Hajira Bano Balkang
Leh: A peace rally and a mass essay writing competition among students of different schools of Leh demanding inclusion of Bhoti in 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution on the 123rd Birth Anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar held at Polo Ground Leh on 14th April organized by Ladakh Buddhist Association Leh.
Unlike the colorful celebration of Dr. Ambedkar’s birthday every year with traditional songs and dances, this year the celebration was all different and was celebrated focusing on the importance of including Bhoti in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
Thousands of Students from various schools of Leh participated in the peace rally that began from Chowkhang Vihara and culminated at Polo Ground Leh. The students also participated in an on-spot essay writing on the topic ‘Life of Dr. Ambedkar and why Bhoti Language is not included in the 8th Schedule yet.’
LBA President Dr. Tundup Tsewang emphasized the need to maintain equality and unity among all religions and urged upon all the communities and also the administration to support and cooperate to make the Kalachakra event successful so that outsiders would go back to their respective places with a message of Ladakh being the most peaceful region.
LBA Youth President Rinchen Namgial said that our language reflects our identity and Bhoti is the language that we all speak irrespective of our religious background. He expressed grief that out of 358 posts meant for Bhoti Teachers at different levels only 33 posts have been created so far. These include14 Bhoti teachers for Higher secondary schools, 32 for High schools, 124 for Middle schools, 184 for Primary schools and 4 for Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBV) and few others in different government departments. He further appealed all the political parties to include the demand of UT as the top priority followed by inclusion of Bhoti in the 8th Schedule in their election manifestos.
Tsewang Thinles, Vice President LBA said that many other languages that don’t have a proper script made their place in the schedule whereas Bhoti language which is spoken across the Himalayan region and in some parts of PoK is still not recognized. He also briefed about the progress in arrangements of Kalachakra event scheduled to be held in July this year and appealed all the shopkeepers, guest house owners, hoteliers and taxi drivers to charge reasonable rates and keep the tradition of being honest and trustworthy for which Ladakhis are well known.
It was informed that the result of the essay competition would be declared later on the occasion of ‘Buddha Purnima’ and cash amount of Rs. 1 Lakh would be distributed among the winners divided into different groups as class 5th to 7th as Junior, class 8th to 10th as sub-junior and 11th and 12th as the senior category.
Courtesy: Reach Ladakh, 4/15/14
