Srinagar: As world celebrated ‘International Mother Language Day’ on Friday, qualified youth in Kashmiri language in the Valley observed it a ‘black day’ in protest against what they termed the government’s “callous approach” towards their mother tongue.
The youth, who held a sit at Press Enclave in Srinagar under the banner of ‘Kashmiri Language Union of J&K’, said the School Education Department had put their career at stake by failing to create the required posts to teach Kashmiri language at schools even as it was made a “compulsory” subject nearly three years ago.
On June 19, 2017, the department had sanctioned teaching of regional languages of J&K comprising Kashmiri, Dogri and Bodhi as compulsory 6th subject in classes 9 and 10 from academic sessions 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.
But President of the Kashmiri Language Union, Aashak Hussain Lone said the order had been confined to paper work only without any implementation on ground.
He said due to absence of specialist teachers of Kashmiri language, the subject was either not taught at schools at all or teachers of other subjects had been forced to take up the job.
The teachers questioned the School Education Department’s “step motherly” treatment with the mother tongue even as subject teachers had been recruited for teaching other subjects.
“If the department can recruit subject teachers under various schemes, what is stopping them from appointing teachers to teach Kashmiri that too when the language has been made compulsory?” Lone questioned.
The teachers accused the government of “killing” Kashmiri language instead of preserving it. They appealed the lieutenant governor of J&K to get implemented the 2017 order making Kashmiri as the 6th compulsory subject at secondary level.
They also refuted the department’s claims about having introduced Kashmiri as a compulsory subject in class 9.
“We are observing today’s occasion as black day because we have nothing to celebrate with regard to our mother language. They are killing Kashmiri language,” he said.
The ‘International Mother Language Day’ held on February 21 is aimed at promoting awareness of linguistic, cultural diversity and multilingualism. The day was formally recognised by the United Nations General Assembly with the adoption of a UN resolution on multilingualism in the year 2002.

Irshad Khan