Dehradun – The state’s top executive, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, inaugurated a dedicated voice‑collection portal for the Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari languages on Thursday at the Chief Minister’s Camp Office. The platform, built by the AI Strategic Engineering (AiSE) Foundation under its “Bhasha AI” programme, opened with a short Kumaoni clip recorded by the CM himself.
Preserving Heritage Through Technology
Speaking about the venture, Dhami highlighted that regional languages form the backbone of Uttarakhand’s cultural identity. He stressed that leveraging modern tools—especially artificial intelligence—offers a powerful avenue to safeguard and revitalize these tongues for future generations.
Bridging the Information Gap in Remote Areas
The government’s vision is to ensure that inhabitants of isolated villages can receive updates on schemes, benefits and alerts in the language they speak at home. For that to happen, AI‑driven systems must first be taught to comprehend and generate Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari with native‑like accuracy.
Collecting Voices, Capturing Nuances
Beyond amassing a lexicon of words, the portal also records authentic pronunciations and diverse speaking styles. Dhami pointed out that a single word may sound different in Almora, Pithoragarh or Tehri, and that these subtle variations need to be reflected in the training data so AI can respond correctly to every speaker.
Linking Language to Culture
The chief minister expressed confidence that the initiative will not only protect linguistic heritage but also reconnect youth with Uttarakhand’s folk arts, songs and traditional narratives. He extended gratitude to all contributors and wished the project lasting success.
Voices from the Folk Community
Padma Shri folk singer Pritam Bhartwan, present at the ceremony, remarked that Garhwali, Kumaoni and Jaunsari carry the soul of the region’s Jagar chants, ballads and customs. He pledged the support of the Jagar Academy to maintain authenticity and correct enunciation throughout the data‑gathering process.
Behind the Initiative
Sachidanand Semwal, founder of the AiSE Foundation, explained that “Bhasha AI” is actively gathering vocabulary and voice samples from speakers across the three languages, with the long‑term goal of enabling AI‑based applications to converse fluently in these regional dialects.
Other dignitaries in attendance included Shakti Prasad Bhatt, Gajendra Nautiyal, Anirudh Raithwan, Nidhi Semwal, Anil Godiyal, Dr J.K. Pandey and Dev Raturi.
