Question

discuss the new literary works in the languages of sanskrit,marathi,odia and bengali?

Answer 1

Answer:

One of the main focus areas of the new National Education Policy released this year is that of multilingualism in Indian middle and high school education. In a bid to impart a holistic understanding of India’s diverse heritage and cultures to the country’s future generations, NEP 2020 promotes multilingual curriculum as well as options to learn classical Indian languages, exchange of language teachers between states, Sanskrit as an optional linguistic course across all levels at school, optional courses on select foreign languages, and an amplified outreach for the learning of the designated Dhrupadi bhashas or classical languages of India, viz. Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia.

Oddly enough, the list does not include Bengali, Marathi, and Punjabi – three languages which are predominantly spoken across six Indian states – and which trace their origins back to the period between the 7th and 9th centuries CE, with a fairly rich and extant body of ancient as well as modern literature.

The NEP presents a golden opportunity to students of this country to learn Sanskrit and other officially-recognised classical languages as well as to study the important literary works written in those languages in the original. According to provisions numbered 4.17, 4.18, and 4.19 in the NEP, training in the six officially recognised classical languages referred to above, as well as three other languages enjoying the same status as these six (Pali, Prakrit, and Persian), is to become part of the curriculum from middle level in schools (grades VI-XII) and up to the university level. Exposure to the literature in these nine languages will constitute the core area in this programme, some part of which will be compulsory and a significant part being offered as electives. To quote from the NEP 2020:

“4.17. India also has an extremely rich literature in other classical languages, including classical Tamil, as well as classical Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Odia, in addition to Pali, Persian, and Prakrit; these classical languages and their works of literature too must be preserved for their richness and for the pleasure and enrichment of posterity. When India becomes a fully developed country, the next generation will want to be able to partake in and be enriched as humans by India’s extensive and beautiful classical literature which contains great intellectual and cultural treasures.

“4.18. In addition to Sanskrit, the teaching of all other classical languages and literature of India, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Odia, Pali, Persian, and Prakrit, will also be widely available in schools as options (possibly as online modules), through experiential and innovative approaches, including by integration of technology, to ensure that these languages and literature stay alive and vibrant, especially in those states where they may be best taught and nurtured.

“4.19. For the enrichment of our children, and for the preservation of these rich languages and their artistic treasures, all students in all schools, public or private, may have the option of learning at least two years of a classical language of India and its associated literature, through experiential and innovative approaches, including by integration of technology, in Grades 6-12, with the option to continue from middle level through secondary education and university.”

As such, these provisions have paved the way for Indian students to benefit from the rich literature of these native (excepting Persian) languages. As a much-awaited initiative, this will no doubt prove to be very useful in emancipating the Indian mind from its hitherto English-induced intellectually colonised state. The steps taken in this regard are both desirable as well as commendable.