All Higher Education Institutions are directed to celebrate ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav’ on December 11. The University Grants Commission- UGC's notice dated December 2, 2022, read, "About 1 lakh HEls/ Colleges/INIs/Schools are being encouraged to volunteer for celebrating the Utsav with their teachers and students and ensure the participation of at least 1 crore students."
The Utsav will be celebrated on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahakavi Subramania Bharati, a multi-linguist and freedom fighter and to uphold the spirit of 'Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat' initiative under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the 75 years of our Independence, "it has been decided to celebrate the 'Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav' every year on 11 December," the notice read.
Further, the other notices on the official website of UGC disclose more details about the celebrations of the day.
What is the concept of the day?
The concept of ‘Bhartiya Bhasha Parivar’,
- To celebrate the rich variety and wonders of Bhartiya Bhashas
- To make the students and the youth aware of the spiritual and cultural message emanating from the literature of all Bhashas
- To show how language learning can be a fun and enjoyable experience
- To highlight the need to focus on Bhartiya Bhashas for the development of the nation and “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”
What are the activities to be held?
All the schools, colleges, universities and Institutes of National Importance (INIs) will organise the 'Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav'.
As per the guidelines, the Utsav will include the following:
a) Exhibitions of basic & interesting information about Bhartiya Bhashas, information about letters, scripts, history of language, common words, key historical figures, famous literature, etc. and the historical, cultural and spiritual unity of all Bhartiya Bhashas
b) Tech Zone - Tech-savvy amenities showing different tools and software that students may use to learn languages, do machine translation, etc. and down-loading and teaching a few simple tools
c) My Language My Signature campaign to promote the habit of signing in Bhartiya Bhasha, Sign on dedicated boards for the purpose and uploading selfies, E-Certification may be provided in multiple languages
d) Bhasha Stalls- one dedicated stall for the language of the region and at least one stall for languages of some other region, Books and Literature in different languages and Language Games
e) Competitions - Language Quiz, Speech/Debate/Extempore in different languages, Poetry recitation & Essay writing competition in various languages
f) Cultural programs - Creative performances depicting Lok-parampara and folk-art forms, Open mic/stage sessions, Street plays & dramas etc
