Mysuru: The Central Institute of Indian Languages (CIIL) celebrated its 58th Foundation Day on July 17, with linguists and educationists highlighting the need to strengthen Indian languages through research, multilingual education and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The celebrations featured a Foundation Day lecture on the theme “The AI Revolution is Fundamentally a Language Revolution” and brought together former directors, language experts, researchers and staff members.

Delivering the inaugural address, former Sahitya Akademi Secretary Dr. K. Sreenivasa Rao described India’s linguistic diversity as the foundation of its civilisational unity.

He said children learn best in their mother-tongue and welcomed the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 for promoting foundational education in native languages. At the same time, he cautioned against the growing preference for foreign languages at the expense of Indian languages.

Dr. Rao also stressed the need to use AI, digital archives and language computing to preserve and promote Indian languages, while ensuring that technology complements rather than replaces linguistic traditions.

Promoting multilingualism, inclusive education

In a recorded message, CIIL’s Founder-Director Prof. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak recalled the institute’s founding vision of promoting multilingualism and inclusive education.

He called for renewed efforts to strengthen mother tongue-based education, interdisciplinary language research and cooperation between the Centre and the States in language development.

CIIL Director Prof. Basavaraja Kodagunti said every citizen should be able to access digital technologies in their mother- tongue, underlining the importance of developing inclusive multilingual language technologies. He also called for expanding higher education in Indian languages and strengthening research in linguistics.

Former CIIL Director Prof. Rajesh Sachdeva highlighted the institute’s role in promoting multilingual education and urged greater integration of AI into language teaching and research.

Former Linguistic Society of India President Prof. G. Uma Maheshwara Rao said the future of Indian language research lay in combining linguistic expertise with AI to enable seamless multilingual communication.

The event also included reminiscences by former staff members and a cultural programme showcasing India’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Prof. Uma Maheshwara Rao later delivered the Foundation Day lecture attended by faculty members, researchers and scholars associated with the institute.

Professor-cum-Deputy Director and Coordinator of the 58th Foundation Day celebrations Prof. Umarani Pappuswamy, welcomed and proposed a vote of thanks for the main event while Professor-cum-Deputy Director, Prof. P.R. Dharmesh Fernandez, thanked the guests and participants of the inaugural event.