Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today released a postage stamp on renowned Kashmiri poet Peerzada Ghulam Ahmad Mehjoor here and said the Centre will extend full support to promote Kashmiri language, culture and literature.
"Our government intends to extend every possible help and support to promote Kashmiri language, culture and literature.
"Not only our government, but the entire nation holds the great human principles and values of Kashmir with respect and honour," Singh said after releasing the commemorative stamp on Mehjoor at SKICC on the banks of Dal Lake here.
"We want the fragrance of Kashmiri culture to spread all across the country and the world," he said.
The Prime Minister admitted that there has been delay in honouring the poet.
"I am very happy that we are fulfilling such a responsibility which should have been fulfilled earlier," he said.
The Prime Minister said Kashmir has been referred to as paradise on earth.
"It is not only because of the natural beauty of the land but its centuries old high values and spirituality. When we look at the past of Kashmir, we come across many great personalities who have, in their own ways, promoted high principles and universal values.
"If I come to give examples, the list will be very large. I will talk only of two such great personalities – Sheikh Noor-ud-din Wali and Lala Arifa or Laleshwari who were the epitome of the soul of Kashmir and Kashmiriyat," he said.
The Prime Minister said this will not be wrong to say that the hearts of Kashmiris still beat with these personalities.
"It is the result of the moral and spiritual teachings of such personalities that the Kashmiris set a great example of communal harmony, brotherhood and mutual understanding during the trying times," Singh said.
He referred to father of nation Mahatma Gandhi's observation about the situation in Kashmir during partition of 1947 when most of the country was gripped in communal riots.
"In the difficult times of 1947, Kashmiris did not lose the balance and did not let the flame of mutual sympathy to extinguish. This is the reason that the father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi saw light only in Kashmir when the darkness had engulfed the country," he said.
During these testing times, Singh said, the intellectuals and poets played their role very well.
"Among them, 'shayer-e-Kashmir' Ghulam Ahmad Mehjoor was on the top. Mehjoor sahib on the one hand through his revolutionary lyrics and songs arose the sentiments and a yearning among the public for political, social and economic upliftment," he said.
The Prime Minister said Mehjoor tried to take the message of brotherhood and the principle of 'live and let live' to every one.
"While on the one hand he talked about new dawn and fresh breeze, on the other he reminded the denizens that the Hindus and Muslims should mix like sugar and milk. Due to traits, he has been bestowed with the title of national poet of Kashmir," Singh said.
"It is a great pleasure for me that our government took a decision to release a special postal stamp dedicated in respect of this great poet and symbol of Kashmiriyat. It is our salute to the great son of the soil and wealth of human brotherhood and enlightened values of Kashmir," he added.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and PCC President and patron of Mehjoor foundation Saif-ud-din Soz also highlighted the literary works of the poet.
Omar referred to the famous couplet of the poet 'Wala ho baghawano, nav baharuk shaan paida kar, pholan gul gath karan bulbul, timay saman paida kar' (let us build an atmosphere where flowers bloom, birds chirp and play and it will be a paradise), saying the poet was not referring to an ordinary garden but to the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Soz demanded that the poet's ancestral house at Metragam in Pulwama district of south Kashmir be declared as a national monument.
Mehjoor, born in 1887, was especially noted for introducing a new style into Kashmiri poetry and for expanding it into previously unexplored thematic realms. He is also known for his poetic compositions in Persian and Urdu.
Mehjoor, who died in 1952, followed in the academic footsteps of his father Peerzada Abdullah Shah, who was a scholar of Persian language and received the primary education from the 'Maktab' (institution) of Aashiq Trali (a renowned poet) in Tral.
Mehjoor worked as a patwari (revenue official) in Kashmir but gave up the job to dedicate himself to poetic pursuits in 1914 and his first Kashmiri poem 'Vanta hay vesy' was published in 1918.
In 1972, a bilingual film named Shayer-e-Kashmir Mehjoor was released with the Hindi version starring Balraj Sahni.
Source : http://news.outlookindia.com
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