SWAT: The social and cultural activists have lauded the publication of six new books in Torwali, an Indo-Aryan Dardic language with around 150,000 speakers in Bahrain and Chail valleys of Swat district, declaring it a big step for the preservation and promotion of the language.

The books were published by the Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi (IBT), a research and social organisation that works to promote the languages of northern Pakistan.

The books are titled Jinnah Sahib, Allama Iqbal, Fatima Jinnah, Kashmala and Inaan, while one is the translation of the last 10 Surahs (chapters) of the Holy Quran.

Linguists and experts said it was essential to focus on the language ecology for the preservation and protection of an endangered language.

Activists say initiative to help preserve language spoken in Swat district

Zubair Torwali, a researcher and writer, said the IBT had established primary schools for children in Torwali while it was busy enhancing its literacy and prestige among the large community by publishing books of literature.

“These domains strengthen the language internally. For building prestige of such languages and the communities among the dominant languages, one important step is to translate literature of these languages into the major languages, too,” he said. The social activists said the three books titled Jinnah Sahib, Allama Iqbal and Fatima Jinnah were biographies, while the book ‘Kashmala’ was a romance epic in Torwali by poet late Iqbal Khan.

SPORTS FESTIVAL: Tourists from across the country on Saturday appreciated the sports activities at Gabin Jabba tourist resort on the second day of the sports and cultural festival. The three-day festival kicked off on Friday and the tourists enjoyed the snow and various sports and cultural activities.

The festival is being organised by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority with the collaboration of Swat district administration. On the second day, the tourists enjoyed sports competitions, including Teqball, snow judo, archery and badminton and other activities.

In the men’s category of Teqball Championship, Jalaluddin clinched first, Yasar Aziz second and Fawad Khwaja third position. In the women’s category of the same championship, Iqra Rehman grabbed first and Muneeba Wali clinched second position.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2021