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| February 18, 2007 | Sunday | Muharram 29, 1428 |
Language institutes in NWFP varsities urged
PESHAWAR, Feb 17: Speakers at a conference held here on Saturday underlined the need for setting up institutes in NWFP universities for the promotion of some 30 languages and dialects spoken in the province and the cultures associated with them.
The two-day “Frontier Languages National Conference” was organised by the Gandgahar Hindko Board (GHB) at the Archives Hall on Sher Shah Road here.
Academics specialising in Hindko, Pashto, Khwar, Gojjri, Yadgha, Kalasha, Pehlola, Damili, Gwarbati, Mashriqi Katwari, Kalami, Torwali, Ashojo, Indus Kohistani, Batiri, Wakhi, Domaki, Urmori, Vanisi, Peshai, Sraeki, Madakalashti, Kashmiri, Kalkoti, Balti, Shena, Burshuski, Gaward, Chaliso and Pahari attended the conference.
Speaking on the importance of regional languages and cultures, NWFP chief secretary Ejaz Ahmed Qureshi said: “Literary and cultural activities create unity among the people and refine their outlook towards life and society.”
He said the provincial government was committed to providing financial assistance to cultural organisations, but money alone could not create a literary environment in the country or in any part of the world for that matter.
He appreciated the role of the GHB in keeping the cultural activities in the province alive.
Noted Urdu scholar and critic Prof Sabir Afaqi presented his paper on the origin and history of the Gojjri language.
He described the Gojjri language as the mother of modern Urdu.
He said the Gojjars founded their kingdom in India which remained there from 1500BC to 900BC. Gujarat (India) had been their last kingdom, he said, adding that the Gojjari language was still spoken by millions of Gujjars in India, Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.
Noted columnist and researcher Inyatullah Faizi read out his paper on the Khwar language.
“Khwar is spoken by some 90 per cent of the people in Chitral,” he said.
Khwar writers had translated the English, Arabic, Persian and Urdu masterpieces into their language, he said, adding that they enriched their literature with different genres of prose and poetry.
He congratulated the GHB on holding the conference and said it was performing a duty that should be performed by the government.
Khwaja Abdur Rehman spoke on the Kashmiri (Kundal Shahi) language.
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