India is a land of rich linguistic diversity, which is an asset to the country and a resource to be cherished, according to Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Human Resource Development.
“In a country with over 1000 mother tongues, we have to appreciate the plurality and diversity of our country, which is an asset we have inherited and a resource we cherish,” she said, speaking at the Mathribhasha Diwas celebrations at Ethiraj College for Women on Saturday.
During the function, Ms. Irani launched the online classical Tamil course by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil. The course is for people who are interested in learning about Sangam literature, and is available atwww.cict.in
Congratulating CICT for their project, Ms. Irani said she hoped technology would help bridge the language divide, not only in India, but around the world.
She also launched the 1008 children’s books by the Central Institute of Indian Languages, which are available in 22 languages. “We are hoping to reach children across the country with these stories, and will soon be translating them into over 1000 Indian languages,” said Mohammed Anwar, resource person from CIL in charge of the project.
The Minister also released the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan’s Sanskrit translation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s classic Ponniyin Selvan by Rajalakshmi Srinivasan.
V.M. Muralidharan, Chairman, Ethiraj College Trust, was also present.
