Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee |
20.2.22
Language
February 21 is observed as International Mother Language Day. Declared by UNESCO in 1999 it has been observed throughout the world since February 2000 in tribute to the language movement initiated by people of the then East Pakistan, which galvanized into freedom struggle and eventually paved the path for formation of Bangladesh as an independent country. It was the first country in the world to have been formed primarily on the basis of language.
International Mother Language Day recognises the importance of multilingualism and it's significance in enabling inclusion for all, though ironically every two weeks a language out of about 6500 in the world is dying. One of the major reasons of the high mortality rate of languages is the lack of opportunity to have access to education through the concerned language. The theme of the 2022 International Mother Language Day, “Using technology for multilingual learning: Challenges and opportunities” attempts to address this by highlighting the potential role of technology to advance multilingual education and support the development of quality teaching and learning for all.
It is widely believed that education, based on the
first language or mother tongue, must begin from the early years as early
childhood care and education is the foundation of learning. The New Education
Policy is in sync with this line of thinking. In a segment called ‘multi-lingualism,
and power of language’, the new National Education Policy (NEP) says
“wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but
preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother
tongue/local language/regional language". Thereafter, the home/local language shall continue to
be taught as a language wherever possible. This will be followed by both public
and private schools.
However, to
do this at the ground level, the major challenge is to create a large knowledge
base in different languages. For this besides
creating knowledge in different languages, we also need to take the help of
technology to access knowledge from other langugaes. Artificial Intelligence
(AI) based language translation software and apps may help.
Amrita Bazar Patrika
Amrita Bazar Patrika, one of the fiercest nationalist newspaper, would have been
154 today, had it not been closed on 1991. It was first published on 20th
February, 1868 in the village of Amrita Bazar in Jessore district of present
day Bangladesh as a Bengali weekly newspaper by Sishir Kumar Ghose and Motilal
Ghose, two brothers.
In 1871 the offices
of the Patrika moved to Calcutta and published news in English and Bengali as a
bilingual weekly till 1878, when it turned into an English newspaper to escape
the restrictions imposed by the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. From 1891 onwards
Amrita Bazar Patrika was published as a daily newspaper.
Amrita Bazar Patrika and
its journalists highlighted the struggle of the indigo farmers and wrote
against the oppressive fiscal policies of the British. They were at the
forefront of India’s struggle for Independence, and early proponents of the
concept of press freedom.
Amrita Bazar Patrika witnessed the independence of the country preceded
and followed by large scale violence. It reacted to the situation as best as it
could do. The newspaper left its front-page blank for
three days, opposing massive violence in Calcutta in 1946. And when freedom
finally came to India, it published an editorial that read: It is dawn, cloudy though it is. Presently sunshine will break.
Post-independence it tried to play the role of a
responsible newspaper.
However post
1980s mismanagement and failure to live up to the challenges of changing times
and technology brought about its downfall. It closed in 1991. Tusharkanti
Ghosh, grandson of Sishir Kumar Ghose was the editor then.
Increasing cases of violence in
Election
Democracy
as a system of government requires proactive participation of the citizen of
the concerned state at different levels. The citizens ought to be informed and
concerned about the state. They must have a deeper connect with the state and
should be willing to invest their time, energy and resources for the betterment
of the state. At the least, in a big country like India where direct
participation in the governance is not practically possible- they should chose
their representatives wisely, on the basis of the potential of the person to
serve the cause. Over time it is
expected that democracy as a form of government should mature as the citizens
internalize their responsibilities and these becomes a common trait.
Increasing
cases of violence in every passing election is a disturbing trend. More so, in
grass root level elections like in the Panchayats. It was rampant in West
Bengal. It has spread to Odisha as well, as the present cases of violence
suggest. Use of money and muscle power is increasing. So are the volume and
scale of offering enticements and freebees to the voters. Democracy is being
systematically reduced to an exercise of grabbing votes anywhich way. This
signals a grave danger to the democratic form of government we are so proud of.
Bappi Lahiri
Bappi
‘disco king’ Lahiri passed away on 15 February night. His music was a raze from
mid-seventies to late eighties, though he was active till the very last days of
his life. He was the
pioneer of disco beats in India and his refreshing, vibrant, and rhythmic music
had the entire nation dancing for decades.
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| Tribute Caricature by Bibek Sengupta. |
Born in
Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1952 into a family with a rich tradition in classical
music. His father, Aparesh Lahiri was a famous Bengali singer and his mother,
Bansari Lahiri was a musician and a singer who was well-versed in classical
music and Shyama Sangeet. His parents trained him in every aspect of music.
Considered as a child prodigy, Bappi
began his career as a music director at the young age of 19. However it
was in 1975 he really ‘arrived’ with the refreshing music in Tahir Hussain
directed Zakhmee (1975). Disco Dancer (1982) brought in a craze for disco
beats. It was followed by Namak Halal (1982) with its stylized orchestration
combing western and oriental beats and instruments.
He continued. His love for food and gold ornaments grew with time. There have been many jokes and banters on his love for thick gold chains. But Bappi da, as he was fondly known grinned and moved on.
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Journalist turned media
academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives in Dhenkanal, Odisha. He also writes
fiction and plays.
mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com
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