Mother tongue is key to creative and critical thinking: Union Education Minister pens article

New Delhi, Dec 11 (IANS) Amidst the week-long ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav’ celebrations, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday said that the mother tongue remains a key to learning in young children, as it helps them develop their creative and critical thinking.

The Union Minister, penning an article on ‘Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav’, wrote that the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 will serve as a catalyst to reclaim our linguistic pride and how our linguistic diversity will be the cornerstone of educational excellence. He also reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment on preserving the country’s linguistic diversity.

Notably, schools across the country are organising programs under the Bharatiya Bhasha Utsav to promote linguistic heritage and also to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahakavi Subramania Bharati on December 11.

“Linguistic pride lies at the core of Bharat’s civilisational ethos. All Indian languages are national languages, constituting the soul of Bharatiyata. Linguistic diversity strengthens national unity and helps realise the goal of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”. Each one of our people, therefore, must wear linguistic pride as a badge of honour,” Pradhan pointed out.

He stated that 80 per cent of Bharat’s population identifies itself as non-English, native language speakers and hence have a natural trait to master the skills in mother tongue.

“Mother tongue lies at the core of deep learning, because our languages are not just tools of communication — they are repositories of history, tradition and folklore, preserving the collective wisdom of generations and offering a unique worldview,” he wrote.

Further elaborating on how mother tongue facilitates seamless transition, he said, “Children, brimming with creativity and emotional intelligence, flourish when their education begins in their native language. A primer in their mother tongue builds a seamless bridge from the home to the classroom, guiding them from “mother” tongue to “other” tongue — transitioning from speaking to writing, vocabulary to semantics, and language to subject comprehension.”

He further said, “Education in the mother tongue fosters a natural progression from basic understanding to complex thought. Bharat’s linguistic diversity is a treasure-trove of both intellectual and cultural wealth.”

PM Modi also shared the Union Minister’s immersive note on his social media handle while stressing that teaching in mother tongues lays the foundation for deeper learning, fostering creativity and also preserving one’s cultural roots.

Recently, the Union Cabinet expanded the ambit of classical languages by including five more languages – Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali.

–IANS

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