Seminar on preservation of Sharda Peeth & Sharda lipi held

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INVC NEWS
Jammu ,

A seminar was  organized by Brahman Maha Mandal in coordination with Sharda Core Team was to draw the attention of KP society towards the dilapidated condition of Sharda Temple situated on the banks of Kishanganga river in Neelum Valley, Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Sh. Ravinder Pandita, Founder & Head of Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (Regd.)  and chief guest on the event screened a documentary on the history of Sharda Temple and acquainted jam –packed hall with the present deteriorated condition of the temple which bore the brunt of attack by invaders in historical past and also of the recent earthquake. Despite the reverence of local villagers towards the sacred temple, the government authorities in PoK have not undertaken any action to conserve and preserve the temple. Sh. Ravinder Pandita also apprised the audience through the documentary the efforts being made by his Group in collaboration with Civil society of PoK, for reopening of Sharda Peeth. Sh. Ravinder have also approached the state and central government in this regard & is in constant touch with people across LoC and Shankaracharyas of all mutts.
Seminar on Sharda re-opening & preservation of Sharda lipi held at Jammu
Seminar on Sharda re-opening & preservation of Sharda lipi held at Jammu

Sh. Rakesh Koul, Coordinator, Sharda Core Group apprised the house about the initiatives taken by the Group in developing a software on Sharda Lippi which is still under finalization and shall shortly be available to public. He also informed the house about short training programme offered on reading and writing of Sharda Lippi by the Group and about one hundred entrepreneurs have already been trained in writing and reading the Sharda Lippi.

Prof. Sushma Jatoo, Project Director and senior faculty at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi is a renowned and dedicated scholar of Sharda Lippi. She informed the house geographical extent of the Lippi in historical past. According to her the Sharda script was prominent throughout the Gandhar region spreading almost from Afghanistan to the plains of Punjab in historical past.  She gave an elaborate on the origin and antiquity of Sharda with the help of noticeable archaeological evidences.

Prof. K.N. Pandita, Padma Shree opined that Sharda script is the heritage of Kashmiri Pandits and the pristine purity of the language should be maintained. He emphasized that public, at large, should be made aware of the rich language through public meetings/seminars and more people should involve themselves in learning the language to revive the Sharda Lippi. The decline in the usage of Sharda Lippi in the valley over the historical time was one of the ways of ethic cleansing , opined Prof. Pandita.

The dignitaries and invited guests also released  the book titled “ Vitasta ki Thirakti Urmia” written by Late Dr. Badri Nath Kalla, President Medal awardee , a noted scholar of recent times on Sanskrit and Sharda.  Prof. Pyare Lal Hatash, a well known Sanskrit  scholar  paid rich tribute the Late Dr. Kalla and also read out voluminous contribution made by Dr. Kalla in the field of Sharda and Sanskrit during his lifetime.

Sh. Ramesh Arora, MLC and Co-founder of Save Sharda Group was the Guest of Honour on the function. He appreciated the efforts of both Brahman Maha Mandal and Save Sharda Group in reviving the Sharda Lippi through public awareness programmes. He narrated the efforts made along with Sh. Ravinder Pandita in emphasizing the state and central government with regard to the significance of revered Sharda Temple to J&K Hindus and stressed the need for exploration of Sharda Peeth & Civilization.

The assembly of intellectuals and scholars dedicated to retain the past glory of the sacred temple resolved:

1.      To appeal UNESCO to declare the Holy Sharda Temple situated on the banks of Kishanganga, Neelum Valley, PoK as World Heritage Site;

2.      To inscribe Sharda script in the “Memory of World Register” at UNESCO;

3.      To approach Archaeological Survey of India and its counterpart in Pakistan to undertake conservation and preservation, immediately, of the said temple and site;

and

4.      To declare holy Sharda Temple as a pilgrimage site for J&K Hindus and permit them to visit the temple to pay obesciance at sanctum sanctorum, at least, once in a year.

The Committee has urged the Central Government to immediately take up the issue with Govt. Of Pakistan , so that kashmiris on both sides of LoC are allowed to undertake pilgrimages to boost heritage and religious tourism.




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