International Mother Language Day PREPAK shares thought, urges scholars
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 20 2013: In connection with the global observance of International Mother Language day, which falls tomorrow, the proscribed People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) has called upon the people, particularly the scholars for relentless effort to preserve and promote the mother language.

Alleging that prolonged existence as a State of India has been gradually diluting culture and history of the erstwhile independent Manipur, posing serious threat to Manipur's mother language, a statement issued by the outfit's assistant secretary, Publicity and Propaganda Leibak Ngakpa Luwang regretted that sustained campaign by the Government of India is eventually bearing fruit as differences continue to crop up between the hill and valley dwellers.

While history itself is evidence that for centuries Manipuri (meiteilon) language had been the lingua franca for the people of Manipur, a particular historic event is also without doubt the main reason why the gap between the hill and valley brethren has been widening, noted the assistant secretary while explaining that burning of the Puya (ancient chronicle) is eventually distancing the hill brethren from their valley brothers.

With Meiteilon serving as the common language, inspite of the hill people having their own languages, the fraternal bond between the people was much stronger in the past but the burning of the Puya during the reign of Pamheiba Ningthou (Manipuri ruler) and subsequent forcible conversion of the valley dwellers to Hinduism led to the non-meitei populace as outcasts, recounted the outfit.

Strongly advocating the need to make the mother language a vibrant one to revive the age-old fraternal bond, Luwang cautioned that undermining importance of the mother language will not only create further divisions in the society but also have serious negative repercussions on the politico-economic condition of the Manipuris.

With regard to the global observance, he highlighted that consequent to the people's movement in Bangladesh in the middle-part of the 20th century, the 30th general conference of UNESCO held in November 1999 adopted a resolution that February 21 be observed as the International Mother Language Day.

While the UNESCO resolution was aimed at preserving as well as enable the global fraternity develop their respective languages, the Bangladesh movement has become an indelible event that spurred cultural nationalism, he maintained and conveyed that intense agitation by the people of the erstwhile East Pakistan compelled Pakistan to rescind from its legislation that urdu, and not Bangla, should be national language of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) .

In restoring Bangali as the official language of Bangladesh in February 29, 1956 it sustained the Bangali nationalism movement as well as boosted morale of the indigenous people to revive cultural nationalism and preserve common heritage in different parts of the world, in Manipur gradual dilution of the mother language is still a serious cause for concern for there is an indication that even scholars are showing signs of fatigue due to prolong subjugation of the people by India.

Despite all hurdles there is need for unified movement by the people of Manipur, particularly the scholars, for sustaining the effort to preserve and promote the mother language as failure to perceive its significance will not only have serious impact on the hill-valley relationship but ultimately compromise the rich cultural heritage of the manipuri people, Leibak Ngakpa conveyed.

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