Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Feb 21: Language is congenital to the interpretation of culture. It is the medium through which we can communicate values, ideas, beliefs and customs thus it has an important social function and cultivates feelings of group identity and solidarity among the different communities, experts said on Monday.
Experts said that there is nothing wrong in learning other languages but we should not feel shy in speaking our own language and should teach it first to the children.
Noted historian Zareef Ahmad Zareef said that the important duty of parents is to teach their mother tongue to their children at least six to seven years and then they can learn other languages as well.
“Kashmiri is a classical language and has a script of around 1600 years. We have written history of around 5500 years,” he said
He said that people of Kashmir are unconscious and are taking everything lightly and everyone here must speak native language as it is our identity.
“We are trying to speak other languages so as to feel superior but in the process we are losing our own identity,” he said, adding that there is no science book in Kashmiri because we aren’t taking anything serious.
“Major dent has been caused to this language as neither children were being taught Kashmiri at their home nor at school,” he said that when mothers don’t speak Kashmiri how a child can.
“It is a theoretical language now as it has reached schools and other educational fields so we must learn, read, speak and write it very seriously to keep our identity alive,” Zareef said.
Shabnami Tilgami, member of Sahitya Academy and General Secretary Adbe Markaz Kamraz (AMK) said that in last few years, Kashmiri language has started to come back on track which wasn’t seen before as it has reached in our schools, colleges and universities and its introduction in educational institutions has helped in its promotion.
He said Kashmiri is being spoken in Kashmir and several parts of Jammu and language remains alive by poets and writers and in the last few years. “The number of Kashmiri writers and poets have increased so much that every third person here is a Kashmiri writer or poet,” he said.
Noted writer Dr Tanveer Hayat said that unconsciously Kashmiri language is alive, but consciously it is dead.
“We are speaking this language during our conversation in day to day life at home, at public places and even in emergencies we speak in our mother tongue. We erect sign boards at Kashmir University in English language not in Kashmiri, that’s the sign of our being dead consciously,” Hayat said.
Secretary Art culture and languages Dr Sarmad Hafeez said that the government is taking various steps to preserve and promote Kashmiri language and many programs in Kashmiri are being conducted at the cultural academy.
He said that the Kashmiri language has also got an award this year as a lady poetess was awarded for her poetic collection in Kashmiri language.
He said the government is on a mission so that more artists, writers will get encouraged and from time to time.
“Various programmes are being conducted in Kashmiri which will be conducted in future too,” Hafeez said.
