THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the run-up to the Kerala Piravi Day, the Higher Education Department’s decision to use the language oath released by the Malayalam Mission has courted controversy. The department recently released a circular mandating the language oath by Malayalam Mission be read out in the educational institutions, including the professional colleges, that fall under the department. This, when the government itself had issued a circular making the verses penned by writer M T Vasudevan Nair as the official language oath. The order that mandated MT’s oath to be used in all educational institutions in Kerala was released in February 2018.
The confusion has risen with the release of the recent circular of the department which says the language oath be administered on November 1 as part of the ‘Bhoomi Malayalam’ project of the Malayalam Mission. “This is in contravention with the order released by the government which mandates the language oath be administered on Kerala Piravi day in all the educational institutions. This will include colleges as well. The official language department itself has necessitated the oath be read out to the students. A state should have only one oath as its official language oath. The issue needs to be sorted out,” said R Siva Kumar, a language expert.
Interestingly, the two circulars have come out in the same month. The government’s circular mandating the oath be read out in schools was issued on October 10. The Higher Education Department’s order too came out in October.
Meanwhile, Malayalam Mission director Suja Susan George said there was no need of a controversy regarding the oath of the mission which has been prepared by poet K Satchidanandan. “The pledge is aimed at Keralites living abroad and outside the state. It has been structured in a manner the expatriates can relate to. And that is why we chose an expatriate such as K Satchidanandan to pen the pledge,” said Suja.
“We gave the request to the different government departments regarding this. In the backdrop of the floods, we thought this could bring Malayalees together. Our only aim was to bring those living in Kerala and abroad under one umbrella and line them up for the language and show the strength of Malayalam to the world. And maybe earn a record while doing so. There is no need for a controversy here,” she said.