Enthusiasm of Proclamation of Provincial Language

As the head of the federal government, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal announced its formal launch yesterday in a public event in Kathmandu. A notification in this regard was issued through the gazette from 23 October 2079, approving the necessary laws from the state assembly. According to the practice, the said law should be implemented within 180 days. That is, Baisakh 24.

The Language Commission established under Article 287 of the Constitution of Nepal-2072 had studied the mother tongues spoken in the country and submitted a report to the government some time ago for its implementation. In order to protect and promote the rights of the languages ​​spoken as mother tongues in Nepal, which are accepted as national languages ​​by the constitution, the Commission recommended that Nepalese and Tamang languages, which are spoken in large numbers in Wagmati province, can be used as working languages ​​at the provincial level. After the formal announcement by the Prime Minister, the implementation of the recommendations and the territorial rights provided by the Constitution will begin.

Past behavior towards mother tongue

In the past, there was a rule of royal feudal rule – one language, one disguise. The rulers considered the social, cultural and linguistic diversity and plurality existing in the country as a burden. He considered it an obstacle to national unity. Therefore, the current rulers and the ruling powers interpreted social, cultural and linguistic homogeneity as the basis of national unity. In his desire for social inclusion, he forcibly adopted many measures.

Even when a community or a language speaker tried hard to protect their own language, literature, script, etc., in the eyes of the ruler, it was considered as an activity that disturbs ethnic narrowness, communal and social harmony. Even worse was the situation of those who were active for the renaissance of their native language, literature, and culture. For the feudal power at that time, they used to be rebels, rebels or unwanted elements.

King Ran Bahadur Shah banned their mother tongue, which had been used in legal practice for a long time in the Kirat community of eastern Nepal, by issuing an Istihar. Similarly, Rana Prime Minister Chandrashamsher also proved that all non-Khasa language documents cannot be legally recognized based on a Sanad issued on 29th July 1978. Gurus trying to teach Limbu language in eastern Nepal were chased across the border. The Newars who wrote Buddhist sources in the valley through their mother tongue were punished. Chittadhar 'Hrudaya', who wrote a poem in memory of his mother, was sentenced to life imprisonment and forfeiture of everything. Siddhicharan, who wrote a poem titled 'Varsha' in his mother tongue, was imprisoned for life.

On the one hand, under the guise of a new education system under the guise of independence under the direct rule of the king, children were diverted from school level education through the medium of mother tongue. On the other hand, the Panchayati mass media policy brought under the slogan of communication for development completely prohibited non-special language in government media. At that time, it was not even allowed to promote commercial advertisements using the mother tongue in the government media. In a sense, in those days, getting involved in any campaign or creative work in favor of a non-special mother tongue was like standing in an anti-establishment category. Such people were registered in the blacklist of the police-administration.

Liberal tendencies and the court at that time

In the Constitution of Nepal-2015, it was stated that '...Nepali language in Devanagari script will be the national language of Nepal...'. The constitution of 2019 under the independent Panchayat system also continued the same in terms of language. After that, the so-called nationalist intellectual jamaat gradually created such a comment - the synonym of nationalism and nationalism is to establish the monopoly and dominance of the Nepali language in all areas.

At the same time, when 'Education in Nepal: Statement of the National Education Commission' was prepared, it was unhesitatingly recommended that - 'The study of local languages ​​will hinder the development of Nepali (language), as students speak those languages ​​more than Nepali (language) in their home and society. will use In that case, Nepali language will remain as a foreign language. If Nepali language is taught to the new generation of students as the base language, other languages ​​will gradually disappear and this will strengthen Nepali national unity.'

After that, there was a lack of liberal thinking about language not only in the state but also in some of the founders within the majority community regarding the usage of Nepali language and other languages ​​of Nepal. They preferred to say that the management of multiple languages ​​in a poor country like Nepal is expensive and unnecessary. After the end of independence and restoration of parliamentary democracy, the Constitution of Nepal-2047 stated that 'all languages ​​spoken as mother tongues in different parts of Nepal are the national languages ​​of Nepal'. In 2054, Kathmandu Metropolitan Municipality decided to use Nepalese language and Janakpur Municipality to use Maithili as an official medium language in their respective areas of work in addition to Nepali language. Ironically, two prominent founders of Nepali literature and journalism approached the Supreme Court against that decision. On June 18, 2056, the two Nepali-speaking justices who headed the division bench of the Supreme Court stood on the opposite side. And, he forbade the implementation of the decision to use the mother tongue in the local bodies without hesitation. These are only the bitter memories of the uneducated mentality among some so-called intellectuals of that time.

Second-class citizens

The ruling elites were never tired of trumpeting ideals like 'four castes, thirty-six varna flowers'. At the same time, on the other hand, the methods and behavior of the state made it felt that non-special Nepali speakers are second class Nepalis. Neither their children could get basic education through their mother tongue, nor could they make any complaint through their language which they could express in Adda-Adalat. At that time, he did not feel that Nepal was his country but also his state.

Due to the ethnic-linguistic monopolistic behavior of the government, the two and a half hundred years of the royal rule became a period of pain and torture for the mother tongue speakers of Nepal. The languages ​​of Nepal in some small groups became extinct. Most have reached endangered status. Due to the lack of adaptability to read and write in their mother tongue for hundreds of years and the mandatory situation of adopting only Nepali language by law, language deviation became a serious problem in all communities. The number of people who can read and write in their own language is decreasing in all the mother tongue speaking communities.

is in fact a major basis of the original identity of the mother tongue communities. However, the foundations of identity such as language developed through the collective efforts of the community and important intangible cultural heritage are at increased risk of being destroyed forever due to the misbehavior of the authorities. This situation can become a factor of social alienation and division over time. The danger of weakening national unity and becoming fragmented remains the same.

International experiences say that respect, equality and inclusiveness are the only infallible formulas for building unity in such diversity. It is noteworthy that today the constitution of Nepal has already adopted these matters officially. The current inclusive democracy has been chosen as a roadmap.

A new system, a new effort

Today's Federal Democratic Republic, established with the approval of the Nepalese people, aims to build an inclusive country and strengthen national unity in diversity. It can be understood that, in the process of achieving the same goal, there is a new effort - the initiative to use Nepali language and Tamang language as the official medium language in Wagmati province. Which is welcome. On the one hand, there is the aspect of identity and sensibility of the concerned community, on the other hand, this effort, which is being done for the first time, is equally challenging. Officially getting legal recognition as a medium language is one step, but there are also many practical challenges to be faced while using it. Because, the areas of language use are wide- the operation of provincial parliament, administrative work, mass media and information flow and educational sector. For this, from the management of manpower who can write and speak the necessary language, the availability of financial resources is a basic requirement.

Another complication is how will the users of the respective language community accept this new system? Due to centuries of linguistic discrimination by the state government, the concerned communities do not have the necessary literacy status in their mother tongue. In that case, how eager are the native speakers to use their mother tongue? Looks like a challenge. Therefore, it also has the sensitive aspect of how to motivate the stakeholder community.

The way forward

This effort is not just about using a specific language. In a sense, this is a respect for the existence and identity of citizens of all communities and classes in a country like Nepal with its plurality and diversity. It is the basic responsibility of the state to integrate them into the national mainstream. It is an important campaign to empower the marginalized and excluded. In essence, it is an expression of the reality that the country is common to all, the state reflects the common feelings of all.

The Wagmati province is the main one in the role of policy formulation and implementation. To what extent will it be active in terms of implementation? How to express commitment and honesty? Time to come will confirm. This step is the first attempt in Nepal in accordance with the values ​​of inclusiveness and federalism. Its success will ripple across the country. Also, other state governments will also be motivated in this direction.