PESHAWAR, Nov 21: State Minister for Human Resource Development Dr Nasim Ashraf said on Monday that Hindko language deserved due recognition and coverage in the print and electronic media on account of its glorious past. The minister was speaking at the second two-day international Hindko conference here.

At the conference several research papers were read on the origin, history and evolution of Hindko language and literature. The scholars rejected the notion that Hindko was a dialect of Punjabi and proved in their papers that, according to an epitaph extracted from a well in Taxila, Hindko was 5,000 years old.

In his address, Dr Amjad Hussain said that Gandhara Hindko Board (GHB) should try to realise its objectives. He called for greater efforts to explore Hindko language and literature and carry out research on its different aspects.

Bushra Farrukh told participants that Hindko was the oldest language of the subcontinent but noted that it had unfortunately not been given its due place.

Dr Sabir Kalurvi in his paper pointed out that Hindko was threatened by an onslaught of English, Urdu and Pushto words.

“No language is major or minor… In fact, language has its roots in culture and civilization,” Dr Kalurvi said. In his opinion the dictionary compiled in Hindko was incomplete because it lacked references to local culture and different dialects of the language.

At the end of the conference, awards and souvenirs were distributed among poets and writers.

On the final day of the conference, 13 resolutions were passed unanimously which said that Hindko was the second main regional language of the NWFP and the government should forthwith implement its decision of setting up of a Hindko Academy so that the research work for the preservation and promotion of Hindko language and literature is conducted in organised manners.

A Department for Hindko Studies should be set up at the University of Peshawar and University of Hazara to facilitate higher research on Hindko language and literature besides setting up of an Institute of Hindko Language and Culture for promotion of Hindko language and Hindkowan Culture.

A Hindko Adabi Board should be set up under the official patronage, another resolution said.

Arrangements for introducing Hindko language teaching in educational institutions were also demanded.

Other resolutions demanded that radio and television be given due coverage to Hindko language and the birth anniversaries of great Hindko mystic poets Sain Ahmad Ali Peshawari and Sain Ghulam Din Hazarvi should be celebrated officially at the provincial level.