'Oxford Languages' has declared 'Aatmanirbharta' meaning self-reliance as the Hindi language word of 2020 as it “validated the day-to-day achievements of the countless Indians who dealt with and survived the perils of a pandemic”.
The term has been chosen by an advisory panel of language experts Kritika Agarwal, Poonam Nigam Sahay and Imogan Foxtel. The 'Oxford Hindi word' here refers to a word that reflects the ethos, mood or situation of the previous year and has the potential to last as a word of cultural significance.
In a statement, Oxford Languages said in the early months of the pandemic when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s COVID-19 recovery package, he emphasised the need to become self-reliant as a country, as an economy, as a society and as individuals, in a bid to navigate the perils of the pandemic.
He said that it was only after this that the use of the term 'self-reliant India' grew as a phrase and concept in the public dictionary of India.
One of the standout successes of the entire Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign is the large-scale manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccine in India. During the Republic Day parade, the Department of Biotechnology highlighted the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign and showcased the COVID-19 vaccine development process in its tableau at Rajpath.
“In an unprecedented year, ‘aatmanirbharta’ found resonance with a wide cross-section of people as it is seen to be an answer to the revival of a COVID-impacted economy,” said Oxford University Press India managing director Sivaramarkrishnan Venkateswaran.
This word “gives a voice to the strength displayed by young and old alike in dealing with extended periods of isolation, lack of familial support, loss of livelihoods and other difficulties through sheer determination and self-reliance”, she said.
It is worth noting that earlier, 'Aadhaar' in 2017, 'Nari Shakti' in 2018 and 'Samvidhaan' in 2019 were chosen by Oxford as a Hindi language word.
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