Urdu a language of poetic soul, social consciousness: Financial Commissioner

Srinagar, Jul 11: Financial Commissioner and Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department, Shantmanu said Urdu was not merely a language but a medium of poetic imagination, emotional intelligence, and social awareness.

Delivering a presidential address at the two-day conference on ‘Urdu Shairi: Riwayat, Jidat aur Asri Taqaazay’ (Urdu Poetry: Tradition, Innovation, and Contemporary Demands) organised by the Department of Urdu, Government Degree College (GDC), Ganderbal, Shantmanu, who was the chief guest on the occasion, emphasised the integration of cultural and literary literacy into contemporary education.

He commended the institution for hosting a forum of international relevance and appreciated the Department of Urdu for its role in preserving the region’s linguistic heritage and civilisational ethos.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof Khawaja Muhammad Ikramuddin of the Centre of Indian Languages, School of Languages, Literature and Culture Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, offered a comprehensive overview of the evolution of Urdu poetry.

Delivering a special online address, noted Urdu scholar from Tashkent State University, Uzbekistan, Prof Muhayyo Abdur Akhmonov offered a global perspective on Urdu poetry, highlighting its universal literary appeal across cultures and geographies. Scholars, poets, and researchers from across the country and abroad came together in the hybrid mode at the event to explore the depth and dynamism of Urdu poetry.

The event began with Prof Nusrat Nabi reflecting on how the Urdu literary tradition had long served as a mirror to the region’s cultural richness and collective sensibilities.

Head of the Department (HoD) of Urdu and Organising Secretary of the conference, Jamsheeda Akhter, apprised the gathering of the thematic relevance of the conference and its intended objective.

Principal GDC Ganderbal, Prof Fouzia Fatima, emphasised the academic significance of the conference in the present literary and cultural landscape.

Earlier, the dignitaries jointly unveiled the conference abstract book and the college newsletter ‘Sindh’.