Nepali Revival meet

Kurseong : Students, school teachers and literary figures today vowed to use Nepali in their day-to-day life in a bid to popularise and develop the language.

The resolution was reached during an interactive programme organised by Gorkha Jana Pustakalaya at its auditorium here to mark the 15th Bhasa Manyata Diwas (Language Recognition Day).

The speakers at the programme rued the fact that despite having received recognition 15 years ago, the language does not have the respect of its own people. They pointed out that neither the government offices nor those of the DGHC use Nepali.

“It is true that our students have to learn English for competitive exams. But this does not mean that they will forget their mother tongue, especially after it has been recognised as a national language. We have only ourselves to blame for the neglect,” said Sushila Subba, who teaches Nepali at Pushparani High School here. “We as teachers have not encouraged our students to learn and take up the study of Nepali seriously. The government has provided facilities to practically use the language in government offices, but it’s we who haven’t taken the initiative.”

The language was recognised by the Centre, under the 8th Schedule of the Constitution, on this day in 1992. The Akhil Bharatiya Nepali Bhasa Samiti, an association of literary figures from Darjeeling and Sikkim, had led a movement for 30 years to achieve the demand for recognition of the language.

Source: The Telegraph