Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday announced to institute a new award to commemorate the memory of noted folk litterateur and artist Baje Bhagat. The award carrying Rs51,000 in cash would be given away through Haryana Kala Parishad.
Hooda was speaking at the Sahityakar Samman Samorah organized by Haryana Sahitya Akademi at Haryana Raj Bhawan where, he and Governor Jagannath Pahadia gave away awards to 32 litterateurs for the year 2011 and 2012 for their outstanding work in literature.
Describing literature as the mirror of the society, Hooda said that only the literature could keep our culture alive and protected. He said that we feel proud that Haryana which is well known for its brave people also has a unique identity in the field of literature.
Emphasising the need to recognise and give due honour to outstanding litterateurs, Hooda said that they play a significant role in acquainting our young generation with rich values of our culture and tradition. The litterateurs educate the society, acquaint us with our history, culture and traditions, he added.
Hooda said that after becoming the Chief Minister of Haryana in 2005, he decided to ensure the overall development of the State. To make the award money of Academies satisfactory, he has increased their amount by two-three times.
Apart from this, to encourage the work in the areas of art, fine arts, history and culture, new Academies have been set up so that culture and literature get new dimensions. The budget of all the Academies has been increased by manifold so that they would not have to face any financial crunch in implementing its programmes and activities.
Pahadia urged the litterateurs to provide appropriate guidance to the society and culture through literature
and also register their identity not at National but at international level.