Role of Art & cultural institutions strengthening communal harmony :Vohra

Jammu, January 18 (Scoop News) – The Governor,  N. N. Vohra today observed that India is a large country with diverse geography, religions, cultures, languages, social customs and traditions.

The governor today released a Special Photo Album brought out by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages at a function held at Raj Bhavan in Jammu today. The Album portrays the major events organized by the Cultural Academy during the past 50 years of its existence.

Speaking in a function Governor said that in today’s context the real challenge of governance relates to the harmonious management of these diversities. He said that institutions like the Cultural Academy could play an invaluable role in strengthening the governmental efforts to strengthen communal harmony and project our secular foundation. He stressed that management of diverse religious and cultural entities is the biggest challenge in governance and art and cultural institutions can contribute most significantly to rebuild the secular ethos.

Describing the Photo Album as pictorial presentation of the cultural history of the State, the Governor, who is the Patron of the Academy, asked for further improvements in future editions of this Album. He lauded the Academy for its valuable contribution towards the promotion of art, culture and languages in the State and congratulated it for bringing out the photo album. 

Referring to the paintings prepared by the artists at the various Art Camps organized by the Academy in the past, the Governor stressed that all these should be adequately catalogued, well looked after and duly displayed rather than being stored in godowns. 

The Secretary of the Cultural Academy,  Zafar Iqbal Manhas, gave a resume of the activities of the Academy. He said that bringing out the Special Photo Album is an outcome of the initiative taken for documenting the cultural history of the State in the form of photographs.

The former Secretary of the Academy,  M. Y. Taing, congratulated the Academy for bringing out the Special Photo Album. Referring to the photography competition recently organized by the Academy, he hoped that this art form will flourish in the State.

            Another former Secretary of the Cultural Academy,  Nilamber Dev Sharma, said that the Academy has a rich collection of paintings and sculptures and hoped that it will earn a name in documentation of the rare photographs also.   

The Principal Secretary to the Governor,  R. K. Goyal, Additional Secretaries of the Cultural Academy, Mrs. Savita Bakshi, Mrs. Shameema Akhter,  A. S. Amn and Dr. Gian Singh and other officers were present on the occasion.

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