There is a Chinese proverb: ‘If it is for a year, plant rice, if it is for a decade, plant trees, if it is for a century, educate the people.’ In the context of Nepal, the government itself has been confused about which language to adopt as the medium to educate the people. Should education be provided in Sanskrit? Should it be provided in Nepali? Society is running around saying, ‘English is fine.’ The government is watching.

The constitution states: ‘All mother tongues spoken in Nepal are the national languages. Nepali, written in the Devanagari script, shall be the official language of Nepal. In addition to Nepali, a province may designate one or more other national languages ​​spoken by the majority of the people within its province as the official language of the province in accordance with the provincial law. Other matters related to language shall be as decided by the Government of Nepal on the recommendation of the Language Commission.’

In the decade since the promulgation of the constitution, Bagmati Province has declared Tamang and Nepali as official languages ​​as per the recommendation of the Language Commission. Gandaki Province has made Magar and Tamu (Gurung) languages ​​as official languages. Those provinces have only declared them as official languages, but no concrete work has been done in practical terms. Five other provinces have not declared official languages.

There are 753 local levels across the country. It is the municipalities that work with the local language-speaking communities. But the municipality has not worked in a policy-based manner to protect and promote the local mother tongue. In reality, every language is the heritage of the nation.

It is the municipalities that work with the local language-speaking community, but the municipalities have not worked in a policy-based manner to protect and promote the local mother tongue. The data from the National Census 2078 shows that there are 142 castes and 124 languages ​​spoken in the country. In the words of Hark Gurung, there is a difference between ‘language’ and ‘speech’. Language is written and speech is considered an oral mother tongue. Language refers to the mother tongue that is written or spoken. (Gurung, ‘Vaishaya Vidhya, 2006:119)’ There is no exact data on how many mother tongues are written in Nepal.

Some languages ​​have been published and broadcast in government-owned media houses. Currently, 'Gorkhapatra' daily publishes content in 46 mother tongues besides Nepali. It publishes news and articles in two languages ​​daily. Nepal Television broadcasts news in 7 languages ​​and programs in 10 languages. Radio Nepal broadcasts news in 26 languages ​​and programs in 25 languages.

The National News Committee has been producing news in English, Nepali, Maithili, Awadhi and Newari languages. Television chairman and journalist Dev Kumar Sunuwar has stated that programs are being broadcast in 23 mother tongues including Nepali and English from the private sector Indigenous Television. News and programs are being broadcast in 34 languages ​​on 24 FM under the Indigenous Community Radio Network.

International Mother Language Day

International Mother Language Day is the culmination of the movement for the existence of the Bengali language. This day is celebrated on 21 February. On 21 February 1952, students and progressive political activists of Dhaka University protested. The government opened fire on the protesters, killing half a dozen students and protesters. Hundreds were injured. The incident sparked a nationwide movement. The Pakistani government then reversed its decision and declared Bengali as the state language.

Bangladesh became an independent state after its separation from Pakistan in 1971. Bengali became the national language. The Bangladesh government enacted the Bengali Language Act in 1987 and has been celebrating Mother Language Day on 21 February. UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in 1999 in recognition of standard languages ​​and cultural rights.

Mother Language Day in Nepal

International Mother Language Day has been officially celebrated in Nepal since 21 February 2010 (BS 2066). Mother language seminars, cultural tableau performances and multilingual poetry seminars are held on this occasion. The National Foundation for the Upliftment of Indigenous Peoples and the Language Commission have also organized programs. The Bangladesh Embassy, ​​UNESCO, and others have participated in those programs.

In Nepal too, during the Rana regime, Dharmaditya Dharmacharya (Jagatman Vaidya) had started a language movement for Nepali language through the monthly magazine ‘Buddha Dharma wa Nepalbhasha’ from Kolkata, India. The magazine was published from Kolkata in BS 1981. Around BS 1993/94, Fatte Bahadur Singh had published a joint poetry collection called ‘Nepali Bihar’ in Nepali language. The collection included Siddhicharan Shrestha’s ‘Krantibina Aachen Shanti’ and other works. Chittadhar Hriday’s ‘Aama’ poetry collection was made public. Fatte Bahadur, Siddhicharan, and Chittadhar, who wrote against the Rana regime, were imprisoned for life.

The Decade of Indigenous Language

Language is considered the main medium of expression and the cornerstone of development. Therefore, UNESCO has set the slogan for International Mother Language Day 2026 as ‘Youth’s Voice in Multilingual Education’. The United Nations celebrated 2019 as the ‘Year of Indigenous Mother Languages’. Reviewing that year, it has declared 2022 to 2031 as the ‘Decade of Indigenous Mother Languages’. The mother-speaking community has not yet been informed about what programs the state party, Nepal, is doing to protect and promote indigenous languages.

Scripts along with mother tongue

In the recording of languages ​​spoken in Nepal, 16 types of scripts are found in use. Devanagari script (languages ​​including Nepali), Ranjana script (Neva script) Nepalese language, Rong script (Lapcha language), Kirat Sirijanga script (Languages ​​of the Kirati group including Limbu), Uchen/Sambhota script (Himalayan languages ​​including Tamang, Sherpa), Olchiki script (Santhal language) are written. Similarly, Khema script (Tamu/Gurung language), Akkha script (Magar Dhut, Kaike and Kham language), Mithilakshar (Tirhuta) Maithili language, (10) Koinch Blaise (Sunuwar/Koinch language), Kaithi script (Bhojpuri and Maghi language), Bengali script (Bengali language), Gurmukhi script (Punjabi language), Nastalik script (Arabic/Urdu) language), Roman script, Braille (for the visually impaired) are used . These scripts are used on a community basis.

The identity of an independent nation is the citizens and the languages ​​of its citizens within its own country. The protection of those languages ​​means the protection of independence. That is why there is a delay in putting into practice the phrase 'protecting and promoting unity, socio-cultural solidarity, tolerance and harmony among the diverse peoples by assimilating the multi-ethnic, multilingual, multi-religious, multicultural and geographically diverse characteristics' mentioned in the constitution.

Linguist Taramani Rai says that the mother tongues of indigenous peoples are in a sensitive state. 'We are practicing federalism in Nepal. Its practice is not seen in the way it should have been practiced, especially at the local level. The main thing is that the problem lies at the policy level. Acts should be made according to the constitution, but they have not been made. A language policy does not seem to have been made at the local level. Therefore, the work of promoting mother tongues is not being done in practice,' he says.