Art, literature, & music bind us together: LG Sinha  

Srinagar, Oct 22: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir boasts rich cultural diversity in art, literature, music, folk traditions, and more, which unite the people. He was speaking at the inauguration of the three-day literary fest  Jashn-e-Sangam at Tagore Hall, Srinagar.
LG Sinha commended the efforts of the J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages, along with Wadies Hindi Shiksha Samiti, for organizing the fest dedicated to promoting art, culture, and language. He noted that events like  Jashn-e-Sangam bring together individuals from various regions, languages, and cultures to celebrate unity and shared cultural roots, embodying the spirit of  Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat .
The Lieutenant Governor acknowledged the significant contributions of writers, poets, and literary figures from Kashmir in promoting Hindi. “Non-Hindi speaking individuals have made immense contributions to the promotion of the Hindi language,” he remarked.
He highlighted the importance of promoting Hindi and other languages among students in non-Hindi-speaking regions as a crucial initiative. Hindi cinema, with its global outreach, has played a significant role in promoting the language. Likewise, regional languages have greatly contributed to literature, culture, and nation-building. He also noted that the  National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasizes promoting mother tongues and local languages as mediums of instruction in schools. Such efforts reinforce values of unity, cultural pride, and shared expression, he added.
LG Sinha further outlined vital steps taken under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the past few years to promote languages in J&K, including Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Gojri, Pahari, Punjabi, and Shina.
During the event, the Lieutenant Governor honored students from the Kashmir Division who excelled in Hindi during their 10th standard examinations. He urged the youth to draw inspiration from the lives of Lalleshwari, Sheikh-ul-Alam, Sant Kabir Das, and other prominent figures, and work towards promoting literature and languages.
Present at the occasion were Suresh Kumar Gupta, Principal Secretary of the Culture Department; Vijay Kumar Bidhuri, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir; Baldev Prakash, Managing Director and CEO of J&K Bank; Harvinder Kour, Secretary of JKAACL; Kumar Manoj, Patron of Wadies Hindi Shiksha Samiti; Nasreen Ali “Nidhi,” National President; and other members of the Wadies Hindi Shiksha Samiti, along with prominent literary personalities.