Sign Language Now Recognized as a Separate Language in Madhya Pradesh

On the occasion marking the completion of his 10 years in office, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that sign language will now be recognised as a separate language in Madhya Pradesh.

By Tanaya Singh

November 30, 2015

On the occasion to mark the completion of 10 years in office, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that sign language will now be recognised as a separate language in Madhya Pradesh.

He added that ten industrial training institutes will be set up in the next one year at divisional headquarters in the state to give vocational training to hearing and speech impaired people.

Source: elyse patten/Flickr

“The first decision of mine on entering the 11th year in office is in favour of speech and hearing-impaired students. Such students who score at least 50 per cent marks in Class XII and want to do Diploma in Education (D.Ed) and Bachelor in Education (B.Ed) will be given free of cost education,” he said.

State government will also bear the cost of education for those hearing and speech impaired students who want to study in IITs, IIMs and medical institutes after cracking entrance tests.

The CM met Geeta, the hearing and speech impaired girl who returned to India from Pakistan last month. She has been living at an Indore-based rehabilitation centre for deaf and mute people. There, he also got a chance to meet other children living with similar disabilities.

The CM, along with his wife, interacted with Geeta and the other children with the help of sign language experts.

Picture for representation. Source: elyse patten/Flickr

With the view of increasing opportunities for people living with hearing and speech impairments, the Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, had approved the setting up of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) as a Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It was announced in September this year that the ISLRTC will be initially located at the Institute for Physically Handicapped in New Delhi. The centre will lead to academic development, training and propagation of the Indian Sign Language.

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