Kolkata: Union Home Minister Amit Shah stressed the need for learning at least one Indian language besides one’s mother tongue and batted for preserving the country’s linguistic diversity to safeguard its civilisational identity as he inaugurated the Museum of Word here on Sunday.
He termed the inauguration “an important milestone for Indian culture”, while asserting the country has no place for narrow-mindedness.
“We never tried to control any ideology or create obstacles to anyone’s beliefs. Narrow-mindedness cannot be a hallmark of Indian culture,” Shah said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resolved to restore and strengthen India’s cultural heritage.
Emphasising the role of language in shaping a civilisation, he said that language carries a country’s heritage and offers a window into its culture.
A country’s cultural expression is impossible without language, Shah told the gathering on the National Library campus in Kolkata.
The Museum of Word, developed by the National Library under the aegis of the Culture Ministry, is India’s first immersive language museum, which celebrates the country’s rich linguistic heritage and showcases the evolution of its oral and written traditions through interactive and technology-driven exhibits.
“Our language carries our heritage, and through languages you can understand a country’s culture. Language is the origin of culture. Without words and language, culture remains incomplete,” Shah said.
He urged people never to forget their mother tongue while embracing India’s multilingual ethos. “Besides mother tongue, every student should learn at least one other Indian language to better appreciate the country’s cultural diversity.”
Inaugurating the museum, Shah said it would play an important role in preserving and reviving the country’s cultural heritage by showcasing the evolution of languages over centuries.
The home minister also stressed the importance of libraries in nation-building, saying the country’s future not only depends on the number of students in colleges and universities, but also on how many people use libraries.
Referring to Bengal’s intellectual legacy, Shah said the state had produced some of the country’s greatest litterateurs, scientists, revolutionaries and scholars.
Bengal led India intellectually and culturally for decades, he said, recalling the contributions of Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay and Sri Aurobindo.
“Bengal has given India some of its greatest minds. One cannot truly understand India without studying the life and philosophy of Sri Aurobindo,” Shah said and expressed confidence that Bengal would once again emerge as a guiding force for the nation.
“I have been closely monitoring West Bengal for the last nine months, and it is becoming the ‘prakash stambh’ (guiding light) of the country.”
Praising the BJP government in the state, Shah exuded confidence that the vision of a “Sonar Bangla” would be realised under the leadership of Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari.
The chief minister, who was present at the event, said Shah had written to him about according greater prominence and recognition to the Bengali language. Adhikari said he would speak about the contents of the letter in the Assembly on Monday.
The first phase of the museum chronicles the diversity of Indian languages, scripts and literature.
Rather than a conventional repository, it has been designed as an immersive cultural experience using digital displays, holograms, motion-sensor technology and audio-visual presentations to engage visitors.
The museum’s inaugural phase comprises nine galleries covering themes such as the origin of words, mother tongues, evolution of languages, oral traditions, performing arts, contributions of great personalities to different languages, public dialogue and the history of public libraries.
It celebrates India’s 22 constitutionally recognised languages and traces their journey from oral traditions and ancient manuscripts to printed works and modern electronic texts.
Through interactive installations, digital displays and comparative presentations of ancient and contemporary pronunciations, the museum offers visitors an insight into the evolution of languages over centuries.
Among its key attractions is an exhibit that enables visitors to trace the evolution of individual words over centuries, illustrating changes in pronunciation, meaning and usage over time.
