STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday said the award money for best local language book given by Cultural Academy would be increased from present Rs 51,000 to Rs 1 lakh. She also called for safeguarding the local languages from the onslaught of modernity.
“This award ceremony is in a real sense the celebration of J&K’s distinct cultural and linguistic diversity,” the Chief Minister said while addressing a function organized by J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages at Tagore Hall here to confer best book awards in various local languages.
Mehbooba, who is also the President of the Cultural Academy, presented the best book award for Dogri to Om Goswami for his book Rang Bakhrey Bakhrey, for Gojri the best book award was presented to Sheikh Azad Ahmad Azad for his book Tatloos, for Hindi the best book award was presented to Kavita: Swabhav Sameeksha, for Kashmiri the best book award was presented to Mushtaq Ahmad Mushtaq for his book Aakh, for Ladakhi the best book award was presented to Khanpo Konchok Phandey for his book Thommiyi gSun-r Tags-La-dpyadpa, for Pahari the best book award was given to Nisar Rahi for his book Tundh, for Paunjabi the best book award was given to Rajinder Singh Rajan for his book Taja Bawari and for Urdu the best book award was given to Shyam Sunder Anand Lehar for his book Naamdev.
The Best Book Award comprises a cash reward of Rs 51000, a shawl, a citation and memento.
The Chief Minister called for preserving and promoting local languages which constitute a part and parcel of the State’s distinct cultural identity and heritage. “Government alone can’t do much in growth and development of the local languages and culture in the State,” she said and added that development of a language begins at the family from the parents. “I feel no qualms in saying that the biggest enemies of the local languages are the people of Jammu and Kashmir themselves,” she said and added that in most of the families today the parents prefer to teach their children to speak in Hindi, Urdu and English instead of their mother tongue including Kashmiri, Dogri, Bodhi etc. “This trend has to be reversed, sooner the better,” she said.
The Chief Minister said languages are an important part of any culture, as these enable people to communicate and express themselves.
“When a language dies out, future generations lose a vital part of the culture that is necessary to completely understand it,” she said and added this makes language a vulnerable aspect of cultural heritage, and it becomes especially important to preserve it and save it from the onslaught of modernity.
