The State of Jammu and Kashmir has the rare distinction of having more than eight languages in which quality literature is being produced. Two major regional languages namely; Dogri and Kashmiri are recognized by the Sahitya Akademi, Delhi and Awards are being given by it in these languages. It is noteworthy that prior to setting up of the Academy very little literature was being produced in these languages.
Various schemes operated by the Academy for the promotion of these languages and literature has yielded fruitful results. Work in Gojri and Pahari Languages was undertaken by the Academy in the late seventies.
For furtherance of the languages contained in the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of Jammu & Kashmir and other major languages of the region, Academy has embarked upon the following plans: -
Publication of Sheeraza
A literary journal under the common title of "SHEERAZA"is published by the Academy. Whereas Urdu 'Sheeraza' is monthly, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Punjabi, Ladakhi, Gojri and Pahari 'Sheeraza' are bi- monthly.
The Special Numbers of Sheeraza in various languages are published regularly on the occasion of centenaries of great masters, literary giants, social reformers and the like besides special topics pertaining to Art, Culture & Languages.
The publication of 'Sheeraza' chain of journals was instituted with a view to achieve the following goals: -
- to provide a platform for creative expression to the young and budding writers;
- to encourage writers achieve excellence and contribute seriously for the development of their language and literature;
- to encourage publication of translations for better understanding of the literature being produced in sister languages;
- to encourage research work relating to the respective languages in general and history and cultural heritage of the State in particular.
Publication of Annual Anthologies
Annual Anthologies are being published by the Academy in Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Punjabi, Ladakhi, Gojri and Pahari. Initially it was desired to showcase the best writings of the year in the respective language through the Anthologies, but since 1975 this policy was revised to make the Anthology more meaningful and user friendly.
Now, the issues of the annual Anthologies are devoted to research on a particular theme with a view to provide an in depth study and analysis of the chosen subject for the scholars and general readers
Publication of Books
In view of the fact that at the time of setting up of the Academy virtually no publisher was forthcoming to support and encourage publication of books in the regional languages of the State, which were still in a developing state,
Academy took up the challenge of publishing the books relating to creative writings, research works in the history and culture of the State etc. In order to encourage interaction and understanding among the writers, publication of translations of classics and other major works from one language to the other was also undertaken.
Preservation of Folklore
The State of J&K has a rich tradition of folk songs and folk tales. These treasure houses of folk wisdom are declining and are feared to vanish before long. Hence, there was an emergent need to collect, document and preserve the folk treasure of songs and tales.
With a view to meet this objective Academy has undertaken the printing and publication of volumes of folk tales and folk songs of all the major regional languages of the State
Dictionaries
With the advent of literature, words acquired new meanings as well as usage. To facilitate the common reader to have a peep into the world of unknown words, the publication of dictionaries became essential.
Most of our regional languages started producing literature on regular basis, uninterruptedly, since forties only therefore, dictionaries were not available in these languages.
The Academy realized the importance of the gigantic task of compiling dictionaries in regional languages of the State and set up dictionary sections initially in the Regional Offices of the Academy. Academy has published dictionaries in the following languages: -
|
Language
|
No. of Volumes
|
Approximate Words
|
|
Kashmiri Dictionary
|
7
|
52,000
|
|
Dogri Dictionary
|
5
|
60,000
|
|
Concise Dogri Dictionary
|
1
|
16,790
|
|
Gojri Dictionary
|
6
|
50,000
|
|
Urdu-Kashmiri Farhang
|
12
|
80,500
|
Work on Ladakhi, Pahari & Dogri- Hindi Dictionaries is in progress.
Encyclopaedia
Keeping in view the importance of encyclopaedia in the development of a language, Academy has taken in hand the publication of Encyclopaedia KashmirianaL Four volumes of this encyclopaedia have been published so far covering the following areas :-
- Kashmir Archaeology & Architecture Volume I
- Kashmir Archeology, Architecture & Coins Volume II
- Kashmir Handicrafts Volume III
- Kashmiri Language & Literature Volume IV
- Kashmiri Folklore Part I Volume V
These volumes are fully illustrated. The sixth volume on Folklore of Kashmir Part II is in process.
Subsidy to Authors
In absence of publishers and adequate number of buyer readers, the authors were finding it difficult to publish their books and recover the cost. With a view to offset their production cost, it was decided to provide them subsidy for publishing their books.
It goes to the credit of the Academy that more than 95% books of creative writings in different languages in J&K have seen the light of the day with the help of the subsidy provided by the Academy.
Mushairas, Seminars, Literary Conferences Etc
The State of Jammu and Kashmir is known for hilly terrain. Most of its areas are nearly inaccessible. The writers and artists residing in these far flung areas did not have the means and access to keep them abreast of changing trends on the literary scene.
In order to bring the writers of the State in close contact with one-another, Academy took upon itself the arduous task of organizing Mushairas, Seminars, Literary Conferences, Sham-i-Afsanas, Sham-i- Ghazals and Literary Get-togethers etc., not only at the headquarters of its various offices but at the remote stations also.
These activities are held at local level, State level and All India level. These programmes provide an opportunity to young and budding writers to meet, listen and inter-act with each other and share their experiences with one another as also with their seniors.
All State Writers' Camps
Further to holding of Mushairas and Conferences, it was thought expedient to provide more time to junior writers of a respective language to live and interact with their senior writers and between writers of one language and the other by organizing All State Writers Camps.
These camps had been instrumental in promoting understanding and cordiality between writers of various languages.
Playscript competitions
In order to encourage writing of stage plays in the regional languages of the state, Academy has introduced the scheme of play script competition.
Meet The Eminent Contemporary Programmes
A literary doyen is an institution in himself. This is all the more true about the regional languages as these doyens had contributed a lot to bring the respective regional languages to commanding heights. They are the store-houses of information and experiences. ions aware of the developmental process in evolving literary masterpieces, the Academy has been organizing Meet the Eminent Contemporary programmes. The programmes mainly comprise of question- answer sessions.
The entire proceedings of the meet are preserved through the audio- video recordings for posterity.
The following Eminent Contemporaries have participated in these programmes till date:-S/ Shri Amin Kamil, Rehman Rahi, Hamidi Kashmiri, Dina Nath Nadim, Ram Nath Shastri, Jagan Nath Azad, B.P. Sharma, Ved Ghai, Padma Sachdeva, Sukhdev Singh Charak, Mohd.Yousuf Taing, Nishat Kishatwari, Madan Mohan Sharma, Dinu Bhai Pant, K.S. Madhukar, Yash Sharma etc. Some of these programmes had the collaboration of Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
Installation Of Memorials
There are a number of poets/writers whose graves were almost forgotten. As such, these could not be located easily for the benefit of their admirers and research scholars. To honour the sacred memory of these noble souls, a scheme to install memorial plaques on these graves was introduced .
Under the scheme the Academy installs a plaque and citation in the memory of eminent artists/writers at a place to be identified by the local writers and artists.
Memorial plaques (Tomb Stones) were got installed in the sacred memory of some of the great sons of soil. Prominent among those are Late Rasool Mir (Kashmiri poet), Hassan Khuihami (historian), Maqbool Kralwari (Kashmiri poet), Nayeern Sahib and Rehman Dar.
One notable memorial plaque was installed at the resting place of the last king of Kashmir and a great patron of arts, Sultan Yusuf Shah Chak, in Bihar by the then President of the Academy, Jenab Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah.
Academy of Art, Culture and Languages