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SRINAGAR

Minister for Finance, Labour & Employment and Culture, Dr Haseeb Drabu Thursday called for a concerted initiative from the stakeholders for conservation and promotion of the State’s rich cultural heritage so that future generations can cherish it with a degree of pride. He called for blending the state’s three distinct cultures to end stagnation.

Addressing a function at Jammu University today organized at the conclusion of Heritage Week celebrations, Dr Drabu said heritage has to live in public spaces and it should not be confined to museums only.

“The motto of the state government is to propagate, preserve and professionalize the heritage. The Government only acts as custodian of heritage and it is the civil society that creates heritage,” he added.

The function was organized by School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (SHTM), University of Jammu in collaboration with Department of Culture and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Jammu Chapter, an official statement said this evening.

Dr Drabu said J&K has three distinct heritages and there is a need that these heritages mix with each other to set an example of a composite culture. There is an immediate need to blend cultures as it tends to stagnate, he added.

The Minister stressed that research should be done on architectural and linguistic heritages for creating new languages and narrations in the state. He called upon students to engage with culture and asked them to come out with innovative ideas for the evolution of cultural heritage. The Heritage Week has triggered a change in the mind-set of people towards preserving the rich cultural heritage of the state, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that during the weeklong celebrations, heritage manuscripts, photos, antiques and books were displayed at Mubarak Mandi, SPS Museum and Ranbir Library. The painting competitions, poster making competitions, documentary presentations, rangoli, symposiums, ethnic food presentations, debates, heritage walks and heritage workshops were also organized in different parts of the state.

Later, the dignitaries distributed the prizes among the winners of debate, documentary, poster making and rangoli competitions. The souvenirs were also presented to the participating organizations in the Heritage Week including Department of Higher Education, Jammu Development Authority, School Education Department, Jammu Municipal Corporation, Department of Libraries, Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Department of Information, Food Craft Institute, Department of Tourism, GGM Science College, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society.

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