Ranchi, Jan 26 (PTI) Janum Singh Soy, whose name was announced for the Padma Shri award in appreciation for his work towards preserving and promoting Ho language, said on Thursday that the honour will motivate him to work harder in his field.
Ho language is spoken by people of the Ho tribe which largely inhabits the Singhbhum area of Jharkhand.
Extending his gratitude to the government for this honour, the 72-year-old Ho scholar told PTI that the award will encourage many to preserve ancient languages, which are now endangered.
Soy, who belongs to the Ho tribe and is a resident of Ghatshila in East Singhbhum district, has written six books, including modern poetry in both Ho and Hindi languages.
Born in Kokcho Panchayat area of West Singhbhum district, Soy has been involved in the preservation and promotion of the tribal language for the last four decades.
An Honours graduate in Hindi from Tata College, Chaibasa, he did his post-graduation from Ranchi University. In 1977, he joined Ghatshila College as head of its Hindi department.
Soy retired from Kolhan University in 2012.
“Due to very few books in Ho language, students of the community struggle a lot, which also impacts their studies,” rued Soy.
The author said he wants to write maximum number of books on the Ho language so that students belonging to that community do not suffer.
“I struggled a lot when I started research on the literary and cultural study of Ho folksongs, as there was no book related to the subject. I visited many villages for collection of folk songs. During my research, I fell in love with the Ho language, songs and culture,” said Soy, father of three children. Books penned by the Ho scholar have been included in the syllabus of Kolhan University, he said.
State Health Minister Banna Gupta and the East Singhbhum district administration honoured Soy on Thursday on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day for his contribution to the field of language and literature. PTI SAN MM MM
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