The International Mother Language Day was celebrated on Monday (February 21) with fanfare amid functions to highlight the importance of Kashmiri which is fast losing its sheen due to inherent indifference among those who speak it. The inheritors have over a period of time turned destructors of the native language which should have been dear to them for a reason that nations vanish when they forgo their language. The apathy with the Kashmiri language is that it has remained resisted in literary circles. The common masses, including most of the highly educated youth, cannot read anything in the Kashmiri language. This has badly affected the access of masses with the cultural tradition of Kashmir as embedded in its literature. The purpose of celebrating this day is to rejuvenate interest in youth for cultural revival by organising poetry recitations and singing programmes in the Kashmiri language. Despite being born Kashmiri, natives shy from speaking in their mother tongue. There is no doubt that feelings are expressed in mother tongue and its influence remains till one's death. But the question is; why don't we speak Kashmiri? Why do we feel disgraceful in speaking it? Kashmiri children have forgotten to speak in their mother tongue. We try to change the language of our children, don't we? We tend to be foreigners in our own place, and our intent remains to impress others that our children don't know Kashmiri. Everyone in the world knows that people in Kashmir speak Kashmiri. We have to change this situation and make an impression to revive our belonging towards our mother tongue. There is no shame in speaking or promoting one's mother tongue. It is rather to be done with a sense of pride. In 2020, the Parliament passed a bill to make Kashmiri an official language of Jammu and Kashmir along with Dogri, Hindi, Urdu and English. Kashmiri is also among the 22 scheduled languages of India. Kashmir is the only region in the world where people prefer other languages over their mother tongue; where schools focus on second language and third language and ignore the mother language. And the day is not far when our children would ask us, "What is our mother tongue?"