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Opinion
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| MY RIGHTS, IN KASHMIRI LANGUAGE Written by Ashok Raina | | | | Just as everyone feels affection and love for their homeland, similarly, everyone, like me, has a deep emotional connection to their mother tongue. Whenever we speak to each other in our mother tongue, we naturally feel not only a sense of peace but also a profound feeling of affection and connection. Sincere and heartfelt wishes for each other also arise. Moreover, a new sense of enthusiasm, passion, and zeal is actively generated.
There is an inherent charm in one's mother tongue that inevitably draws us in. When one is suddenly separated from their birthplace and homeland, and experiences the feeling of being separated from their mother tongue, it brings nothing but pain until the very last moment of life.
My mother taught me everything in the Kashmiri language – its nuances, its culture, and how to speak and interact with others respectfully. I consider my mother the best teacher of the Kashmiri language. Learning this language has empowered me in many ways. After its inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, not only did my status and respect increase, but it also opened up many avenues for me to fulfill my aspirations of securing fundamental rights for my community through this language.
Even today, I feel a sense of pride in my mother tongue, and there is no doubt that even if everything else were taken from me, no one could ever take away the words given to me by my mother and my teachers. Whenever I meet people from my region, we inevitably recall our childhood days, and our shared language helps us connect and strengthens our bonds of love and fraternity.
If someone possesses everything but has lost respect and regard for their mother tongue, then consider that their very existence in this world has ceased to matter.
After being suddenly displaced from my ancestral homeland in the 1990s, despite having numerous opportunities to learn many languages, my attachment to my mother tongue remained unwavering. Learning languages is not a sin, but forgetting the sounds and nuances taught by one's mother, like the songs of birds, is not a good thing for anyone. This is the main reason why I have written hundreds, even thousands, of literary songs to date, many of which have been well-received on social media, and I will continue this endeavor in the future also.
Although my mother tongue, Kashmiri, is included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, and despite being displaced from my ancestral home, I have faced considerable difficulties in accessing the facilities and rights associated with my mother tongue. I am deeply saddened that our own people have deprived us of these fundamental rights. On the other hand, I am very happy that our mother tongue has been included in the IAS examinations, which feels like a great honor bestowed upon me by my mother.
Even today, it is because of my mother tongue that I am able to assert my claim to Kashmir, the crown jewel of India. And even in times of trouble, we have instilled in our children a sense of love and affection for their homeland and country through their mother tongue. I even wrote a national song in the Kashmiri language in memory of my homeland, Kashmir, which was very well received by the people full of charm.
After being displaced from the Kashmir Valley, deeply learning the Kashmiri language, writing books in Kashmiri, and promoting journalism and literature in Kashmiri became a major goal for me. This feeling is still alive and deeply ingrained within me, because the love I have for my mother tongue is as strong as the love I have for my beloved homeland from which I was separated.
Thanks to my mother tongue, I have several rights granted to me by my state, and I hope that the discrimination I have faced so far will definitely come to an end in the future, and I will get all my basic and fundamental rights like other citizens of the country and the state.
(The author of this article is Ashok Raina Editor of daily Northern Times)
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