar by Dr. Joginder Singh, Babu Bhatti & Dr. Ashok Khajuria respectively covered various aspects of the impact of mother tongue in education & culture. The papers by the scholars were based on a thorough research and brought forth many of the less known aspects of the issues and greatly enlightened the audience.
The novel for children ‘Kheden Kheden Ch’ by Gianeshwar , which was released in the function is an interesting and inspiring piece of literature of the target age group.
The exhibition of Dogri Books was a great success with the bookstalls remaining crowded throughout the day.
The proceedings of the Seminar were conducted by Dr. Chanchal Bhasin, Secretary of Dogri Sanstha and Gianeshwar Sharma, Vice-President of Sanstha, presented the vote of thanks.
