Srinagar: Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir is the cultural gateway of northern India as the land is blessed with rich cultural heritage, literature and wisdom of Saints and Sufis, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid special emphasis on encouraging the youth to be a part of the intensive campaign to promote the cultural heritage of the Union Territory (UT).
An official on Sunday said that Mr Sinha chaired the meeting of the Central Committee of Cultural Academy here at Raj Bhavan on Saturday during which 30 agenda points were taken up for discussion, including framing of Annual Activity Calendar; Promotion of various languages; accreditation and empanelment of artists; fine-tuning of skills of staff of JKAACL; Cultural Policy; Affiliation for continuing Calligraphy Course; Automation & Digitization of JKAACL Library; Setting up of Ethno-linguistic & Cultural Research Centre etc.
“J&K is the cultural gateway of northern India. The land is blessed with rich cultural heritage, literature and wisdom of Saints and Sufis. It is also a symbol of national integration, Unity in diversity, and its legacy of knowledge needs to be shared with the world,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor laid special emphasis on encouraging the youth to be a part of the intensive campaign to promote the cultural heritage of J&K. “Youth engagement in cultural activities would provide the much-needed platform and exposure to the young rising talent of the UT, and at the same time channelize the energy of youth towards productive and constructive activities,” the Lt Governor maintained.
He said teachings and writings of our Sufi Saints and literary legends need to be disseminated to the younger generation to revive and preserve J&K’s rich cultural heritage.
He further called for organizing regular cultural programmes across the UT by actively involving schools, colleges and universities, besides promoting the places of historic significance for the attraction of visiting tourists. “J&K has abundance of cultural wealth to offer to the world. J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages has to play an important role in taking the diverse culture of the UT across the globe through innovative interventions in the respective field,” observed the Lt Governor.
The Lt Governor asked the concerned officials to come up with a comprehensive Cultural Policy for propagating and promoting local languages and cultures with their ethnic relevance, besides providing sustainable livelihood opportunities to all the associated stakeholders.
He further instructed for increasing the presence of Cultural Academy at grassroot level and preparing Activity Calendar of the Cultural Academy so that the artists, all stakeholders, and the public would know what’s in the offing for them.
Reiterating the directions passed in previous meetings with Culture department, the Lt Governor directed the concerned functionaries to submit a detailed report on the plan of action for upcoming mega Sufi and other literary festivals in the UT.
UNI
