Govt. to issue Ordinance on Punjabi Language

CHANDIGARH, MARCH 30, 2008

The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today called for world wide campaign for the preservation and promotion of Punjabi Language and Culture.

Mr. Badal was addressing eminent Punjabi men of letters who called on him to felicitate him on the Punjab Government's decision to introduce Punjabi language as a compulsory subject in all schools in the State and to strictly enforce it as a medium of official communication.

The Chief Minister declared that the Government would not wait till the next session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to implement its decisions on the use of Punjabi language in all Government and semi-Government offices and to introduce it as a compulsory subject in schools. An ordinance to the effect will soon be issued, he told the visiting writers and intellectuals.

Giving details of the meeting, Mr. Harcharan Bains Media Advisor to Chief Minister told news persons that Mr. Badal also announced the creation of an endowment fund to introduce health insurance scheme for the needy and aged Punjabi writers and intellectuals. He also announced a grant of Rs. 5 lacs each for Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha (Sekhon), Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha, and Punjabi Sahit Academy Ludhiana. The Chief Minister also asked the writers to prepare a detailed proposal for the grant of Rs. 25 lac for renovation of Punjabi Bhawan at Ludhiana, said Mr. Bains.

Mr. Badal asked Punjabi writers to constitute a 7-member committee to prepare a blue print for greater interaction between the Government and writers and intellectuals for the promotion & preservation of Punjabi culture and language.

The writers including celebrated Punjabi poet Surjit Patar, novelist and critic Jaswant Singh Kanwal, story writers and journalist Gulzar Singh Sandhu and Mohan Bhandari, hailed the Government's decisions to enact legislation on the use of Punjabi language in schools and Government offices. They urged him to take up the issue of according Punjabi its due status in states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, J&K and Delhi, said Mr. Bains.

The meeting which lasted about an hour was attended by Minister for Cultural Affairs Mr. Hira Singh Gabria and Media Advisor Mr. Harchran Bains. The writers who called on the Chief Minister included Mr. Gurbhajan Gill, Mr Kirpal Kazak, Prof. Anup Virk, Mr. Baljit Balli, Principal Perm Singh Bajaj, Dr. Guriqbal Singh, Dr. Kuldeep Singh Dhir, Dr Sarvjit Singh, Ravider Bhattal, Mrs Sukhwinder Amrit, renowned lyric writer Mr. Inderjit Hasanpuri, Prof. Jaswinder Singh and Dr. Surjit Singh.