J&K Academy fails to confer best book awards announced in 2017

Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, Mar 1: Despite lapse of four years, the JK Academy of Art, Culture and Languages has failed to confer best book awards to nine renowned writers of J&K for the year 2016 announced in 2017. The award carried Rs one lakh in cash and a citation.
Since then the writers are running from pillar to post for receiving these awards but to no avail despite the fact that some of them are in old age and very curious of receiving the award in their life time. But the constant delay caused by the Academy has dashed their all hopes to ground.
One of the writers while talking to this reporter said that he is in advanced age of eighties and being at the fag end of his age he does not even know whether he will be given the award in his life time or not.
If the writer gets the award in his life time he considers it a great achievement for him in the literary field and can celebrate the same with his family members, relatives, friends and neighbours and what is the fun if the same is given to him posthumously, he said showing his serious concern over the delay in organizing the award ceremony for last four years to present these awards to the writers.
He said some of the awardees like him must be running in eighties and like every human being, they have a dream to receive the award in their life time to confirm and enjoy recognition. It is the question of recognition which matters more to old people, he added.
Among the nine languages, the best book award in Kashmiri was shared by two writers while in other languages the award was announced for one writer in each language including Dogri, Pahari, Gojri, Urdu, Hindi, Sheena, Punjabi and Ladakhi.
The nine writers who were selected for best book awards under the auspices of JK Academy of Art, Culture and Languages included Puran Chand Bargotra in Dogri for his book Shabd Shabd Sarmath, Makhan Lal Pandita in Kashmiri for his book Saaz Bonen Hund and Satish Vimal also in Kashmiri for his book Siyah Var, Hamdam Kashmiri in Urdu for his book Waraq Sada, Abdul Rashid Qureshi in Pahari for his book Likhraan Payar Diyaan, Taj Ud Taj in Gojri for his book Khab Saloona, Khanpo Konchokthupstan in Ladakhi for his book Daton Jon Nuj Gulrgyan, Divendder Vishwanagrik in Punjabi for his book Shabd Shabd Zindgi, Sanjeev Baseen in Hindi for his book Kab Subah Hogi and Ahmed Jawan in Sheena for his book Bizoo.
These books were written in 2016 and awards were announced in June 2017 since then the Academy failed to host the award ceremony function to confer the same to the authors. Perturbed over the constant delay in this regard some of the authors have even now knocked the doors of Lt Governor, J&K, Manoj Sinha seeking his intervention in the matter.
However, according to source, the awards for the best books in different languages could not be announced for next few years due to certain reasons as the announcement for the awards for best books of 2017 was also in initial stage after the imposition of Governor rule next year.
Later in 2019, the process could not be carried forward after the State was converted into UT and the different committees of the Academy became defunct as the constitution of the Academy has also to undergo a change under the new setup.
Admitting that there has been a constant delay in organizing the award ceremony to confer these awards to the authors, Muneer-ul-Islam, Secretary Culture told Excelsior that not only these awards but there are other more issues which have to be settled by the Academy. But after the conversion of J&K State into Union Territory (UT) in October, 2019 the constitution of the Academy has also changed as earlier it was formed under J&K State Constitution and now it will be under UT concept and rules and regulations will be framed under the UT concept now. He said that the Central Committee and General Council of the Academy are also to be constituted now.
But he showed the optimism that the issue will be sorted out within a month or so and award ceremony will be held to confer the awards to the authors of the books.