Arunachal Assembly Speaker at RGU seminar
Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker P D Sona speaking at the inauguration of national seminar at RGU on October 17, 2019. Image: Northeast Now

Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker P D Sona on Thursday inaugurated a national seminar on the theme ‘Lok Kalayein Aur Siksha (Poorvottar Ka Vishesh Sandarbh)’ at the Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU).

Organized by the RGU’s Department of Hindi in collaboration with Bhartiya Sikshan Mandal, and National Sindhi Language Development Council from New Delhi and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute for Asian Studies, Kolkata, the two-daylong seminar would see the participation of renowned academicians from across the country.

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Speaking on the occasion, Sona said Arunachal Pradesh is a rich State in terms of folk arts and traditional knowledge.

However, the same is yet to be recognized by the rest of the world, he added.

Sona asked the mammoth gathering of intellectuals and academicians to explore the value of art and folk art and traditional education in an academic approach.

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He further appealed the scholars to come up with sound and solid outcomes for preservation, exploration and exhibition of the traditional knowledge system.

Mukul Kanitkar, national secretary of Bhartiya Sikshan Mandal, highlighted the folk tale and folk art of Arunachal Pradesh that reveals the life and purpose of an Arunachalee.

He expressed how coming to the State has nurtured into him a feeling of coming into the mainstream of civilization and has helped him explore the essence of interpersonal relationship that teaches a lot of things to the mankind.

“If art is not part of education then the proposed education becomes meaningless. There must be the aesthetics in art, and Arunachal is the place which can provide the same to the world,” Kanitkar said.

IGNOU, New Delhi pro vice-chancellor Professor Satyakam, Baba Saheb Ambedkar University, Lucknow chancellor Dr Prakash Bartunia, Central Agricultural University, Imphal vice-chancellor Professor Premjit Singh, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute for Asian Studies, Kolkata director Dr Sashi Kumar, National Sindhi Language Development Council, New Delhi member Professor Sangeeta  Bapulani and RGU vice-chancellor Professor Saket Kushwaha also spoke at length on the folk culture, tradition and art of Northeast and their relevance in national and international contexts.

The dignitaries also released a souvenir to mark the occasion.