Dogra pride our honour, won’t compromise: Rana

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU July 27: Senior BJP leader Devender Singh Rana today called for collective efforts to preserve the glorious Duggar heritage and promote one of the sweetest languages spoken beyond the territorial boundaries of the Jammu region.
“Mithi Ae Dogra Di Boli Te Khand Mithe Log Dogre” Rana said while releasing Dogri musical album ‘Aus Dogre Aa’ here, adding that the proud people of the land of warriors are highly assimilative in character and strong in their commitment.
He said: “Dogras believe in an inclusive way of life and respect all the languages but not at the cost of their pride and dominance over their culture, heritage and language”. However, he lamented over the growing trend of ignoring the mother tongue in the mistaken belief of English and other languages seen as a sign of modernity.
The richness of this language got a fillip when Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened his speech in Dogri saying ‘Aus Dogre Aan…..’ at a mega event in a Model Village near here early this year. “The Dogras were inheritors of a glorious saga of military power reflected by the bravery of General Zorawar Singh besides rich art and culture displayed by the likes of Padama Shri Padma Sachdev,” he said.
He complimented the artists, musicians, writers and intellectuals for their proactive role in sustaining and promoting their art and culture and congratulated the entire production team for their great effort in bringing out the album.
Responding to demand for setting up of a Dogri Satellite Channel, Rana assured that he will take up the matter with Lt. Governor Manooj Sinha and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anarug Thakur.
Chairperson Team Jammu, Zorawar Singh Jamwal lauded the efforts of the youngsters in the field of art and culture through the mediums of theatre, music and literary pursuits. The album has been dedicated to Padama Shri Late Padma Sachdev and Late Rakesh Singh Slathia.
The album, sung by Raman Slathia, Nirbhay Slathia, Vishal Gupta, Dinesh Singh, while lyrics penned by Padma Shree Late Padma Sachdev, is composed by Brij Mohan, music by Sahil Nath, directed by KK Malhotra with Assistant Director Prerna Sharma. The video editing is credited to Danish Mir.
Aman Singh, Surinder Singh Manhas, Jeevan Sharma, Keshav Hopra, Janak Khajuria, Madan Rangeela, Vikram Singh, Rahul, Chetan Singh Slathia, Shankar Singh Slathia, Dr. Rakesh Sharma, Keshav Jamwal and Dr Manohar Dansalia were part of the album.