Bhasha Samman for 4 scholars

Four scholars were today awarded the Sahitya Akademi's prestigious Bhasha Samman for their contribution towards promoting regional languages.
While Harihar Vaishnav and Nirmal Minz were awarded for their work towards the enrichment of 'Halbi' and 'Kurukh' languages, Lozang Jamspal and Thupstan Paldan were chosen for their efforts in promoting the Ladakhi language and literature.
These languages are not among the ones that the Akademi recognises that numbers around 24.
"We, in India, speak more than 800 languages. Now with many of these languages on the verge of extinction, the challenge to preserve them is vast.
"I am told that there are 30 ways to kill a language. Awards like these are important, because not doing so is similar to killing the language, and make the list reach 31," said Sahitya Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari.

Vaishnav could not come to receive the award due to ill-health while nephew of Jamspal represented him in the ceremony.
The 'Bhasha Samman' carries a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000, an inscribed copper plaque and a citation. In case of joint winners, the prize money is equally shared among the winners.