Malda, Oct. 5 -- Colleges affiliated to Gour Banga University will be able to introduce Kurmali language and literature as a course from the next academic session, in a move that educationists believe could give a major boost to the institutional preservation of the language and its cultural heritage.
The university's executive council is learnt to have approved the proposal at a meeting held in Kolkata on Saturday. Vice-Chancellor Ashis Bhattacharya said any affiliated college willing to introduce the subject would be able to offer the course.
Gour Banga University professor Achintya Bandyopadhyay described the decision as "epoch-making". He said: "Bringing Kurmali and Ol Chiki into institutional curricula can play an important role in preserving the language."
Kurmali, an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly among the Kurmi community in Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha, has its own literary and folk traditions. Dr Sukumar Barui, a professor at Dr Meghnad Saha College in North Dinajpur, said: "Language preserves history, heritage, folk memory and identity. This decision can expand opportunities for institutional study and research into Kurmali language, folk literature and culture."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.