“Nurturing indigenous language is important to protect the cultural identity and dignity of tribal communities and safeguard their traditional heritage”-Professor Megan Davis

The notorious Bangani Enigma was a home of bafflement and a piece of contention in Indo- European linguistics. Bangani, well known as the modern western Pahari language was reported in the western Himalayas and is mainly spoken in Garhwal of Uttarakhand in the Indian Himalayas (Languages of Uttarakhand, 2022). However, it has been reported that Bangani is at risk of language extinction by UNESCO. Like some other languages, it seems to disappear in the near future. Bangani language demonstrates some peculiarities which have no proper explanation in respect to the vocabulary. A number of words from Sanskrit are being used in both colloquial speeches and oral literature. Moreover, many words in the Bangani language which etymologies are likely to be Indo-European but non- Indo Aryan. Despite its popularity, it is losing its roots in India because of its less use (Languages of Uttarakhand, 2022).

Why?

According to the Census Directorate, 42 Indian languages seem to be endangered due to the very few speakers. Undoubtedly, speakers less than 10000 of any language are considered endangered in India (The Wire, 2018). Hence, Bangani is not exceptional as the current speaking population of this language is only 6000. However, the major concern of the day is to preserve the indigenous language to save culture and tradition which has an innumerable contribution to the vocabulary. It can be said that the dominating languages like Hindi and English are devouring the indigenous languages in India. It is again acceptable that Hindi and English are the two languages mostly spoken by Indians in today’s world. In this context, identifying a few measures to reduce the threat over indigenous languages in Uttarakhand, Sandesha opined “Such languages are needed to be incorporated in the school curriculum, colleges, and Universities”.

The revitalization efforts

Indeed, unique knowledge about life comes with distinct languages. Such knowledge can be used to mitigate modern-day difficulties including global warming and so on. Although, the United Nations had understood the significance and contribution of tribal languages by declaring 2019 as “The Year of International indigenous languages” (The Wire, 2018). Therefore, the question is how the government of the respective state is going to preserve their tribal languages in India. This is still unclear but the Uttarakhand government is playing a crucial role since the declaration of Bangani as an endangered language. For the promotion of such indigenous languages, the state is undertaking several initiatives to support the handful of people who are still preserving the Bangani language. The government is urging the people of Uttarakhand to use indigenous languages in order to preserve their culture. Despite this, the Rungs of Uttarakhand are employing social media to guarantee the shift of their culture among the younger generation. Therefore, it can be said that the bewildering diversity among the tribal communities of Uttarakhand is a heritage that needs to be preserved at any cost. This will be only possible if the tribal communities nurture their conscientious authorities and ensure to encourage the Gen Next to undertake the onerous responsibility.

References

India Netzone. (2021). Bangani Language, Indian Tribal Language. Retrieved from India Netzone: https://www.indianetzone.com/44/bangani_language.htm

Languages of Uttarakhand. (2022, January 2). Retrieved from Uttarakhand.life: https://uttarakhand.life/blog/languagesofuttarakhand/

The Wire. (2018, February 19). More Than 40 Languages May Be Heading for Extinction: Officials. Retrieved from The Wire: https://thewire.in/culture/more-than-40-languages-may-be-heading-for-extinction-officials