SHILLONG: The North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong joined the rest of the country in observing International Mother Tongue Day by organising a programme in the Conference Room of the Administrative Building on Thursday.
The programme was organised by the Hindi Cell and was attended by JN Nayak, registrar, LMK Lyngrah, finance officer, Debasish Chowdhury, controller of examinations, FR Sumer, librarian including officers and NEHU staff.
In his address to the gathering, JN Nayak, registrar said that the government of India realised that other languages cannot flourish unless steps are taken to develop them.
Hence such initiatives like the International Mother Tongue Day are very important. He also recited a couplet in Oriya.
LMK Lyngrah cited the examples of the Roman Catholic brothers who use the process of acculturation to foster good relationships among the people and suggested the idea of an essay competition on mother tongue to foster a spirit of unity among the students.
Debasish Chowdhury gave a brief background about the genesis of International Mother Tongue Day which was the initiative of Bangladesh.
It was approved at the 1999 UNESCO General Conference and has been observed throughout the world since the year 2000, he informed.
He also informed that half a dozen languages disappear every year and that the special day is a reminder that languages should be preserved.
FR Sumer thanked the Hindi Cell for organising the programme which concluded with a vote of thanks by AK Singh.
Meanwhile, VIT Chennai organised the International Mother Language Day and Indian Cultural Festival as a joint venture with Desiya Chinthanai Kazhagam at the campus on Thursday.
Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit attended the event as the chief guest.
The event was celebrated to highlight and spread the awareness of the nationwide intellectual movement which was rooted in Bharatiya ethos and traditions.
