The sign language is a system of communication using gestures, signs and facial experiences used by the deaf people in India. There have been demands to make the Indian Sign Language the 23rd official language.
Leading actor in Hindi cinema Ranveer Singh is campaigning for the Indian Sign Language (ISL) to be declared as an official language in the nation. Ranveer plans to sign an official petition filed by the National Association of Deaf (NAD), with the support of Access Mantra Foundation, to increase awareness. He urged people to show their support for the cause. Ranveer also released Spitfire’s Vartalap, a sign-language video under his label IncInk.
There are 22 official languages recognised in India and Ranveer’s campaign is towards making ISL the 23rd official language. "I urge my fellow Indians to join this cause and give it momentum by building awareness about it. We are also releasing our first sign language video on Spitfire's latest track 'Vartalap' with the hope that the track will trigger more conversations on the issue," he said in his appeal.
Ranveer’s appeal takes forward NAD’s demand to make the ISL an official language by an amendment in the Constitution of India. Earlier, the NAD made the inclusion of an interpreter on DD national possible.
What is sign language?
The sign language is a system of communication that uses gestures and signs, as used by the hearing-impaired people. The Indian Sign Language is commonly used among the deaf people in India. There are 18 million deaf persons in India for whom the sign language is their first language as opposed to a written language.
ISL Dictionary
The ISL has evolved in the last 100 years. The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) launched the second edition of the Indian Sign Language Dictionary last year on February, 27. It includes 6,000 words under the categories of academic, legal, medical, technical and everyday terms. The dictionary was developed by ISLRTC under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. The first edition of the dictionary with 3,000 words was launched in March 2018.
There are 20 lakh deaf children in India, of whom 12 lakh are enrolled in more than 500 schools. Most teachers do not use Indian Sign Language as their primary language to teach deaf children but speak and gesture with their hands, which deaf students often do not understand them. Consequently, they fall behind in studies. Giving ISL the 23rd official language of India, would give deaf students access to information from parents and teachers in school and at home. It would also enable and empower the states and UTs to have a team of qualified interpreters who can interpret for the deaf people.
