Srinagar : The Department of Urdu, University of Kashmir (KU), on Tuesday began a two-day international conference on “Environmental Literature and Criticism in Urdu” at the varsity’s Main Campus.
The conference aims to bring together faculty members, researchers, students and literature enthusiasts from across the globe to deliberate on the emerging field of environmental literature and its critical dimensions in Urdu.
Presiding over the inaugural session, KU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nilofer Khan described the conference theme as one of the significant academic concerns of the contemporary era. She said literary and research activities centred on the environment and nature were important in the present context and such initiatives help broaden the scope of research and critical inquiry in Urdu literature.
Dean Academic Affairs, KU, Prof. Shariefuddin Pirzada, highlighted the interrelationship between nature, environment and human life as reflected in Urdu literature. He emphasised the need for sustained academic and research engagement with environmental literature and criticism.
Delivering the keynote address, former Head of the Department of Urdu, University of Delhi, Prof. Irtiza Karim, underlined the significance of environmental literature and criticism, drawing attention to contemporary environmental challenges and their impact on human life and civilisation.
Head, Department of Urdu, University of Jammu, Prof. Shahab Inayat Ahmad Malik, and former Director, Centre for Distance and Online Education, KU, Prof. Shafiqa Parveen, also shared their views on the theme. They described environmental literature and criticism as highly relevant to contemporary academic discourse and highlighted its various dimensions and importance for advancing Urdu literary studies.
Former Head, Department of Urdu, and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Prof. Nazir Ahmad Malik, emphasised the importance of promoting environmental consciousness through Urdu literature.
Earlier, welcoming the participants, Head, Department of Urdu, KU, Prof. Irfan Ahmad, highlighted the significance of the conference theme and observed that environmental and ecological concerns have increasingly affected human life in the contemporary era.
The two-day conference will feature academic deliberations on various literary and critical dimensions of environmental concerns in Urdu literature.
The proceedings were conducted by Dr Mushtaq Haider, while the vote of thanks was proposed by Dr Kausar Rasool, faculty members of the Department of Urdu, KU.
