STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Sham Lal Sharma, former minister and J&K BJP Vice President has emphasized upon the need to preserve rich cultural heritage of Jammu as it is the youth, who must come forward and work relentlessly as Ambassadors to promote rich Dogri language. He was speaking at the Rashtriya Yuva Diwas and Lohri Milan programme organised at Mubarak Mandi here on Wednesday. The programme was organised by Adv Purnima Sharma, Deputy Mayor along with Mahant Rohit Shastri, President Baba Kailakh Devsthan Trust and Bunty Cartoonist.
Speaking further, Sham Sharma recalled contributions of Swami Vivekananda for the society as a dynamic youth reformist. He also asked the youth to follow the teaching of Swami Vivekananda. “Dogra cultural heritage is identity of Jammu people and we can’t afford to lose our identity,” said Sharma, appreciating efforts of youth in different fields for keeping Dogra culture alive through their relentless performances at National and International level. He asserted that Bharatiya Janata Party will leave no stone unturned in preserving Jammu’s identity i.e. Dogra culture and heritage.
While extending greetings on the occasion of Lohri and National Youth Day, Purnima Sharma, Deputy Mayor urged youth to disseminate richness of Dogra culture and language across the nation and abroad to make people aware about the niceties of the old yet rich heritage through their performances in various fields like theatre, folk-lore & folk music, Dogri songs, literature etc. She also appealed to people of Jammu and Kashmir to support and encourage the local, especially Dogra artists so that they can also grow and achieve new heights.
Ashok Koul, General Secretary (Org), BJP J&K said that youth of J&K should ensure substantial participation in cultural activities to highlight Dogra tradition and rituals. “BJP stands committed to extend every type of support to the Dogra youth, but at the same time every individual, rising above party and other affiliations, needs to come forward to work for this significant cause,” he added.
Vice Chancellor SKUAST Jammu Prof J P Sharma said that children prefer to speak other languages like Hindi, English etc in schools, colleges and universities, under the pressure from authorities of the institution, but it must be remembered that eclipse of Dogri means delinking of our rich Dogri culture. Director Agriculture Jammu K K Sharma and Prof Madan Mohan Jha Director Sanskrit University also spoke on the occasion. During the programme, Sham Lal Sharma along with other dignitaries felicitated a number of persons who have worked relentlessly for promotion of Dogri language. Those who were felicitated on the occasion included Uttam Singh, Seema Anil Sehgal, Brij Mohan, Insp Rakesh Jamwal, Varsha Jamwal, Deepak Kumar, Dr Hemja Mengi, Kripal Singh, Tanmay Sharma, Lakshya Sharma, Rohit Seth, Vir Jee Pandita and Ashish Kohli.