LAHORE: The Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature for the promotion of the Punjabi literature and culture, says Pilac Director General Dr Sughra Sadaf.

The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature celebrates the rich culture and transnational heritage of the Punjabi literature. It aims to inspire the creation of the Punjabi literature across borders, bridging communities around the world and promoting literature on a global scale. It awards annual prize for excellence in the Punjabi fiction.

For work in the Punjabi scripts of Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi, this prize recognises one outstanding writer with a $25,000 award as well as two finalists with awards of $5,000. Forging meaningful relationships with writers, community organisations and educational institutions in Pakistan, India and the diaspora, the Dhahan Prize is the world’s signature prize for Punjabi literary works.

“Pilac is working enthusiastically to take the Punjabi language, arts and culture to new heights. It organises seminars, conferences, fairs, exhibitions, lectures, dialogues and publishes books to achieve its objectives. The organisation confers various awards on distinguished personalities,” Dr Sadaf said.

She said these awards included ‘Pride of Punjab Award’, ‘Shafqat Tanvir Mirza Award’, ‘Academic Award for Young Talent’ and those in memory of Sufi poets of Punjab. It had also been promoting the Punjabi language, arts and culture through live transmission of Pakistan’s first Punjabi FM Radio Station ‘FM-95 Punjab Rung’, Lahore since 2007, added she.

The two organisations, she said, supported each other’s objectives, particularly novels and short stories and sought a way to honour and recognise Punjabi authors around the world. Among the areas of cooperation both the organisations would assist each other in translation and transliteration of works with the intention of marketing and selling these in Pakistan, Canada and elsewhere. They would also organise conferences and other literary events.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2019