Lok Sabha Question No. 2948 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-08
Subject: Preservation of Tribal Languages
Ministry: TRIBAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Shri Baijayant Panda

2948 Shri Baijayant Panda:

Will the Minister of TRIBAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government proposes to preserve and promote tribal languages and dialects and if so, the details thereof including the methods being used to document and revitalize these languages;
- (b) the details of involvement of tribal communities in these efforts and the likely impact on cultural preservation; and
- (c) the amount of funds and resources allocated for these initiatives?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRIBAL AFFAIRS (SHRI DURGADAS UIKEY)

- (a) to (c): Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, under the 'Support to TRIs scheme provides  financial  support  to  the  Tribal  Research  Institutes  (TRIs)  in  States/UTs  for  the projects/activities undertaken for the preserving and promoting of tribal languages and dialects as mentioned below.
- i. Preparing Bilingual Dictionaries and Trilingual Proficiency Modules in tribal languages.
- ii. Preparing Primers for students of Class I, II and III in tribal languages under Multi-Lingual Education  (MLE)  Intervention  in  the  line  of  New  Education  Policy  2020.  Publishing Varnamala, local rhymes, and stories in tribal languages.
- iii. Publishing books, journals on different tribal languages to promote tribal literature
- iv. Documenting folklore, and folktales of different tribes for preservation and promotion of tribal folk tradition. Collecting oral literature (songs, riddles, ballads etc.)
- v. Translation  and  publication  of  Training  module  about  Sickle  cell  Anaemia  disease awareness Module I and Diagnosis & Treatment Module II in local Tribal Dialects
- vi. Conducting conferences, seminars, workshops, and poetic symposiums.
2.      Through  these  projects  and  activities,  tribal  communities are  encouraged  to  participate  in conferences, seminars, workshops and exchange programs. Teachers from Government Ashram Schools along with language experts from respective communities are associated in developing the dictionaries and primers in tribal dialects and language, which not only preserves and conserve the tribal languages but help tribal students in basic learning from class I to III and help in smooth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TRIBAL AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO - 2948

TO BE ANSWERED ON - 08.08.2024

## Preservation of Tribal Languages

transition  when  they  go  to  higher  classes.    TRIs  also  organise  Tribal  Language  Training Programme for field functionaries (front-line workers).

3.  Further, the New Education Policy also stipulates that young children learn and grasp quickly in  their  home  language  and  mother  tongue.  Accordingly,  Central  and  State  Governments  are encouraging  multi-lingual  policy  for  imparting  education  and  preservation  of  language.   As informed by the Ministry  of  Education,  the Ministry  initiated  the  'Scheme  for  Protection  and Preservation of Endangered Languages (SPPEL)' under the Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL),  Mysuru  in  2013.  This  project  is  documenting  the  language  &  culture  of  the  mother tongues/languages of India spoken by less than 10,000 speakers in the form of primers, bi/trilingual dictionaries (electronic and print formats), grammatical sketches, pictorial glossaries and ethnolinguistic profile of the community.
4.    Under  the  scheme  'Support  to  Tribal  Research  Institutes',  based  on  the  annual  proposals received from the Tribal Research Institutes, Apex committee approves projects/activities. The budget allocation (BE) for the last 3 years under scheme is as under.

| Name of the Scheme   | BE for 2021-22   | BE for 2022-23   | BE for 2023-24   |
|----------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|
| Support to TRI       | 120 Cr           | 121 Cr           | 118.64 Cr        |

For  details  of  projects  sanctioned  to  TRI,  the  minutes  of  Apex  Committee  may  be  viewed  at website of the Ministry (tribal.nic.in).

Further, under another scheme 'Tribal Research, Information, Education, Communication and Events  (TRI-ECE)'  funds  are  given  to  to  reputed  Institutions  for  carrying  out  research  study programs including documentation of tribal languages and developing AI based translation tools for converting English/Hindi Text/Speech to selected tribal languages and vice-versa. The details of the projects are as under.

| Name of the Organisation                         | Name of Project Sanctioned                                                                                                                 | Total Approved Cost   |
|--------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|
| Bhasha Research and Publication Centre, Vadodra  | Study and Documentation of Adivasi Languages, Culture and Life-Skills FY:2019-20                                                           | Rs. 58.70 Lakh.       |
| BITS, Pilani and consortium of IITs and Bhashini | Development of a AI-based Translation Tool for Converting English/Hindi Text/Speech to selected Tribal Languages and Vice-Versa FY:2024-25 | Rs.3.122 crore        |

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