Out of 230 local languages, only 23 have survived: Dr.Neelima Kanwar

Faculty Development Programme at HMV
Jalandhar, May 25, 2017: Under the able guidance of Principal Prof. Dr.(Mrs.) Ajay Sareen, the Faculty Development Programme on ‘Recent Trends & Advancements in Research in the Field of Languages and Social Sciences’ is being organized jointly by English, Hindi and Punjabi Departments at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya.
The speaker, Dr.Neelima Kanwar, Professor in the UGC Centre for Australian and New Zealand Studies, H.P.University, Shimla, was welcomed by Principal Prof.Dr.(Mrs.) Ajay Sareen and the Conveners Mrs.Kawaljit Kaur (HOD, Punjabi) and Mrs.Mamta (HOD, English) with a bouquet. Prof.Neelima’s academic profile was read by Mrs.Ramnita Saini.
Prof.Neelima concentrated on Australian literature giving historical record of Australia and New Zealand. Australian society, she said, comprises aboriginals, the settlers and the immigrants. She also talked about the problem of racism in Australia. Out of 230 local languages, she believed, only 23 have survived. She also made distinction between English and englishes of the world. In the present scenario, TV, films and books all fall under the same category and called texts. She also satisfied the queries of the audience. She showed the audience a documentary Stolen Generations, a story of three children coming home after having been captured and taken away. Dr. Neelima explained the message and motive of the documentary. The Principal, Dr. (Mrs.) Ajay Sareen, thanked the speaker for her enlightening lecture.
In the afternoon session, Dr.Harmahinder Singh Bedi, a renowned scholar of modern Indian languages, extolled the Sanskrit language which is believed to be the mother of all languages. Sanskrit, according to him, contributes 80% words to Punjabi vocabulary. All Indian languages are related to one another closely. Hindi does not have any conflict with regional languages. Talking about anthropology of Punjab, Dr. Bedi said that Rig Veda was composed on the banks of the river Beas in ancient times. He also said that Punjab and Punjabi contributed much to Hindi literature. In the last session of the day, Mr. Shan Chaudhary, Vastu Expert, shed light on the science of Vastu and how, in the making of a house, all the four directions and five elements contribute to hale, healthy and peaceful living of human beings. On this occasion, Conveners Mrs. Kawaljit Kaur (HOD, Punjabi) and Mrs. Mamta (HOD, English), Mrs. Kranti Wadhawa, Mrs. Archana Kapoor, Mrs. Ramnita Saini Sharda, Mrs. Kuljit Kaur, Mrs. Veena Arora, Dr. Jyoti Gogia (HOD, Hindi) were also present.