Nagrota Mar 30 : Senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana today called for collective efforts to promote Dogri, saying use of the language in day to day interactions is the most viable and effective mode of sustaining it in a big way.
“We can’t remain complacent towards promotion of Dogri and bequeathing the language to generations with a sense of pride”, Devender Rana said at the 24th Foundation Day of Dogri Sahitya Sabha at Kupad, Panchayat Pargalta, adding that onus lies on the intelligentsia to work out a multi-pronged strategy to restore the sweet language of the Duggarland to its pristine glory.
President of the Dogri Sahitya Sabha Ashok Sharma, Advisor, Ram Rattan Sharma, Janak Raj Bhagat, Vice President, Subash Sambhoria, Narayan Dutt, Sansar Chand, Vishal Dogra, Anju Bala were present on the occasion.
Rana observed that the death of language amounts to the death of the soul and therefore it is incumbent upon everyone—the artists, the folk singers, the scholars, the writers to play their designated role in preserve their glorious linguistic heritage in the larger interest of bringing Dogras together, irrespective of religion, region and caste”.
“For all of us it may be perhaps easy to deliver sermons but there is need for a collective and individual effort to work in this regard”, Rana said and regretted that most of the people are shying away from making use of Dogri in homes. He lamented over the growing trend of ignoring the mother tongue in the mistaken belief of English and other languages seen as a sign of modernity. Of course, there should be an intense urge to learn other languages but not at the cost of a mother tongue, he said.
However, he noted with satisfaction that the writers, intellectuals and artists were lately taking the lead role in promotion of Dogri, as a result of which the lovers of Dogri are getting master piece writings that not only depict the richness of Jammu’s glorious heritage but also unfold the essence of this language. He said languages are essentially to bind the people together.
He hailed the efforts of the Sabha in promoting the Dogri language, saying there can be nothing laudable than holding of over 20 events every year for taking the language to next level in terms of encouraging people to sustain it through the mediums of theatre, music and literary pursuits. Being rich in content and lucid in delivery, Dogri has huge potential of bringing communities together, he added.
Among others present on the occasion were Ch. Rehmat Ali, BDC Nagrota, Sarpanch Darshana Devi, Dr. Himani Bhatyal, Dr Ajay Sharma, Yograj Sharma, Gita Devi, Saraswati Devi, Baldev Singh, Sarpanch Sanjeev Singh, Rekha Langeh, Mohan Lal, Darshan Kumar, Surinder Singh Gilli and others
