Punjabi moot for peace begins

LAHORE: A three-day international Punjabi conference for peace kicked off with more than 25 literary personalities from India, Canada, Holland and USA participating in the event at a local hotel on Davis Road on Friday.

The conference demanded 40 percent cut in different taxes on Punjabi newspapers to increase their publications. It said the facility was already given to Sindhi newspapers. The government was asked for giving official patronage to Punjabi language and it should be included as compulsory subject in curriculum till 8th class. The speakers said people of both India and Pakistani Punjab should not feel lowliness while they speak their mother tongue. Parents were asked to talk with their children in Punjabi too. The speakers also paid tribute to WPC Chairman Fakhar Zaman for his efforts to promoting Punjabi language. A documentary on “Baba Bulleh Shah” was screened in the last session of the day. Baba Najmi recited his revolutionary poetry. Vice-Chancellors of Government College University, Gujrat University and South Asian University also attended the event. The delegates from India and other countries included Gurdeep Kaur, Jaswinder Mangat Kaur, Poonam Singh, Gurdip Kaur, Kamaljeet Gill, Vanita Machinda, Narvinder Singh, Darshan Buttar Sing, Khalid Hussain, Amarpar Randhawa, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Gurjatinder Singh Randhawa, Tarlak Singh, Shinder Pal Singh, Asad Mufti and others.