By MS Ningomba
August 20 will come and go, but this day will remain as an important day for the people of Tibeto-Burman language family; for Manipuri, the foremost language among the languages of the family, entered into the prestigious language club of India (8th Schedule) on this day in the year 1992. Indeed it was a great day marked with joy and hilarity, with dance, din and bustle among the youths in the heart or Imphal city which reverberated in the entire valley of Manipur.
There was dead silence in the next year, as if the people of Manipur had committed a great mistake in the previous year. As subsequent years rolled on, the tempo of Manipuri being a constitutionally re-cognised language rece-ded gradually except occasionally of course, some-one out of anguish lamen-ted through local newspaper, asking where those experts had gone like the howling of a lone jackal at a solitary jungle bush.
Before Manipuri became a constitutional language, it has already been recognised as one of the 169 critical languages of the world according to a list published by US Department of Education in 1985 vide page 342 of The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language and as such research is being carried on in the States, Japan, etc, on different aspects of Manipuri language.
Interestingly enough, Unicode for Indian scripts that is being developed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, Government of India deliberately avoided inclusion of Meetei Mayek some years back has now realized its importance in the global context when University of Berkeley (USA), UC Berkeley Script Encoding Initiative (Universal Script Project) started Unicode project including Meetei Mayek since January 12. 2007. Now the same Ministry has started working on Meetei Mayek. Those who are interested in the Indian Unicode project can access the website at http://www.unicode.org
The attitude of the people of Manipur towards Meetei Mayek is really unfortunate. Any kind of script doesn’t do harm to anybody or community unless otherwise used as a political pawn. The world knows that Meetei Mayek is the only indigenous script for the family of TibetoBurman languages in India. Any kind of fuss in respect of the use of Mitay Mayek may create a bad taste in the eyes of the world.
There is an ever increasing need for the spread and growth or Manipuri language but the growth is deplorably retarded at the home front for want of proper planning. People, mainly Manipuri speakers, living outside India. viz: Myanmar, Bangladesh, USA, etc, are looking forward for the purpose of language learning materials or various types and tastes to suit their needs - to study Manipuri for a certain course for the purpose or education through mother-tongue (Manipuri) to teach the Manipuri children who are away from Manipur (for those who are in the States, Canada, Europe, etc). Besides, Manipuri Language has already been given recognition as one of the 109 critical languages of the world according to a list published by US Department of Education in 1985 (page 342 or The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of languages) as such research is being carried on in the States, Japan etc on different aspects of Manipuri language.
But unfortunately, the Meeteis who are the Manipuri speakers are not fully aware of the importance of teaching Manipuri in the State, and that the practice of appointing Manipuri subject-teachers in the Government schools has still been ignored and that there is no trained language teachers to teach Manipuri in the schools.
In the higher classes also the condition is not better. The Manipuri lecturers working in the Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges of Manipur are not sufficiently groomed to effectively teach Manipuri language and literature. As a result language paper in all the colleges in Manipur is not properly taught. It is therefore obvious that there is still want of training facilities, teaching materials and more importantly there exists no will or determination for language planning in the State.
In other States in India, language universities have already been established, namely, Kannada University, Malayalam University, Tamil University etc besides Hindi Universities, Sanskrit University. The Government of India has already approved a Sindhi University also.
If the Government of Manipur is committed to the development or Manipuri language the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, may be approached not only tor various projects on language, but also for a separate Manipuri language University as it was already done or being done elsewhere in India. As we understand, there are provisions in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India for providing “Seed Money” for the development of university level textbooks which the Government of Manipur is still to take up the matter.
We would like to emphasize the need for development of Manipuri language not only for an official language, but also as a scheduled language, the language of literary repute, and the language of a world-class culture. As such, more opportunity should be created for the study of Manipuri language at the University of Manipuri.
Unfortunately minority Manipuri speaking students in India are unwholesomely debarred of their rights to study and write in Manipuri at the higher level of education.
This type of attitude, rather unawareness on the part of the concerned authorities in Manipur and the people in general is certainly academically unproductive and linguistically anathema to the growth and development of Manipuri language and culture at a juncture when the world of culture is looking forward to the civilized culture of Manipur.
In this age of science and technology, what is really required is knowledge and wisdom or the people.
To acquire knowledge through a language like English is excellent, however, more than 80% of student population in Manipur is said to be weak in English. For such an overwhelming majority of students English has been the natural stumbling block in the way to acquiring knowledge. The question is, what would be the alternative tor such an academic disaster in the State?
The answer may be sought in the theory of constructivism and the National Curriculum Framework 2005.
Source: The Sangai Express
August 20 will come and go, but this day will remain as an important day for the people of Tibeto-Burman language family; for Manipuri, the foremost language among the languages of the family, entered into the prestigious language club of India (8th Schedule) on this day in the year 1992. Indeed it was a great day marked with joy and hilarity, with dance, din and bustle among the youths in the heart or Imphal city which reverberated in the entire valley of Manipur.
There was dead silence in the next year, as if the people of Manipur had committed a great mistake in the previous year. As subsequent years rolled on, the tempo of Manipuri being a constitutionally re-cognised language rece-ded gradually except occasionally of course, some-one out of anguish lamen-ted through local newspaper, asking where those experts had gone like the howling of a lone jackal at a solitary jungle bush.
Before Manipuri became a constitutional language, it has already been recognised as one of the 169 critical languages of the world according to a list published by US Department of Education in 1985 vide page 342 of The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Language and as such research is being carried on in the States, Japan, etc, on different aspects of Manipuri language.
Interestingly enough, Unicode for Indian scripts that is being developed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Department of Information Technology, Government of India deliberately avoided inclusion of Meetei Mayek some years back has now realized its importance in the global context when University of Berkeley (USA), UC Berkeley Script Encoding Initiative (Universal Script Project) started Unicode project including Meetei Mayek since January 12. 2007. Now the same Ministry has started working on Meetei Mayek. Those who are interested in the Indian Unicode project can access the website at http://www.unicode.org
The attitude of the people of Manipur towards Meetei Mayek is really unfortunate. Any kind of script doesn’t do harm to anybody or community unless otherwise used as a political pawn. The world knows that Meetei Mayek is the only indigenous script for the family of TibetoBurman languages in India. Any kind of fuss in respect of the use of Mitay Mayek may create a bad taste in the eyes of the world.
There is an ever increasing need for the spread and growth or Manipuri language but the growth is deplorably retarded at the home front for want of proper planning. People, mainly Manipuri speakers, living outside India. viz: Myanmar, Bangladesh, USA, etc, are looking forward for the purpose of language learning materials or various types and tastes to suit their needs - to study Manipuri for a certain course for the purpose or education through mother-tongue (Manipuri) to teach the Manipuri children who are away from Manipur (for those who are in the States, Canada, Europe, etc). Besides, Manipuri Language has already been given recognition as one of the 109 critical languages of the world according to a list published by US Department of Education in 1985 (page 342 or The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of languages) as such research is being carried on in the States, Japan etc on different aspects of Manipuri language.
But unfortunately, the Meeteis who are the Manipuri speakers are not fully aware of the importance of teaching Manipuri in the State, and that the practice of appointing Manipuri subject-teachers in the Government schools has still been ignored and that there is no trained language teachers to teach Manipuri in the schools.
In the higher classes also the condition is not better. The Manipuri lecturers working in the Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges of Manipur are not sufficiently groomed to effectively teach Manipuri language and literature. As a result language paper in all the colleges in Manipur is not properly taught. It is therefore obvious that there is still want of training facilities, teaching materials and more importantly there exists no will or determination for language planning in the State.
In other States in India, language universities have already been established, namely, Kannada University, Malayalam University, Tamil University etc besides Hindi Universities, Sanskrit University. The Government of India has already approved a Sindhi University also.
If the Government of Manipur is committed to the development or Manipuri language the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, may be approached not only tor various projects on language, but also for a separate Manipuri language University as it was already done or being done elsewhere in India. As we understand, there are provisions in the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India for providing “Seed Money” for the development of university level textbooks which the Government of Manipur is still to take up the matter.
We would like to emphasize the need for development of Manipuri language not only for an official language, but also as a scheduled language, the language of literary repute, and the language of a world-class culture. As such, more opportunity should be created for the study of Manipuri language at the University of Manipuri.
Unfortunately minority Manipuri speaking students in India are unwholesomely debarred of their rights to study and write in Manipuri at the higher level of education.
This type of attitude, rather unawareness on the part of the concerned authorities in Manipur and the people in general is certainly academically unproductive and linguistically anathema to the growth and development of Manipuri language and culture at a juncture when the world of culture is looking forward to the civilized culture of Manipur.
In this age of science and technology, what is really required is knowledge and wisdom or the people.
To acquire knowledge through a language like English is excellent, however, more than 80% of student population in Manipur is said to be weak in English. For such an overwhelming majority of students English has been the natural stumbling block in the way to acquiring knowledge. The question is, what would be the alternative tor such an academic disaster in the State?
The answer may be sought in the theory of constructivism and the National Curriculum Framework 2005.
Source: The Sangai Express
