Dehradun: A historic step has been taken towards connecting the folk languages of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand, Garhwali, Kumaoni, and Jaunsari, with AI. A grand launch of the Bhasha Data Collection Portal (Bhasha AI Portal) was held in Seattle, USA, and Surrey-Vancouver, Canada. This historic portal was launched through a video message from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Through this portal, approximately 1 million words, sentences, proverbs, and stories from the Garhwali, Kumaoni, and Jaunsari languages will be collected so that AI platforms can learn from them and communicate in our languages in the future. This historic launch took place at a grand event organized by the Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Cultural Society Canada, attended by over 4,000 expatriate Uttarakhandi people.
The Chief Minister described this initiative as a revolutionary effort to connect Uttarakhand’s cultural identity with the digital age. He also extended his heartfelt greetings to Uttarakhandi expatriates living in the US and Canada. In his message, CM Dhami stated that as long as our language is alive, our culture is alive. The Uttarakhand government is always committed to preserving and promoting our mother tongues and will fully support this historic initiative.
Sachidanand Semwal, an AI architect living in the US, said that this is not just a technical project, but a mass movement to connect with our roots and keep them alive for generations to come. He felt that his over 20 years of engineering experience and over 4 years of AI experience are being used to preserve his mother tongue. He said that this initiative will be run as a social movement. He added that anyone interested in joining is welcome, whether they are engineers, language experts, folk artists, social workers, or businesspeople.
Bishan Khanduri, President of the Devbhoomi Uttarakhand Cultural Society, Canada, said, “It is a matter of pride for us that our organization had the opportunity to host this historic launch.” This initiative is an important step for all Uttarakhandi people living abroad, connecting future generations to their roots. The society also announced that AI-enabled language learning centers will be established in Canada and the United States, where migrant children will be able to learn Garhwali, Kumaoni, and Jaunsari languages with the help of modern technology. These centers will be affiliated with Pritam Bharatwan’s Jagar Academy.
