JAMMU: Languages bind the people together and reflect the richness of the civilization, BJP leader Devinder Rana told a function at Jammu. The death of a language is in fact the death of the soul, he said.
Rana was speaking at Anjuman Farogh-e-Urdu, Jammu at KL Seghal Hall where the three Sahitya Academy awardees were felicitated. Raj Rahi (Dogri), Wali Mohammed Aseer Kishtwari (Kashmiri) and Khalid Hussain (Punjabi) for being conferred with the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award 2021.
The BJP leader noted with a sense of pride the literary contribution of the awardees and said that the Jammu province has a bounty of languages, which are needed to be preserved and promoted in a big way. An onus lies on the writers to bequeath to the posterity the richness of the languages flourishing in the province, which actually reflect Jammu’s cultural milieu.
Rana hailed the huge role being played by writers, intellectuals and artists in promoting various languages over the years and said it is due to their strenuous and tireless efforts that many people are getting well accustomed to the literary world. He exhorted the writers to play their useful role in bringing harmony in the society by their powerful medium of literature.
Raj Rahi has five collections of short stories and a Play to his credit. His short story Kala Titter is included in the school curriculum and two scholars have done PhD on his works and personality. A telefilm for Doordarshan was also made on his play Faisla Apna Apna.
Khalid Hussain, a former bureaucrat, has been awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his collection of short stories in Punjabi Sullan Da Salan. He has written six short story books in Punjabi, an autobiography, one novel, critical essays and four books in Urdu.
Wali Mohd Aseer Kashtawari, also a former bureaucrat has 47 publications to his credit. His several works have won Best Book Awards.
