International Mother Language Day at AMU
Aligarh : Sumaiyya Raza and Uzma bagged the first prizes respectively in the ‘Self-Composed Poetry’ and ‘Singing and Ghazal’ competitions held to mark the International Mother Language Day at the Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Maira Zuberi and Tanya Yadav jointly stood second in the poetry contest and Nahid Saghir finished third. Shua Noor got the second place in the singing competition, while Shifa and Suhail jointly shared the third prize.
It is imperative to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism for a better world, said Prof Azra Musavi (Director, Advanced Centre for Women’s Studies) while announcing that an essay will also be held to raise awareness on the importance of native languages.
Prof Latif Husain Shah Kazmi (Chairman, Department of Philosophy) and his colleague, Dr Diwan Taskheer Khan delivered lectures on ‘The Importance of Mother Language in Personal and Professional Development’ to mark the Mother Language Day celebrations of the Philosophy Society, Department of Philosophy.
“Every language spoken in the world represents a special culture, melody, colour, and asset and to everyone the mother language is certainly one of the most precious treasures in their lives”, said Prof Latif Husain Shah Kazmi.
He added: “It is a duty and responsibility to preserve native languages and pass them down from generation to generation, but we should also respect and learn other languages to integrate with people from different cultures”.
Speaking on the New Education Policy-2020, Prof Kazmi pointed out that the government is also stressing the learning through Mother Tongue in primary classes.
“India, being a multilingual and multicultural country, occupies a unique place in the world. Understanding of our multilingual character gives various lessons to the entire world about cooperation, mutual understanding and peaceful living”, he said.
Dr Diwan Taskheer Khan emphasised that the understanding of mother language helps children in intellectual, cultural and moral developments.
He also discussed the Bengla language Movement and why UNESCO declared February 21 as the day to celebrate International Mother Language Day.
Dr Diwan Taskheer Khan was the convener of the programme with Zaid Ahmad Siddiqui.
Faculty members, students and researchers attended the lecture program.