India Languages

'Can't speak Kannada?' Cars24 CEO's Delhi-pitch rekindles language debate

Vikram Chopra addressed those who had not learned Kannada despite living in Bengaluru for years, adding that it was fine and invited them to move to Delhi

Pali's recognition by PM Modi will boost Ladakh's culture: Tarun Chugh

Highlighting the universal values of peace and non-violence promoted by Lord Buddha, Chugh applauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's unwavering commitment to spreading Buddhist philosophy

'You should learn Kannada': Sridhar Vembu to non-natives in Bengaluru

Zoho's Sridhar Vembu supports the call for non-natives in Bengaluru to learn Kannada, saying it is a sign of respect for local culture and community integration

'Compelled to reply in Malayalam': Kerala MP questions Hindi responses

Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas argues that responses to MPs from southern India should be provided in English as per established conventions

Recognition of Pali as classical language honours Buddha's heritage: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asserted on Thursday that the recognition of Pali as a classical language honours the great heritage of Lord Buddha, as he took swipe at past Congress governments for its neglect of India's cultural legacy after Independence. Speaking at a programme on the occasion of International Abhidhamma Divas, Modi said while every nation associates its heritage with its identity, India was left far behind. Invaders tried to erase India's identity before its Independence, and those suffering from "slave mindset" did so afterwards, he said, adding that an ecosystem captured the country which took it in an direction opposite to its its heritage. He said his government's policies and programmes have been guided by the teachings of Lord Buddha, reiterating that the world plagued by instability and insecurity can find solution to its problems in his teachings. World can find solution not in "yuddh" (war) but in Buddha, and it should learn from his teachings to pave the

Mahagathbandhan demands official language status for Bhojpuri in Bihar

The demand for grant of official language status to Bhojpuri, arguably the most widely spoken dialect in Bihar, has intensified with the opposition Mahagathbandhan strongly coming out in support of it in the state. Senior leaders of the RJD, Congress and CPI(ML) Liberation, constituents of the Mahagathbandhan, said they would raise the issue in Parliament. The old demand got a fresh impetus after the Union Cabinet's recent decision to accord classical language status to five more languages - Marathi, Bengali, Pali, Prakrit and Assamese. The number of such languages now is 11, since Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia got the tag earlier. CPI(ML) Liberation's Lok Sabha MP Sudama Prasad said, The language is spoken widely in districts such as Bhojpur, Rohtas, Kaimur, Buxar, Saran, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan and Jehanabad in Bihar, and several parts of Jharkhand. Why is the Centre silent on inclusion of Bhojpuri in the Eighth Schedule of the ...

Academics hail Centre for granting classical language status to Bengali

Academics and Bengali identity advocacy groups have hailed the decision of the Centre to accord classical language status to Bengali language expressing hope that it will facilitate in greater use of the language in official communication and examinations. Eminent indologist and linguist Nrisingo Prasad Bhaduri said he hoped that after the honour, at all India level, there will be greater use of the language in competitive examinations, more use of synonyms of familiar English terms in science and economics and present day students will feel encouraged to use these Bengali synonyms in their exams. Thanking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Bhaduri said after he and other academics drew her attention to the fact that Bengali was not accorded classical language status despite having thousands of years of history from the day of its origin and evolution. "The state government submitted voluminous documents in this regard very promptly and the recognition came in 6-7 months ...

Buddhist leaders express gratitude to PM for granting classical tag to Pali

The Pali language is sacred language for Buddhists as it is the language of the Theravada Buddhist scriptures, known as the Pali Canon, which contains the core teachings of the Buddha

K'taka CM Siddaramaiah asks people to make Kannada their business language

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday gave a clarion call to the people of Karnataka to make Kannada their 'business language'. Speaking at an event to celebrate 50 years of naming the erstwhile Mysore state as Karnataka, the CM appealed to people to make Karnataka a Kannada state. "All the people living here are Kannadigas. No matter what your home language is, the business language' should be Kannada. Kannada should be the main and first language in the state," he said. "Learn every language, but Kannada should be the official language in the state," he added. Dwelling on the Gokak agitation, which was related to granting Kannada the first language status in the state, the chief minister said the 'Kannada Kavalu Samiti' was formed to create an atmosphere for Kannada to prosper in Karnataka. Later, the committee became the Kannada Development Authority, he explained. Siddaramaiah asked people to respect all languages, learn as many languages as possible but never be generous to

Centre approves 5 new classical languages: What is a classical language?

The Union Cabinet has declared 5 Indian languages-Marathi, Assamese, Pali, Prakrit and Bengali-as classical languages, aiming to preserve their rich heritage

Tech giant Google announces second edition of Indian languages programme

The Indian Languages Programme 1.0 sought to modernise the online presence of Indian language news publishers and enhance user experiences across web, app, and video formats

Soket AI labs launch Pragna-1B AI model in collaboration with Google Cloud

The model will provide AI services in Indian vernacular languages including Hindi, English, Bengali, and Gujarati

Use of Indian languages key for increasing internet access in India: Report

It shows 57% prefer accessing internet in Indian languages

Building India's own ChatGPT faces challenge of data on languages

Efforts to build large language models, the backbone of AI chatbots, based on the country's needs are gathering pace

Bhashini: Everything you need to know about AI language translation tool

Bhashini is an AI-driven language translation tool that marks a transformative step in digital inclusivity for Indian languages

NEP will give due respect, credit to every Indian language: PM Modi

The new National Education Policy (NEP) will give due respect and credit to every language in the country and those who try to politicise language for their selfish interests will have to shut their shops, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. Delivering the inaugural address at the "Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam" on the third anniversary of the launch of the NEP, Modi said the biggest injustice to students is judging them on the basis of their language, instead of their capabilities. "The National Educational Policy will give due respect and credit to every language in the country.... Those who try to politicise language for their selfish interests will now have to shut their shops," the prime minister said. "Education in the mother tongue is initiating a new form of justice for students in India. It is also a very significant step towards social justice," he added. Taking note of the multitude of languages in the world and their importance, the prime minister underlined

Cong slams Shah over 'BJP stands for promotion of all languages' remark

The Congress on Friday hit out at Home Minister Amit Shah's reported remarks that the BJP stands for promotion of all languages, alleging that the Modi government had spent Rs 640 crore to promote Sanskrit while just Rs 3 crore on promotion of Kannada. Shah, in an interview to The Hindu, said the BJP stands for the promotion of all Indian languages and the accusation that it promotes Hindi at the cost of regional languages is politically motivated. Reacting to the remarks, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet, "The HM has claimed in an interview that the BJP stands for 'promotion' of all languagesIs that why the Modi Govt has spent Rs 640 cr to promote Sanskrit and JUST Rs 3 cr to support promotion of Kannada, one of the six classical languages of the country?" Is that why the man who insulted the great Kuvempu, who penned the state anthem, was made Chairman of the textbook revision committee by "the 40% Commission Sarkara" in Karnataka,

Centre pushes for regional language with CAPF constable exams in 13 of them

In addition to Hindi and English, the question paper will be set in Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Odia, Urdu, Punjabi, Manipuri and Konkani

Pledge to use mother tongue more: Amit Shah on Int'l Mother Language Day

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday greeted people on the International Mother Language Day, and said it is an occasion to make a resolution to connect with the mother tongue and make it more prosperous. Shah also said that when a person makes his mother tongue prosperous, then all the languages of the country become prosperous and the country will also be prosperous. "This is the day to take resolution to connect with our mother tongue and make it more prosperous... We should take a pledge to make maximum use of our mother tongue," he said. The home minister said when a child reads, speaks and thinks in his mother tongue, it enhances his potential to think, reason, analyse and research. Keeping this in mind, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emphasised on education in mother tongue through the New Education Policy, he said, adding "this will become the basis of India's bright future".

Twitter to bring Edit Tweet feature finally: Here's all you need to know

Twitter will be paying close attention to how the feature can impact the way people read, write, and engage with tweets