10-day long ‘Winter Carnival’ commences at Shimla
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu inaugurated the ten-day long Winter Carnival Shimla at The Ridge here on Tuesday.
National Conference provincial president Devender Singh Rana has called on Dogri scholars to mull over how the “pristine glory of this rich language” can be restored in the larger interest of bringing Dogras, irrespective of religion, caste or colour together.
“While it is perhaps easy to believe or to sermonise that we should be speaking Dogri, the reality is that Dogras are shying away from making use of this language in homes,” Rana said at a function, organised by Dogri Sahitya Academy. Dogri is the mother tongue of people of Jammu region and is also spoken in the adjoining areas of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
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Rana said the onus lies on the scholars, who are conscience-keepers of the Dogra heritage. He urged them to play a role in promoting and propagating Dogri. He exuded confidence that harmony and reconciliation can be achieved as a result of reclamation of Dogri language. He said Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians are proud inheritors of the Dogra heritage and a collective effort is needed to make Dogri the day to day language.
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“Dogri is our mother-tongue and we should leave no stone unturned to promote it at all levels”, he added.
Rana said the best way of promoting Dogri would be to give impetus to this language at primary level in schools as also as a subject in higher classes. Besides, Dogri is needed to be promoted by organising cultural events and literary festivals. He hoped the organisers would work towards this objective with sincerity of purpose and missionary spirit.
“We owe it to posterity to preserve Dogra language and bequeath it to future generations with a sense of pride,” Rana said.
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