Uttarakhand CM calls for digitisation, promotion of local dialects, folk music, literature

Hindustan Times

09-06-2025

Dehradun, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday asked the Uttarakhand Bhasha Sansthan to work towards the digitisation of the state's dialects, folk music and literature, according to a statement.
Presiding over a meeting of the Sansthan, Dhami suggested a slew of measures for the promotion and preservation of the local dialects, folk tales and folk songs, an official release said.
The measures suggested by the chief minister include preparing a linguistic map of the dialects of Uttarakhand and organising a festival on the languages and literature of Uttarakhand.
Work should be done towards digitisation of dialects, folk songs and literature of Uttarakhand, he said.
For this, an e-library should be created. Apart from increasing the collection based on folk tales, audio visuals should also be made on them, he said. Speech, essay and other competitions in the local dialects should be organised in schools at least once a week, Dhami said.
A festival on the languages and literature of Uttarakhand should be organised and litterateurs from all over the country should be invited to participate in it, the chief minister said.
A linguistic map of the dialects of Uttarakhand should be made, he said.
It was decided at the meeting that Bhasha Sansthan will work towards promoting local dialects by preparing short videos to increase the interest of children towards folk languages.
It was also decided that the amount given under the Uttarakhand Sahitya Gaurav Samman will be increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹5 lakh 51 thousand. The state government will also give an honorarium of ₹5 lakh as a long-term service to literature.
A literary competition will be organised to encourage young writers in Hindi. Young writers in two age groups 18 to 24 and 25 to 35 will be included in it.
Along with making arrangements for mobile libraries in remote places of the state, it was agreed to take the help of big publishers to provide books and literature related to various subjects to the readers.
The Sansthan decided to do documentation to preserve Pandavani singing 'Bakna' prevalent in Jaunsar Bawar area of the state since ancient times. The Sansthan will compile the complete literature of renowned dramatist 'Govind Ballabh Pant'. It was also decided that works of Uttarakhand's litterateurs published in various Indian newspapers and magazines 50 to 100 years ago will be compiled.
Two literary villages will be built in the state for the creation of literature in the midst of nature.