Shadow Correspondent
Jammu, Dec, 16
Jammu and Kashmir academy of Art, Culture and Languages organised a two day mega Gojri Conference today with a theme, ‘Gojri language- Present scenario, Future challenges and Opportunities’ at Abhinav Theatre Jammu in collaboration with Regional Outreach Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, J&K region.
The two day conference is a first of its kind in Jammu on Gojri language, its present scenario, future challenges and opportunities and will be a two day event showcasing various steps which are to be taken for the conservation and preservation of Gojri language.
The conference was attended by Vice Chancellor, Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University, Professor Masrat Javaid, Deputy Director, Regional Outreach Bureau, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, J&K region, Neha Jalali, Choudhary Mohammad Irshad (KPS), Choudhary Jamaat Ali and others.
The inaugural session was presided by Vice Chancellor, BGBSU, Professor Masrat Javaid. In his address, he said that it is time to take education to the doorsteps of Gujjar community and the best step has been taken by the establishment of Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University at Rajouri. He further said that it is by the initiatives taken by the cultural academy that the Gojri language has been revived in J&K and taken out of the oblivion.
He further encouraged to make software for the conservation and preservation of Gojri language and its literature and also to make it a subject for research at higher education.
“I have been able to read from the internet that a researcher from South Dakota is researching on the Gujjar community which is very encouraging and steps in this direction must be taken at state level too,” he added.
Giving vote of thanks, Deputy Director, Regional Outreach Bureau, J&K Region, Neha Jalali said that the media has a vital role to play to conserve this language and stressed on the importance of public broadcaster and other central government organisations in the promotion and preservation of this language. She further emphasised to use social media as an enabler to revive all the regional languages including Gojri.
In his keynote address, Mohammad Amin Qamar, a noted writer of Gojri language said that the social media must be used to extend the literature of Gojri language to every corner of the world so as to come up to the level of the global village trend.
He encouraged the Gujjar community to communicate with their children in Gojri language for its first promotion. He also stressed that Gojri must be integrated with the current economic and livelihood trends by using social media as a tool. He requested the administration to introduce Gojri language as a subject at graduate and postgraduate levels first in Jammu and Kashmir, and then in other parts of India.
Choudhary Irshad Ahmad (KPS) in his technical address said that it is time to get the Gojri language approved at the domain level of various social networking sites which will then help to spread the Gojri literature to every nook and corner of the world. He emphasised upon the Gujjar Community to conserve and preserve this language for being an identity.
Regional Outreach Bureau (ROB), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, (J&K Region) also organised a Photo- Exhibition as a part of the event which mainly focused on various Centrally Sponsored Schemes related to Women Empowerment, Girl Child Education and Safety, Mother and Child Health, Betterment of Farmers, Upliftment of the Poor, Animal Husbandry, Building up of Infrastructure and Social Justice. Further, six stalls on Sheep Husbandry, Animal Husbandry, Agriculture, Health, Education and J&K Bank were installed for the awareness of Gujjar Community of various central sponsored schemes and programmes.
On the occasion, many books on Gojri prose and poetry were released and the prominent among them are Quliyat i Iqbal Azeem, special issue on Sarvar i Kasana, Chandni and collection of short stories by Mohammad Amin Qamar.
