Dehradun – A three‑way partnership has been forged between AiSE – the AI Strategic Engineering Foundation, Padma Shri Pritam Bhartwan’s Jagar Academy, and Maya Devi University. The alliance is set to harness artificial‑intelligence tools to safeguard Uttarakhand’s regional tongues – Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari – and the cultural practices woven into them.
AI‑Driven Preservation Initiative
Sachidanand Semwal, founder of AiSE, emphasizes that the project goes beyond mere linguistic archiving; it is a defence of the state’s cultural identity. By making these languages digitally accessible, the consortium hopes younger residents can interact with technology in their mother tongue.
Padma Shri Pritam Bhartwan, who leads Jagar Academy, underscored the value of oral traditions such as Jagar, Panwara and Harul. He believes the collaboration will bridge the gap between age‑old folk forms and the digital habits of today’s youth.
Prof. Dr. Ashish Semwal of Maya Devi University added that the venture offers a practical laboratory for students. The university will contribute its AI lab, technical infrastructure, and a pool of enthusiastic volunteers to the effort.
Gathering Authentic Language Data
Field teams will travel across the Garhwal, Kumaon and Jaunsar‑Bhabar regions to record native speech, folk melodies, and oral narratives. These recordings will form the backbone of a searchable digital repository.
Students will play a hands‑on role, conducting village‑level surveys and working directly with community elders. The synergy of Maya Devi’s technical expertise and Jagar Academy’s cultural knowledge aims to produce resources that could eventually support regional‑language education and information access.
AiSE Foundation, a Section 8 company based in Dehradun, pursues the preservation of Himalayan languages through its “Bhasha AI Initiative.” Language enthusiasts and students eager to contribute can enlist via the foundation’s official registration portal.
