Mohmmad Aakib Shah
The announcement by the United Nations to celebrate Sign Language Day every year at the world level affirmed that sign language does not belong to any nationality, country, border or region but is the language of everyone and It is the best means of expression for everyone. The beauty of this language is that it speaks even in silence.
The United Nations General Assembly announced the celebration of Sign Language Day in 2018. Initially, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously approved the celebration of this day in its forty-eighth session on November 16, 2017, but it was officially announced on December 19, 2017 in New York. Every year the last week of September was observed as Sign Language Week. The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is credited with gaining international recognition of sign language. This organization was the first to raise its voice for the rights of the hearing impaired, which gradually became the voice of the whole world. Today, the organization represents more than seven million deaf people in 135 countries around the world.The aim of this organization is to promote equal rights of hearing impaired people.
Because of WFD’s primary role in promoting and recognizing the importance of World Sign Day at the global level, the United Nations decided to celebrate this day in conjunction with WFD’s founding day. Hearing and speech impaired people have to use sign language for normal conversation and communication, which is why the United Nations resolution to celebrate this day recognizes the importance of sign language. If we look back at the history, it is found that nature has also been addressing man in gestures. Therefore, deaf-mute people communicating with each other in signs is also in accordance with nature or closer to nature. Even in ancient and collapsed civilizations, different types of shapes and signs help us to understand a lot about these civilizations. Since the beginning of human history, communicating with each other and exchanging ideas with each other has been a basic human need.
In view of this need, man tried to convey his thoughts to the understanding of others through gestures. Man continued to invent new dimensions in conductors and communication as he progressed. Despite this, the importance of communication in sign language could not be reduced, but with the passage of time, the importance of sign language increased, recognizing that integrated systems were formed and institutions were established to harmonize it globally. Even in today’s modern age, if you are in a place where no one understands your language, sign language will be your best helper and helper and you can express your opinion through sign language.
In the beginning, when geological sciences were not practiced. Sign language was the only means of communication not only for the deaf and dumb but also for those with hearing and speech abilities. The first practical effort for the deaf-mute was started by a man named Charles Michel, who built a separate school for the hearing-impaired in Paris. From ancient times to the present day, there were about three hundred types of different sign languages used by the deaf and hard of hearing, so to make the same language authentic and accessible on a global level, Charles Michael taught sign language in the same educational center. Officially created and edited, which later became popular and used at the global level.
This effort of his was highly appreciated at the global level, but the establishment of more institutions to teach and convey this language to the hearing and speech-impaired people from other countries was also implemented with the passage of time. In 1817, America. Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins opened a school for the hearing impaired together where American Sign Language was invented. This sign language was a combination of French Sign Language and Home Sign Language and other sign languages, which later became American Sign called language. According to the data released by WFD, there are more than 70 million people who are hearing impaired in the world, 80% of them are from developing countries.Many non-governmental organizations based on or for the hearing and speech impaired have come into the field to encourage and achieve the rights of this deprived section. At the government level, programs based on education, health and other facilities are being conducted under various institutions. The second largest country in the world, India, is home to approximately 63 million people of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community (DHH). India’s government has focused much on modernizing the country with technological resources and infrastructure that it has completely ignored the needs of the DHH residents of India. it is a matter of concern that a large population of india is suffering from hearing and speech disabilities for which a lot of work needs to be done.
The author is a Lecturer & Administrative officer International public Higher secondary school BajaBain
