International Mother Language Day: Strenuous efforts needed to introduce Kashmiri at higher secondary level: AMK

Srinagar: Adbee Markaz Kamraz (AMK), the largest and the oldest literary forum of Jammu and Kashmir said that implementation of National Educational Policy (NEP) in Jammu and Kashmir has brought more responsibility on the forum to put in their strenuous efforts in laying down the importance of introducing Kashmiri language at the higher secondary school curriculum here.
Shabnam Tilgami, General Secretary (AMK), told Kashmir Reader the forum has attained a good success so far in engaging with the government for introducing this language in the curriculum at the school level as well as college. “We are working on approaching higher secondary schools to convince them to consider introducing this language as a proper subject, to be taught,” he said.
He says that the Kashmiri language has been facing different challenges at multiple fronts more due to the less or negligible interest undertook by the modern generation towards the learning and promotion of their mother-tongue making the speaking of this language “a sort of taboo” in the society while getting influenced by other languages especially Urdu and English.
“Our modern generation is getting influenced by other languages especially Urdu and English, leaving away their mother tongue Kashmiri,” he said.
While the forum has the long-history of working for the betterment and promotion of the Kashmiri language in not only Jammu and Kashmir but also in North India, however, since past three years their efforts and resolve to preserve the language has been hit by the fund crunch after the government stopped aid to them, way back in 2017. Pertinently, the aid was being provided by J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages to different forums working for the promotion of languages and culture.
“We were receiving aid till 2017 but since then, grants has been stopped from the government’s end due to some unknown reasons. This has affected our functioning and activities to a very large extent. Besides us, there are around 250 literary and cultural organisations working in J&K which too have suffered immensely due to the unavailability of aid from the government. It has been a long time; we are now collecting funds from volunteers and contributing through our own pockets to keep our efforts and activities going up to some extent.
He demanded the government of J&K, that aid should be released to all the literary and cultural forums of Jammu and Kashmir so that they could work with full enthusiasm and pace for the promotion and preservation of Kashmiri language.

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