Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), Katra, organized a One-Day National Conference on “Bhartiya Bhasha Pariwar: Recentering India’s Mother Tongues in Knowledge, Culture, and Policy.” The event was jointly organized by the School of Languages and Literature and the Indian Knowledge System Cell, SMVDU, in association with Bhartiya Bhasha Samiti, Ministry of Education, Government of India. The conference was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Pragati Kumar. The inaugural session was graced by Shri Sanjeev Verma, Chief Electoral Officer, UT of Jammu and Kashmir, as the Guest of Honor. In his address, he highlighted the democratic significance of Indian languages and the contemporary challenges of language politics in public life. One of the Conference Coordinators , Dr. Anurag Kumar, welcomed the dignitaries and participants, underlining that Indian languages are not merely cultural repositories but also foundations of knowledge creation and democratic participation.Dr. Ashutosh Vashishtha, Chairperson, IKS Cell, and Dr. Amitabh Dwivedi, Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, also addressed the gathering, emphasizing the importance of reintegrating Indian mother tongues into education, research, and policymaking.The academic sessions featured distinguished invited speakers, including Dr. Amitash Ojha (IIT Jammu), Dr. Anil Kumar (Central University of Himachal Pradesh), and Dr. Subhash Chander (University of Jammu), who shared their scholarly insights on the role of Indian languages in knowledge production, cultural preservation, and social transformation.The conference brought together eminent scholars, faculty members, and students from across the country and concluded with a call for strengthening Indian languages through education, translation, digital resources, and policy frameworks that treat languages as complementary rather than competitive.
