PRESIDES OVER FUNCTION ORGANIZED BY ZARIYA FOUNDATION FOR CULTURAL IMMERSION OF STUDENTS
Patiala News: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to perpetuate the rich cultural heritage of Punjab to the coming generations.
Addressing the gathering during a function organized by Zariya foundation here today, the Chief Minister said that every inch of this sacred land has the footprint of great Gurus, saints, seers, martyrs and poets. He said that Punjabis are global citizens who have proved their mettle across the globe with their hard work and dedication. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that Punjabis have been blessed with an indomitable spirit of hard work and resilience due to which they carve out space for themselves.
The Chief Minister reiterated that it was bounden duty of the state government to preserve our rich cultural heritage for the future generations till eternity. He said that those nations who tend to forget their cultural past and heritage were bound to vanish with the passage of time. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government has taken several path breaking initiatives to perpetuate the glorious cultural heritage of the state.
The Chief Minister said though Punjab had a legacy of rich cultural heritage but unfortunately none of the previous governments had ever taken any step to preserve it. He said that for the first time the AAP government has taken several steps to preserve the history of the state adding that more such initiatives are in the pipeline. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that while none such effort was ever made by successive state governments but his government was fortunate to be credited with the preservation of the cultural heritage across the state.
Citing an example of series of events to mark 350th martyrdom day of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji, the Chief Minister said that the state government made every effort to ensure that Guru ji’s message of humanism, religious tolerance and communal harmony was spread in every nook and corner of the world. He said that the need of the hour was to perpetuate such messages amongst our younger generations. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that every Punjabi must come forward to promote the ethos of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat so that this rich cultural legacy could be cemented from its roots.
The Chief Minister said that Punjabis have been blessed with an indomitable spirit of hard work, dedication and patriotism. He said that due to these qualities Punjabis have proved their mettle in every sphere adding he recalled the stellar role of Punjabis during Indian freedom movement, making the country self reliant in food production and defending the borders of the country nation. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the sole aim of recalling these things was to keep our younger generations abreast with the glorious and rich cultural and historic legacy of the state.
The Chief Minister said that every Punjabi is duty bound to inculcate a sense of belongingness, love, peace, amity and brotherhood as preached by our great Sikh Gurus, saints, seers and prophets. He said that Punjabis are so magnanimous by their heart that they never nurtured a feeling of hatred against anyone and always longed for the welfare of all, which was reflected from their daily prayer-‘Ardas’. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the Punjabis have inherited a glorious legacy of sacrifice and valour from the great Sikh Gurus, who taught them to fight against tyranny, oppression and injustice.
The Chief Minister lauded the Directorate of International Affairs, Punjabi University Patiala for organizing this event with an aim to introduce Punjabi culture, music and folk to the international students studying at University. He said that more than 400 international students from over 41 countries are studying in Punjabi University Patiala and this initiative is aimed at spreading and raising awareness about Punjabi culture to the rest of the world . Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that the international students at Punjabi University are very keen to learn about Punjabi culture and language adding that it is heartening to learn that this program has been organized to show-case the rich Punjabi culture to them as a step towards cultural immersion of these students.
