Rajendra Bosam teaches Gondi language to children in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli. (ANI Photo)
A teacher in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli is making waves on social media for teaching students the local Gondi language. The teacher, Rajendra Bosam, is from Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh and told news agency ANI that he wants to preserve the tribal culture and make the next generation aware of their language.
A short video posted on Twitter by ANI shows Mr Bosam taking class in Gondi language in a local school in Gadchiroli. The teacher said he feels good doing this for the children.
“I studied in Vidisha, MP. I came to know about this school. I wanted to do something new and teach children. So, I came here. When I teach Gondi and English, I feel good. Children have inquisitiveness,” Mr Bosam told ANI.
Students are also taught other subjects like English, Hindi, Marathi, Mathematics and Science so that they can make it big in life, he added.
Many Twitter users appreciated the initiative taken by Mr Bosam.
"Very good step," tweeted a user. "Respect own language," another user posted.
The Gondi language is one of the Dravidian languages of India. In the early 21st century it was spoken by about 2.7 million people, mostly Gonds.
This comes weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the people of the country to take inspiration from Tanzanian content creator Kili Paul and his sister Neema and popularise Indian languages.
The Prime Minister's praise came during Mann Ki Baat, his monthly radio address, in which Modi asked the people of the country to make lip-sync videos on songs from different regions of India, like Kili Paul and his sister. He said this will help redefine the meaning of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'.
Kili Paul was felicitated by Binaya Pradhan, the Indian High Commissioner in Tanzania, last month. The internet sensation thanked his fans for the honour and wrote on Instagram, “I'm so happy being honoured by the HIGH COMMISSIONER OF INDIA IN TANZANIA its a pleasure meeting u Sir and thanks to everyone there for being nice with me and I love u my Indian supporter without u I wouldn't be here more to come JAI HIND.”