This year International Mother Language Day has a special significance for the people of Jharkhand.

Nirmal Minz (90), former principal of Gossner College, Ranchi, was honoured with Bhasha Samman by Sahitya Akademi in New Delhi on Tuesday, recognising his works and contribution for the development of Kurukh language, spoken by Oraon tribe.

The award was announced in the last week of December, 2016. On Tuesday evening he received a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and a citation at Rabindra Bhavan complex in Delhi.

"It's a coincidence (that the award is being given on International Mother Language Day)," Minz told the The Telegraph over phone from New Delhi before receiving the honour.

Back in Ranchi, several Bengali outfits organised cultural programmes like every year to observe Matribhasha Divas, remembering the martyrs of Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) who fell to the bullets of Pakistani police on February 21, 1952. They were fighting for their mother tongue as the then Pakistan government had decided to impose Urdu as national language.

In 2000, Unesco declared this day as International Mother Language Day.

Popular songs like Amar bhaiyer rakte rangano ekushe February and Ami banglay gaan gai echoed at the cultural programmes organised by Union club and Library and Majlish, an organisation of Bengali speaking employees of Mecon and Ranchi-based SAIL untis.

Khortha demand

Over 100 Khortha language activists handed over a memorandum to Dhanbad deputy Commissioner Anjaneyulu Dodde on Tuesday demanding the inclusion of the language in the Eighth Schedule and launching of Khortha language courses at the upcoming Vinod Bihari Mahto University.