Basha Sangam: SCERT’s Tamil Quiz Promotes Language Diversity, Multilingualism

Srinagar : The Department of Education in Languages wing of the State Council of Educational Research and Languages (SCERT), Thursday, conducted an inter-district quiz competition on Tamil language wherein scores of students from all the 10 districts of the Kashmir Division took part.
The “Basha Sangam” initiative, launched by the Government of India, aims to foster linguistic diversity and multilingualism within the country. The program’s primary goal is to establish a platform where different languages can converge and interact, as the name “Basha Sangam” suggests, which translates to “confluence of languages.”
In his inaugural speech, the academic head, Unit-1, Zahoor Ahmad Dar said that Basha Sangam is an essential initiative that would go a long way in promoting linguistic diversity.
“It would eventually help in preserving endangered languages, and encourage multilingualism in the country,” he said. “The program has a significant impact on society by promoting cultural understanding, enhancing cognitive abilities, and improving communication skills.”
The Wing’s head, Ms Shabnum, who is also the Basha Sangam’s divisional nodal officer, said that Basha Sangam celebrates the linguistic diversity of India by providing a platform for various languages to come together and interact.
“The initiative helps to promote cultural understanding and social harmony by fostering an environment where people from diverse backgrounds can communicate and learn from each other,” she said.
Academic officer Masood Ali said that Basha Sangam empowers teachers and students to appreciate the importance of languages beyond the official and regional languages of India.
The quiz was conducted in multiple stages, where the participating students were subjected to a rigorous evaluation of their grasp of the Tamil language. It was inspiring to witness them answer complex questions with ease, considering that Tamil was not their native language, and they were not proficient in its script.
Upon the conclusion of the quiz, the participants received certificates to acknowledge their active involvement in the event. The certificates served as a symbol of recognition for the students’ hard work and accomplishments in enhancing their understanding and knowledge of the Tamil language.
Furthermore, the winners of the quiz were also presented with trophies, which were a symbol of their exceptional performance and proficiency in the Tamil language.
The presentation of trophies to the winners not only recognized their talent but also motivated other participants to strive for excellence in learning different languages.
To everyone’s surprise, academic officer Sheikh Gulzar Ahmad read out his “vote of thanks” in Tamil.