STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: J and K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages celebrated ‘Dogri Maanta Divas’ by holding a daylong literary seminar in the K.L Saigal Hall here on Monday.
Dr Lalit Magotra, Convener Dogri Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, was the Chief Guest while Soujanya Sharma, Director Information was the Guest of Honour. Padamshree Dr. Ved Ghai, a renowned social activist and literary personality, presided over the function. Haroon Rashid, Secretary of the Academy and Dr. Arvinder Singh Amn Additional Secretary were also present on the occasion.
Ved Ghai appreciated the efforts of the Cultural Academy for celebrating ‘Dogri Maanta Divas’. She said that the papers presented on different subjects were complete in all respect and did full justification with the topic. She further said that celebrating Dogri Maanta Divas can be fruitful only if every Dogra will realise the importance of Dogri Language as mother tongue and will work for its development with zeal and jest.
Lalit said that government has a concrete policy to promote, preserve and develop the regional languages which have been included in the Eighth Schedule but its upto the writers, scholars, intellectuals and folk performers to work for their upliftment.
Haroon Rashid said that J and K Cultural Academy is already working to start the project Dogri Encyclopedia and a number of other new projects are already in the pipeline to document, preserve and promote the literature being written in the area in general and in the folk of Jammu region in particular.
Earlier, Dr. Arvinder Singh Amn informed about the detailed activities of the academy. He said that special issue of Sheeraza Hindi ‘A tribute to late Prof. O.P Gupt’, will be released on 23rd December and to commemorate Begam Akhtar’s birth anniversary, a musical evening based on her songs will be organised on 24th December at K.L Saigal Hall.
Dr. Om Goswami presented his paper on topic ‘Dogri Lok Varta, Chunoutian Te Awsar’, Prof. Lalit Gupta presented a paper on ‘Dogra Virsat, Chunoutian Te Awsar’ and Prof Veena Gupta presented ‘Dogri Bhasha, Chunoutian Te Awsar’. The proceedings of the programme were conducted by Dr. R.L Basotra while vote of thanks was presented by Ashok Gupta, Editor Dogri.
Dr. Nirmal Vinod, Puran Chand Badgotra, Kumar A Bharti, Dr. Baljeet Raina, Gianeshwar, Dr. Raj Kumar, Mustak Kak, Balvinder Singh, Mangal Das Dogra, Shivdev Singh Sushil, Dr. Padam Dev Singh, Ram Pal, Santosh Kumari, Dogri Scholars and large number of litterateurs of different languages were also present.