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Mirwaiz Umar Farooq addressing a gathering which marked first anniversary of 'Belaag Sahafat', an Urdu monthly magazine, on May 08, 2016.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq addressing a gathering which marked first anniversary of ‘Belaag Sahafat’, an Urdu monthly magazine, on May 08, 2016.

Calling for the promotion of Urdu language and keeping it alive as a necessity for being in sync with Kashmir’s rich heritage, traditions, history and religious journey, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (m) Chairperson, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said that though Urdu language was not only been spoken in the entire India Pakistan Subcontinent but had a unique place in Jammu Kashmir as well.

Addressing a function organised by the Urdu monthly magazine ‘Belaag Sahafat’ on the completion of its one year of publication at a local hotel in Srinagar on Sunday, Mirwaiz said, “though this language had been the official language of Jammu Kashmir right from the days of autocratic rule, it was unfortunate that the language was facing government’s apathy and neglect now. The claims of the government about promoting and preserving it were proving to be hollow and mere wordplay.”

Stressing that this “official neglect of the Urdu language was carried out under a well-planned design”, he said, “this was being done in order to wipe out not only our heritage, traditions, art and culture but also the languages which symbolize our religious and social identity.”

Terming it as a “form of cultural aggression”, the APHC-m Chairperson said, “Urdu language was being given a step motherly treatment to target our heritage, traditions, art and culture.”

Felicitating the journalists running the ‘Belaag Sahafat’ magazine, he said their “journalistic journey and the standard of Urdu in the magazine was satisfactory”.

Commenting on the publication of Urdu newspapers, the Mirwaiz said, “a large number of newspapers were being published in Kashmir valley in Urdu,” however, he called for a need to “further improve the standard of language in these publications”.

Paying tributes to the contributions of the Kashmiri journalistic community, he said they had been “working under tremendous pressure”, particularly during the past few decades of conflict, yet “they had tried their best to give the voice to the miseries and sufferings of the people of Kashmir”.

“The journalism is known as the voice of a Nation and as far as Kashmir issue was concerned a larger section of the Indian media had always been biased against Kashmiris and in such circumstances, it was the responsibility of the local media persons to dispatch their duties objectively and honestly,” he said.

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