AP State govt launches mission to protect tribal languages

Visakhapatnam: The State government finally started conservation of critically endangered tribal languages. The Union Ministry of Tribes is funding the initiative. Several tribal languages have been identified as critically endangered and some of the languages have already vanished in the dense forest on the Andhra-Odisha border.

The Adivasi associations and NGOs working for the Adivasis have been demanding that the Centre should conserve the tribal languages for the past several decades. With this, the Ministry of Human Resource Development initiated a mission, ‘Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India,’ in 2014.  

Under the initiative, the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) is working on protection, preservation, and documentation of all the mother tongues and languages of India. The government has identified the languages in three categories including definitely endangered, severely endangered and critically endangered. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Tribal Welfare has also come forward to conserve the tribal languages and asked the Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare department to take up measures. As a part of the exercise, the State government handed over the mission to Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

During the first phase of the mission, the SSA has decided to introduce three tribal languages in the primary education in class-1 and 2 in Andhra Pradesh. According to the studies, Gondu, Kolami, Koya, Kuvi, Kui, Yerukala, Savara, Parji, Kupia, Konda and Adivasi Odiya languages have to be conserved. 

In fact, there is no script available to take up protective measures. However, according to the lifestyle and available information on the customs the government is trying to bring those languages on the paper.

“The government conducted a workshop on the issue in the first week of June this year. Three of our teachers attended the workshop. Initially, the SSA has introduced three languages including ‘Konda,’ Kuvi,’ and ‘Adivasi Odiya’ in the primary education of class one and two in tribal welfare schools. 

The SSA is leading the conservation of the critically endangered languages,” Balaji D K, Project Officer, ITDA, Paderu, told The Hans India.