21 Feb 2023 : The Indian Express

Editorial 1: Our language, Our selves

Context:

• In November 1999, UNESCO declared February 21 as International Mother Language Day in response to the declining state of many languages all over the world.
• This year’s theme, “Multilingual education a necessity to transform education,” underscores the importance of using multiple languages in framing an impactful system of education
•  As UNESCO states, a monolingual system of education which relies on “providing education in only one language that is not necessarily shared by all learners may impact negatively learning performance, and the development of socio-emotional and foundational literacy skills.”

India: A land of rich heritage and Culture:

• India is an ancient repository of hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects with rich linguistic and cultural diversity.
•  It is in our mother tongue that we express, with authenticity, our deepest thoughts, feelings, values and ideals, as also our literary endeavours.
• Our languages, which are an integral part of our ancient culture, give us a sense of identity. The former UNESCO Director-General, Koichiro Matsura, highlighted the irreplaceable significance of one’s mother tongue when he observed that “the languages we learn from our mothers are the homeland of our innermost thoughts.”
• The International Mother Language Day has added significance in the Indian context because of the threat westernisation poses to the survival of as many as 42 of our dialects and languages which have fewer than 10,000 users.
• The situation is equally grim all over the world with 40 per cent of the speakers of 6,700 languages not having access to education in their mother tongue.
• It is appropriate, therefore, that revitalising languages that are disappearing or are threatened with extinction is one of the themes of Mother Language Day this year.

Importance of multilingual education in upholding cultural and linguistic diversity

• Several studies have shown the importance of multilingual education in upholding cultural and linguistic diversity.
•  Mainstreaming of mother tongue-based multilingual education should be accorded the highest priority.
•  Recognising the role of technology and artificial intelligence in transforming the educational landscape globally, societies, including ours, must fast-track methods to make quality education more accessible, equitable and inclusive.
• We must involve all key stakeholders in education — policymakers, schools, colleges and universities, teachers, regulatory institutions and non-governmental bodies.
• The Nobel Prize-winning physicist C V Raman said,
  •  “We must teach science in our mother tongue. Otherwise, science will become a highbrow activity. It will not be an activity in which all people can participate.”
• Writing in Young India in 1921, Mahatma Gandhi spoke with concern, of the strain of the foreign medium which turned “our children into crammers and imitators.” Gandhiji foresaw how “the foreign medium has made our children practically foreigners in their own land.”

Shed the colonial legacy of dependence on English (Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav,):

• Even as we celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, to mark 75 years of Independence, we have not been able to shed this colonial legacy of dependence on English.
• Educators and parents continue to accord unquestioned primacy to English and, as a result, the child is compelled to study his or her mother tongue as a “second/third language” at school.
• Our emphasis on English has, ironically, made the educational system exclusive and restrictive.
• As a result, while limiting the acquisition of knowledge in technical and professional courses, to a select few, we made it inaccessible to a vast majority of our students. We scarcely seemed to realise that we were building barriers in the path of our progress.
• The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is a farsighted document which advocates education in one’s mother tongue right from the primary-school level.
•  A number of studies have shown that children who learn in their mother tongue in their formative years perform better than those taught in an alien language.
• Throughout my long innings in public life, I have been stressing the role of teaching and learning in one’s mother tongue in the overall development of children’s personalities.
• NEP), hailed the AICTE’s landmark decision to permit BTech programmes in 11 native languages. He added that the NEP’s emphasis on mother tongue as the medium of instruction will instil confidence in students belonging to poor, rural and tribal backgrounds.
•  These steps need to be scaled up at all levels, and the canvas widened, for quality education to be more accessible, equitable and inclusive.

Conclusion/Way forward

• The Centre’s initiative to give prominence to native languages in employment and job creation is a welcome step.
• It is also heartening that the Staff Selection Commission has decided to conduct examinations in 13 Indian languages in addition to Hindi and English. Similarly, the Supreme Court’s decision to make verdicts accessible in all Indian languages is of great significance.
• We must hasten the process of content creation in mother languages, especially with respect to technical and professional courses. Leveraging technology will drive development in this respect. Let us keep this analogy in mind whether we are policymakers, administrators, or teachers.

Editorial 2: India, Pakistan at risk of flooding from glacial lakes: What a new study says\

Context:

• Recently, published in the journal Nature, the study, ‘Glacial lake outburst floods threaten millions globally’   says that
• Around 15 million people across the world face the risk of sudden and deadly flooding from glacial lakes, which are expanding and rising in numbers due to global warming, according to a new study. More than half of those who could be impacted live in four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru and China.

Cause of Glacial lakes:

• According to a 2020 study, the number and total area of glacial lakes worldwide have increased by about 50 per cent since 1990.
• Glacial lakes result from shrinking glaciers. Once the water is released from them, it could cause flooding in the downstream areas. This is known as glacial lake outburst floods or GLOF.
• Although GLOFs have been taking place since the ice age, the risk has increased multifold due to climate change, researchers of the latest study said.
• GLOFs can prove to be catastrophic as they mostly arrive with little warning and result in large-scale destruction of property, infrastructure, and agricultural land. They can also lead to the death of hundreds of people.
• As the climate continues to warm, glacier retreat will form larger and more numerous lakes. At the same time, lakes are likely to become more exposed to GLOF ‘triggers’, such as a large landslide or ice avalanche entering the lake, displacing water, and causing the natural dam that impounds the lake to fail
• So, lakes that perhaps aren’t a concern at present may become a concern in the future, and entirely new and potentially dangerous lakes may form.

What are the findings of the new study?

• In order to identify the areas and communities that are most in danger from GLOFs, the researchers used existing satellite-derived data on different locations and sizes of glacial lakes with a global population model and a series of population metrics.
• “There is  conservative estimate that anyone living within 50 km of a glacial lake and one km of a river that originates from a glacial lake could be impacted, either directly or indirectly, if one or more of the lakes upstream failed,”
• Moreover, the researchers also looked at levels of human development and corruption in these zones to determine how vulnerable local communities may be when floods occur.
•  It adds that populations in High Mountains Asia (HMA) ; a region stretching from the Hindu Kush all the way to the eastern Himalayas — are the most exposed and on average live closest to glacial lakes with around one million people living within 10 km of a glacial lake.
• “India and Pakistan make up one-third of the total number of people globally exposed to GLOFs around three million people in India and around two million people in Pakistan,”
• Study also highlighted that glacial flood risks don’t only depend on the size and number of glacial lakes in an area. What also matters is the number of people living in the area, their proximity to the danger zone as well as the levels of social vulnerability.
• For instance, areas like Greenland and Canada, which have a large number of glacial lakes, have very few people who are vulnerable to GLOFs as their population and corruption levels are low.

• However, the most surprising bit for the scientists was to find Peru ranking third globally in danger levels. Report pointed out that in the past two decades, due to climate change, glacial lakes across the Andes have increased by 93 per cent, in comparison to 37 per cent in high-mountain Asia

What exactly are glacial lake outburst floods or GLOFs?

• Glacial lakes are large bodies of water that sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting glacier.
• As they grow larger in size, they become more dangerous because glacial lakes are mostly dammed by unstable ice or sediment composed of loose rock and debris.
• In case the boundary around them breaks, huge amounts of water rush down the side of the mountains, which could cause flooding in the downstream areas. This is called glacial lake outburst floods or GLOF.
• “These lakes are also often found in steep, mountainous regions, which means landslides or ice avalanches can sometimes fall directly into the lakes and displace the water, causing it to over-top the natural dam and flood downstream,”

How can GLOFs be prevented?

• According to Report reducing the risk of GLOFs is complex and no single solution would work.
• “Limiting climate change and keeping warming under 1.5 degree Celsius is a big one as this will help slow the growth of glacial lakes, but unfortunately a certain amount of ice loss is already ‘locked in’  if we stopped all emissions today GLOF hazard will continue to increase for several decades,
• There is a need to find effective measures by working with national and regional governments, as well as communities themselves. This includes working at the local level and finding appropriate measures for the threatened populations.