Regional language: Primary school curriculum in Shina demanded
SLCPS urges establishment of Shinalogy department at Karakoram International University.
“The mother tongue is the best tool to impart education and learning. It is something which is earning recognition across the world now,” says Yaad.
GILGIT:
The Shina Language and Cultural Promotion Society (SLCPS) on Wednesday demanded the establishment of a Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) language authority and the introduction of a primary school curriculum in the region’s widely spoken mother tongue.
“This is just one of our demands. We also want a Shina Academy for the promotion of regional languages,” said Ishtiaq Yaad, general secretary of the SLCPS, which has published over a dozen books in the language.
“The mother tongue is the best tool to impart education and learning. It is something which is earning recognition across the world now,” Yaad told The Express Tribune.
The secretary spoke of the need to recognise native languages of most Pakistanis, especially on International Mother Tongue Day, which is being observed worldwide on February 21 as a United Nations recognised celebration of linguistic and cultural diversity.
The date represents the day in 1952, when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of Pakistan, were shot and killed by the police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.
Yaad urged NGOs, civil society, members of the G-B Council and assembly, advisors and lawyers to play their role in promoting local languages. “The establishment of a Shinalogy department at Karakoram International University will be a good idea to promote the mother tongue,” he remarked.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2013.
The Shina Language and Cultural Promotion Society (SLCPS) on Wednesday demanded the establishment of a Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) language authority and the introduction of a primary school curriculum in the region’s widely spoken mother tongue.
“This is just one of our demands. We also want a Shina Academy for the promotion of regional languages,” said Ishtiaq Yaad, general secretary of the SLCPS, which has published over a dozen books in the language.
“The mother tongue is the best tool to impart education and learning. It is something which is earning recognition across the world now,” Yaad told The Express Tribune.
The secretary spoke of the need to recognise native languages of most Pakistanis, especially on International Mother Tongue Day, which is being observed worldwide on February 21 as a United Nations recognised celebration of linguistic and cultural diversity.
The date represents the day in 1952, when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of Pakistan, were shot and killed by the police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.
Yaad urged NGOs, civil society, members of the G-B Council and assembly, advisors and lawyers to play their role in promoting local languages. “The establishment of a Shinalogy department at Karakoram International University will be a good idea to promote the mother tongue,” he remarked.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2013.