Aims & Objectives - Punjabics.com

Lahore

Speakers at colourful Visakhi Mela have pledged to promote the language and culture of
Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab. The colorful Spring Festival was organised by
Punjabi Parchar at Alhamra yesterday.

Provincial Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ali Khan was the chief guest of the occasion.
“Like the cultures of other provinces are promoted through local dresses and other traditional
items, we will continue our struggle to keep the Punjabi culture alive,” Mashhood told the
gathering in a jam-packed hall. The Punjab government will also make special arrangements
to include Punjabi language as a compulsory subject on school and college level, the minister
said.

“For this purpose, the government will also move a motion in Punjab Assembly,” he added.
Punjabi Parchar director Ahmad Raza, who stressed the need of making Punjabi a compulsory
subject on secondary level, said the Punjabi language also needs to be promoted to help
overcome extremism, as it is the language of Sufi saints.

“Punjab is a land of peaceful people who share a common language, and live in harmony
despite being practicing separate faiths,” Mr Raza added. Highlighting the importance of
Visakhi Mela which marks the harvesting season in Punjab, he said such festivals represent
the biggest occupation of Punjab, which is agriculture.

“Such festivals are aimed at promoting the culture of peace and brotherhood, which is the
soul of Sufi teachings,” the Punjabi Parachar director stated. During the Visakhi Mela,
different literary sessions and traditional music and dances were presented by local artists.
At the end of the ceremony, awards were distributed among cricketer Imran Nazir, Deep
Syeda, Nadeem Abbas, Afzal Sehar, Baba Najmi, Iftikhar Thakur, Syed Noor, Shaukat Ali,
Rashid Mehmood, Amjad Karim Randhawa, Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad and Surraya Khanum.

Source:Pakistan Today, APRIL 8, 2016

Punjabi Parchar spreads colours of love at Visakhi Mela