Raipur : On the occasion of Chhattisgarh Official Language Day, Tourism and Culture Minister Mr. Rajesh Agrawal attended the programme organised in the auditorium of the Culture Department as the chief guest. Raipur North MLA Mr. Purandar Mishra, Dharsiwa MLA Mr. Anuj Sharma, Chairperson of Chhattisgarh Film Development Corporation Ms. Mona Sen, Chairman of Chhattisgarh Sahitya Academy Mr. Shashank Sharma, Director of Culture and Official Language Mr. Vivek Acharya, Secretary of Chhattisgarhi Official Language Commission Dr. Abhilasha Behar were present in the programme. The guests were welcomed in the traditional Chhattisgarhi style by wearing Khumri. The most special thing about the programme was that all the guests gave their speeches in Chhattisgarhi.

Addressing in Chhattisgarhi, Minister Shri Agarwal said that efforts have already been made to include Chhattisgarhi in the Eighth Schedule, and now, with full preparation, a proposal will be sent to the Centre and this will be accomplished soon. Emphasizing the diversity of Chhattisgarhi spoken in different regions of the state, he cited the famous saying "Water changes every mile, language changes every four miles" and resolved to enrich the language by incorporating all dialects. He congratulated the litterateurs for their contribution to the Chhattisgarhi language and also released books written by Chhattisgarhi litterateurs. Minister Shri Agarwal visited the exhibition of Chhattisgarhi books set up in the Culture Department premises and also took a selfie at the selfie point.

Six litterateurs honoured, 13 books released

In the programme, Padma Shri Dharampal Saini (Jagdalpur), Sarla Sharma (Durg), S.P. Jaiswal (Surguja), Hemlal Sahu Nirmohi (Durg), Dr. Prakash Patangiwar (Raipur) and Kashi Sahu (Bilaspur) were honoured by the chief guests for their contribution to Chhattisgarhi language and literature.

Books written in Chhattisgarhi language were also released in the program which included "Chhattisgarhi in the Eighth Schedule" by Chief Editor Dr. Abhilasha Behar, Editor Dr. Sudhir Sharma, "Souvenir of Chhattisgarh Official Language Commission Provincial Conference 2024", "Suruj Khade Muhati Ma" by Shri Sadaram Sinha 'Snehi', "Hana ke Tarana" by Late Noharlal Sahu 'Adhamraha', "Bariwala" by Shri Maksudan Sahu, "Chhattisgarhi Shabd Samarth" by Shri Arvind Mishra, "More Chhattisgarh ke Mati" by Dr. Raghavendra Dubey, "Bhuniyan ke Bhagwan" by Dr. Kishan Tandon, "Maya ke Khondhra" by Shri Jamuna Prasad Chauhan, "Main Beta Kisan ke" by Dr. Narendra Verma, "Hamar Pariyavaran" by Dr. Vivek Tiwari, Late. "Shri Gau Ramayan" by Bhushan Lal Parganiha, "Ek Diya" by Shri Vikas Kashyap, "Man chaaga to kathauti me Ganga" by Shri Balram Mirza and "Maya Bhare Aankhi" by Mrs. Asha Jha are the most important ones.