Jammu: Secretary Culture, Dr Syed Abid Rashid Shah, on Friday inaugurated a 4 day Dogri Literary and Cultural Festival at KL Saigal Hall, Abhinav Theatre.
“Literature has the power to move all age groups and sections of society. It is a constructive force to ensure that our culture and diversity thrives”, maintained the Secretary while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the event.
The festival was inaugurated in presence of Dr Jitendra Udhampuri, President Dogri Sanstha Jammu, Professor Lalit Magotra and Professor Veena Gupta.
Secretary JKAACL, Bharat Singh was also present at the occasion.
In his address, Dr Shah shared his views on power of literature in shaping the society towards a bright world. He emphasized that literary works of all kinds have great influence and can move all age groups and sections of society.
Dr Shah urged upon the people particularly youth to take pride in their respective mother tongues and use them frequently. He also highlighted the significance of literature in bringing attention to social issues and initiating public discourse.
He reaffirmed government’s commitment towards revival and promotion of Dogri and Dogra culture besides other traditions of different regions of Jammu and Kashmir. He assured to provide necessary funds and infrastructure to achieve this goal. He also highlighted the pivotal role of Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Arts, Culture, and Languages (JKAACL) in keeping the cultures of the region alive.
Secretary encouraged use of digital media and online platforms to attract youth towards their respective cultures. He stressed the importance of instilling discipline in the youth to study literature.
Professor Veena Gupta, in her keynote address, appreciated the Academy for stimulating cultural activities in Jammu. She highlighted the need to assert one’s culture and identity to ensure that it passes onto future generations.
Professor Lalit Magotra said that languages have a vital role in keeping culture alive and that their death leads to demise of a culture. He also advocated increased use of Dogri and other official languages of J&K.
Jitendra Udhampuri called for creating modern content in Dogri to attract youngsters and children towards the language. He suggested instating magazines and cartoon series etc for this purpose.
Secretary JKAACL, thanked the poets for representing public sentiments through their content.
Later, a performance of folk dance Geetru was presented by Khajoor Singh and Party.
Additional Secretary JKAACL, Dr Arvinder Singh Amn, presented vote of thanks.
The inaugural session was conducted by Editor Dogri, JKAACL, Dr Ratan Basotra.
