The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST, Shibpur) celebrated with immense pride the “Matribhasha Diwas” on 21st February 2025, to promote the diversity, richness and vitality of various Indian languages, thereby fostering a sense of reverence in the linguistic legacy of the Indian subcontinent. The year 2025 marked the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the “International Mother Language Day”, and accordingly a befitting ceremony was conducted at the IIEST campus, involving students from different states of India pursuing their academics in this Institute of National Importance.
The celebration was themed around "Talent and Ability Development through Mother Tongue" - emphasizing the role of language in fostering creativity, intellect, and personal growth. To mark the occasion, the IIEST administration, faculty members, officers, staff members, security personnel and student community under the patronage of the Hon’ble Director Prof. V.M.S.R Murthy, garlanded and paid homage in memory of the martyrs of the 1952 Bengali language movement, in the premises of the Science and Technology building, beside the historic Shaheed Minar (Martyr’s Monument) inside the IIEST campus.
This was followed by a series of competitions in the Students Amenities Centre of the institute, involving elocution and debates in various Indian languages and poetry contests celebrating the linguistic heritage of our country. Faculty members of the institute, staff members and students from different regions of India actively engaged in interactive sessions, highlighting the importance of mother languages while aligning with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, advocating multilingualism and the promotion of Indian languages in academics, research, and communication. The celebration concluded with an array of diverse cultural activities near the premises of the historic Shaheed Minar (Martyr’s Monument) of the campus, involving traditional Indian languages, notably Maithili, Hindi, Bengali, Awadhi, Marathi and Telegu, to name a few. The events consisted of singing in native folk languages, thematic dance performances alongside drama and music performances showcasing regional diversity and traditions, resonating in the theme of sustaining our civilizational wisdom.