Sopore, Oct 4: Speaker of the J&K Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather on Sunday paid rich tributes to late educationist and historian Atiqa Bano, saying she had “written the history of J&K without using a pen” through her decades-long efforts to preserve the region’s heritage.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the Youm-e-Meeras programme organised at Meeras Mahal, Sopore, in memory of the late Atiqa Bano, Rather said the museum established by her represented an important part of the history of Jammu and Kashmir.
“I feel that the deceased has written the history of her state. She has not written it with a pen,” Rather said.
He said the objectives she had set and the material preserved at the museum “repeat the history of this place”.
The Speaker said he was impressed by the museum, which, according to him, was built through nearly four decades of hard work. He described it as a unique initiative, pointing out that it was the first private institution of its kind in the region.
The Speaker appealed to people to extend support to the museum so that it could be developed further and become a resource for future generations.
“This will make it very easy for our children to understand what we were, what we did, at which stage, and where we have reached today,” he said.
On the demand for granting district status to Sopore, Rather said he would support MLA Irshad Rasool Kar in raising the issue with the government.
“I will give him plenty of time to raise and pursue this issue. Wherever he feels that I can help him, I will definitely help him,” the Speaker said.
On the functioning of the Legislative Assembly and the demand for translation facilities for Kashmiri, Rather said the government was working on a mechanism to facilitate the use of the Kashmiri language in the House, acknowledging that the absence of translators was currently preventing members from having their Kashmiri interventions officially recorded.
“The government has to look into many angles. Currently, we don’t have any translator in the Assembly, which often becomes a hurdle in speaking in Kashmiri. Efforts are on to address this concern in future,” Rather said.
The Speaker also clarified that he had not barred any legislator from speaking in Kashmiri, saying the difficulty was limited to recording the remarks in the absence of a translator.
“I told those who tried to speak in Kashmiri language that they can use the language, but it can’t be recorded as we don’t have a translator in the Assembly currently,” he said.
Earlier, the issue came to light after NC legislator Mubarak Gul spoke in Kashmiri during the Autumn Session but was informed that his remarks would not be recorded due to the absence of a translator in the House.
The Speaker further said that a procedure had to be followed for translating Kashmiri into other languages.
“Things do not work by only saying. We have to create posts and arrange staff for this,” he said.
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