Hindi cinema’s hero number one Ranveer Singh has been engaged in a special campaign for a long time. This campaign is to give constitutional status to the sign language of the deaf people of the country. All social organizations have been writing a letter to the central government in this regard demanding the inclusion of Indian Sign Language (ISL) in the official languages included in the Eighth Article of the Indian Constitution. Ranveer Singh has consistently supported this demand and now he is happy that now the books of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) are going to be available in this language. Ranveer has openly appreciated NCERT for this decision.
It is noteworthy that the Indian Constitution has been amended from time to time to give official language status to the languages of different regions. When the constitution was made, it had only 14 languages and now the number of official languages has reached 22. Those who advocate giving constitutional status to ISL say that only 10 lakh people speak Bodo in the country. The number of people who plant Dogri is about 23 lakh and there are about 1.5 crore people who speak Maithili. These languages have got constitutional status, but despite being the language of 18 million people of Indian Sign Language (ISL), which is called the mother tongue of the deaf, it is not getting constitutional status.
Actor Ranveer Singh has been consistently working to raise the issues facing the deaf community. He has been urging the government to recognize Indian Sign Language (ISL) as the 23rd official language of India. He has also signed a petition aimed at raising awareness about this noble cause. Ranveer says, “The news of making NCERT textbooks digitally available to students of classes I to V in ISL is a big step towards creating a truly inclusive society. Our leaders should recognize and give recognition to these activities. I am proud of this and I have high hopes for the times to come.”
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has signed an MoU with the Indian Center for Sign Language Research and Training (ISLRTC) to provide educational material in sign language to deaf children. The availability of NCERT textbooks in Indian Sign Language (ISL) will ensure that educational resources are available to deaf children as well. These will be a useful and much-needed resource for teachers, academics, parents, and the deaf community.
Ranveer says, “The National Education Policy has been a progressive step which was much needed by the deaf community and the nation. I appreciate this big step. This is an important beginning in the direction of providing equal opportunities to the citizens of the deaf community.”
