DCN calls for recognition of Nagaland Sign Language

Deaf Community in Nagaland (DCN) has issued a public statement urging government departments, institutions and organizers to recognize and adopt Nagaland Sign Language (NSL) as the official language of the deaf community in the state. For the past 40 years, the community has been using American Sign Language (ASL) and NSL as its primary means of communication.
In a press release, DCN through its media cell, highlighting the importance of accessibility and inclusion, DCN emphasized that access to information in an appropriate language is essential for the participation of deaf individuals in society. The statement referred to the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act, 2016, which mandates accessibility and equal participation and the National Education Policy 2020, which recognizes the significance of local sign languages.
DCN strongly recommended that all official programmes, meetings, public events and communications where sign language interpretation is provided must ensure interpretation in NSL, the language used by the local deaf community. It further urged that training programmes, workshops and capacity-building initiatives give preference to NSL to enable effective communication and equitable participation.
“Just as English serves as an official language for the hearing population in Nagaland, NSL should serve as the official language of the Deaf Community,” the statement read, stressing that interpretation must not be treated as a symbolic gesture or publicity tool but as a genuine means of inclusion.
DCN also asserted that all important decisions, policies and initiatives concerning deaf individuals and sign language must be undertaken in consultation with the community. As the first and only registered society representing the Deaf in Nagaland, DCN declared itself the legitimate voice of the community and a key stakeholder in matters affecting deaf individuals.
Failure to provide communication in the appropriate sign language or to consult the community, it warned, risks creating barriers and undermining meaningful inclusion. The DCN called upon all concerned authorities to take immediate steps to ensure true accessibility, representation and inclusion for the Deaf Community in Nagaland.