New Delhi: The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, inaugurated a significant one-day workshop aimed at enhancing the development of textbooks in Bharatiya Bhasha for higher education. The event, held in New Delhi, was jointly organized by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti (BBS).
The workshop witnessed the presence of eminent dignitaries including Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, K. Sanjay Murthy; Chairman of Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti, Prof. Chamu Krishna Shastry; and Chairman of UGC, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar. Over 150 Vice Chancellors from universities across India, along with renowned academicians, also participated in the event.
In his inaugural address, Dr. Sukanta Majumdar underscored the critical importance of developing study materials in Indian languages to cater to higher education courses. He emphasized that the educational framework must reflect India’s linguistic diversity, ensuring that students have access to knowledge in their mother tongues. Dr. Majumdar expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his visionary leadership in advancing the ‘Viksit Bharat’ initiative and highlighted the transformative impact of the National Education Policy 2020 under the stewardship of Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.
Highlighting the cultural and historical significance of Indian languages, Dr. Majumdar stressed the need to instill pride in the youth about India’s rich linguistic heritage.
During the session, Prof. Chamu Krishna Shastry advocated for the creation of a robust Bharatiya Bhasha Ecosystem, while Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar shared insightful perspectives on the workshop’s objectives.
In the valedictory session, K. Sanjay Murthy launched three pivotal projects aimed at bolstering Indian language education: ASMITA (Augmenting Study Materials in Indian languages through Translation and Academic writing), Bahubhasha Shabdkosh, and Real-time Translation Architecture. He highlighted the role of technology in these initiatives, emphasizing the contributions of the National Education Technology Forum (NETF) and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti.
ASMITA, led by UGC in collaboration with BBS, aims to develop 22,000 books over the next five years in 22 scheduled languages. Bahubhasha Shabdkosh, in partnership with the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL), seeks to establish a comprehensive repository of multilingual dictionaries. Real-time Translation Architecture, facilitated by NETF, aims to enhance real-time translation capabilities across Bharatiya Bhasha.
The workshop concluded with more than 150 Vice Chancellors participating in 12 dedicated Manthan Satras focused on developing textbooks in regional languages such as Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit, Bengali, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, and Odia. Discussions yielded strategic outcomes including the formulation of new textbooks, standardization of vocabularies, and enhancements to current educational materials with a focus on Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS).