Photo Source: Babushahi Bureau
MP Satnam Singh Sandhu raises issue of preserving India's diverse languages and regional dialects in Parliament
MP Satnam Singh Sandhu demands preservation of regional languages on the brink of extinction; a dictionary of 19500 national languages to be created
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, February 4, 2025: Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Satnam Singh Sandhu today raised the issue of preserving India's diverse languages and regional dialects, which are onthe verge of extinction,in Parliament. The MP raised the issue during the ongoing Budget Session ofParliament .
Sandhu said, " India was a country where more than 120 different languages and 270 mother tongues were practiced by people from different regions. In addition, there were 19,500 regional dialects that people usedfor communication." But due to the standardization of major Indian languages like Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil, Bengali, most regional dialects and mother tongues are facing the threat of extinction today."
Giving an example of the heritage of regional languages of Punjab, MP Sandhu said, “ There were once 28 different regional dialectsin Punjab which were practiced by different communities but today the regional dialects prevalent in Punjab have reduced to only 4.” The remaining regional dialects are Majhi, Malwai, Doabi and Puadhi. These regional dialectswere a good reflection of the regional heritage and culture. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that work should be done for the preservation of regional dialects through government efforts, otherwise "We will lose our linguistic heritage, which isin the form of literature written inthese languages ."
MP Sandhu demanded from the government that work should be started on the publication of a dictionary of Indian languages and regional dialects,digitization of literature written inIndian regional dialects and dialects which arein danger of extinction . He further said that That the provision of using regional languagesin primary education be encouraged.
MP Satnam Singh Sandhu appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to recognise the importance of India's linguistic heritage and promote the use of regional languages in the new education policy. He said this is the first time that STEM subjects and technical subjects have been included in the curriculum.
The practice of teaching regional Indian languages has been given priority inthe teaching of education which helps students learn better and ensures that the linguistic heritage is preserved, as students are exposed to concepts inthat language . They can more easily understand what they are familiar with.
MP Sandhu gave the example of the education model prevalent in countries like Singapore and the Philippineswhere making educationin mother tongue and regional languages compulsory has yielded positive results in enhancing the learning power and competence of the student community.
He furthersaid that In addition, this model has also shown exemplary results inteaching children with intellectual disabilities .
In his speech, MP Sandhu began by acknowledging the revolutionary and transformative impact of the new education policy, which provides for mother tongue or regional languagesas the medium of instruction at least up to class 5 and preferably up to class8 .
He praised the policy for promoting the use of local languages, especially in STEM education, and said that 19 institutions in 10 stateshave already started courses inregional languages, which he said praised it as a positive step.