LAHORE: Cultural institutions on Monday celebrated Punjab Culture Day with great fervour and zest. There were talks, discussions, music dance performances, display of traditional art and craft and celebration of rich culture of Punjab through the recitation of Sufi poetry.

The Punjab Institute of Art and Culture (Pilac) organised a Punjab Cultural Conference, where a session dedicated to ‘Punjab Di Tareekh’ discussed the need to promote Punjabi without taking it as the language of the oppressed and the downtrodden.

Dr Ajaz Anwar said that unfortunately, Punjabis themselves did not take pride in speaking Punjabi. He said complexes about one`s language had never been beneficial for any cultured society. Aslam Kamal said that Punjabi culture and literature was super-rich, however, it was not taught as it should have been. He said young generation must be aware of Punjabi Sufi poets and their works.

Pilac Director Asim Chaudhry said the conference was organised to highlight the rich culture and tradition of Punjab and many scholars had enlightened the people with their thoughts on Punjabi language, culture and literature.

Intellectual and scholar Mushtaq Sufi said Punjabis themselves had created hurdles in their way for their vested interest when it came to the Punjabi language. He said in Pakistan the issue of language was a political one. He said every region had a right to promote its language. No language was rich or poor, but when such issues were given political colour things turned bad.

Ajoka`s Shahid Mehmood said how strange it was that Punjabi was not allowed to speak in the Punjab Assembly. Urdu was considered the language of the civilized, English the language of the powerful and Punjabi the language of the oppressed and illiterate.

Actor Usman Pirzada also underlined the need to feel proud to be a Punjabi speaking and not to be ashamed of. He said Rafi Peer theatre produced a Punjabi musical play called ‘Patay Khan’ which should be considered a Punjabi Opera to raise awareness among the youth about their own language. He criticized the Punjabi commercial theatre for spreading vulgarity. He said it was important that the youth be aware of their rich cultural values. A few musical performances were also part of the conference by young singers.

A grand celebration of Punjab Culture Day was also held at Alhamra where the minister for culture inaugurated an exhibition.

Also, a colorful Punjab Culture Day event was held at Alhamra Cultural Complex.

Provincial Minister for Culture Khayal Ahmed Kastro and Minister for School Education Murad Raas also graced the occasion. Mr Kastro said that about 1,500 children from different schools dressed in traditional Punjabi attire celebrated the occasion with full enthusiasm and zeal. On behalf of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, he said, “I would like to thank all of you for celebrating this day with such energy”.

He added that almost 10 million children of Punjab schools were celebrating the culture day.

Buzdar: Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has said the centuries-old culture and traditions of Punjab are unique in every respect.

In a statement issued on Monday, he stated Sufi poets like Baba Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Khawaja Ghulam Fareed, Bulleh Shah, Waris Shah and Mian Muhammad Bakhsh promoted and strengthened the cultural values and added the societal norms of civility, moralities, sincerity and tenderness are conspicuous in the provincial culture which is known the world over because of its multicultural diversity.

He congratulated the people and added that the purpose of celebrating culture day is to promote the norms of love and affection in society.

Also, a ceremony was held at the Chief Minister’s Office to commemorate Punjab Culture Day.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Provincial Minister Asad Khokhar and Chief Secretary Kamran Afzal were crowned with the traditional turbans of Punjab by Provincial Culture Khayal Ahmed Kastro while the chief minister donned turbans to the culture minister and Information Secretary Raja Jehangir Anwar.

Mr Buzdar said the traditional culture of Punjab is unique and spectacular as this culture is globally recognised. He maintained that remembrance of culture and traditions is a symbol of liveliness. He said that traditional cultural festivals reflect the distinct identity and individuality of each region. Punjab is the centre of multiculturalism and this is the uniqueness of Punjab, he remarked.

Love, peace, brotherhood, unity and tolerance are some of the beautiful symbols of Punjab’s culture, he said and added that only those nations move forward that remain connected with their culture.

POLICE: The Punjab Police celebrated the Punjabi Culture Day by holding events across the province on Monday.

Inspector General of Police Rao Sardar Ali Khan, Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Fayyaz Ahmad Dev and other senior police officers discharged official duties/assignments while wearing the Punjabi turbans and attire.

In his address to a ceremony held on the day, the IGP said celebration of the Punjabi Culture Day at the government level was a good tradition and the purpose of observing this event was to promote the culture of the province.

Rao Sardar said all the supervisory officers of the provincial police had contributed to promotion of Punjabi culture by wearing Punjabi turbans and cultural attire in their offices.

The CCPO also spoke.

Later, a special ceremony was organised at the Central Police Office in which Punjabi confectionery and food were served.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2022