Promoting science communication and education in Indian languages is the government’s main focus says Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly favours the use of vernacular languages for promoting science communication and education in Indian languages is one of the main focuses of the present government.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi also favours to provide a level playing field to every aspiring youth to compete in science without facing any disadvantage on account of ignorance of English or Hindi languages,” Dr Singh said after releasing the Dogri language version of the national Science monthly magazine published by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India here at Brigadier Rajinder Singh Auditorium in the University of Jammu.
He also declared that the Kashmiri language version of the same magazine will be launched soon. Efforts are on to make available science textbooks in vernacular languages to the students and a group of resource persons has been tasked with this mission, said the Minister. He pointed out that of late, there are many youths in different streams who have topped in the All India competitions after doing their graduating in their mother tongue and cited the example of one of the five toppers in the IAS/Civil Service Exam a few years ago who had done his entire education up to BA in Telugu medium.
The Minister said, “in a technology-driven world of knowledge and progress we owe it to the youth of this country to provide them with appropriate curriculum, literature and options to study Science in the language of their choice and be able to compete with the students of English or Hindi medium.”
He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strong conviction in this regard is borne out by the fact that after the historic decision of August 5, 2019, Jammu and Kashmir became the only UT/State in the country to have five official languages i.e. English, Hindi, Urdu, Dogri and Kashmiri.
While it is an established fact, said Dr Singh, that language has no correlation with excellence in Science and countries like Russia, Japan and China have risen to be the first line leaders in scientific progress without the knowledge of the English language, the contradiction in India is that for nearly two centuries we followed Lord Macaulay’s policy of education as a result of which all the important textbooks and literature in science is available and read mostly in the English language. Dr Singh said, in the next 25 years of Amrit Mahakal when India rises to the world pedestal, this will be primarily on the strength of our scientific prowess and capacity of our StartUps who will be essentially technology-driven.
“It is therefore equally important to focus on the scientific capacity- the building of StartUps and youth in the age group of the 30s who have another 25 active years to contribute till the year 2047 and whose scientific potential can be utilised to the maximum extent, regardless of which language they speak or read,” he said. The Minister said PM Modi’s special thrust on the promotion of Science and Technology is fully visible in revolutionary decisions like unlocking of Space Sector for private players, joint ventures in Atomic Energy initiatives and ably amplified in 75,000 Startups with 100 Unicorns in a very short span of time.
He thanked the Post Graduate Department of Dogri language at the University of Jammu and sought continuous support for effective translation of the scientific literature in the Dogri language. In December 2021, Dr Singh released Science monthly magazine in Hindi, Urdu and English at CSIR, New Delhi
This is met with criticism and one netizen expressed:
Languages which have no available terminology for ANY scientific glossary and verbiage! Colossally stupid and narrow-minded.
Languages which have no available terminology for ANY scientific glossary and verbiage! Colossally stupid and narrow minded.
— ThatBloodyWriter (@AuthorInArms) August 8, 2022