KARACHI: Cultural Center of Islamic Republic of Iran, Karachi held a ceremony to award shields, certificates of appreciation and cash prizes among the successful students of the first Persian Language and Literature Olympiad in Sindh Province, says a Press release.
In this event, the director of Iran Culture Center Karachi, Dr. Saeed Talebinia, praised the participation of students in the Olympiad and said: This Olympiad was held for the first time in Sindh and participated by130 students from the Persian Department of University of Karachi, Imam Khomeini University, Al-Mustafa University, Jamiat Al-Zahra and students from Iranian school in Karachi. Out of the participating students of this competition, 14 participants were selected as position holders.
Talebinia said: “Persian language is one of the important academic and literary languages of the world; therefore, it is necessary for students and teachers who are interested in knowledge and literature to learn Persian.”
He said: “Persian was once the official language of Sindh for centuries, so the ancient historical, religious, literary and cultural heritage of this land is preserved in this language, therefore, it is necessary to learn Persian language for awareness regarding historical and cultural heritage of this region.
Talebinia said: “The leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is one of the most important and influential political and religious leaders in the world, whose strategies and political and religious statements have a great impact on the world’s political and intellectual scene. Therefore, it is necessary to learn Persian language to directly understand his speeches.”
Dr. Ramzan Bamri, chairman of the Persian Department, University of Karachi, in his speech called the first Persian Language Olympiad in Sindh a valuable initiative and said: Persian language is one of the best languages in the world in terms of literature. The world’s great literary masterpieces exist in this language.
Dr. Ramzan Bamri said: “The British made many conspiracies to eliminate the Persian language in Pakistan, but they did not succeed in eliminating the roots of the Persian language, because it has been the language of our ancestors. Our ancient poetry and our history is preserved in this language.
“No one can remove Persian from our hearts because the roots of Persian language are very strong and deep in Sindh, Balochistan and over all Pakistan. Maulana Rum, Saadi, Hafiz, Jami, Khayyam and other great poets have written poetry in this language.”
In this event, Dawood Mirza, a Persian language teacher of the Bohra community in Karachi, in his short speech explained the importance of Persian language and literature and said: Persian is one of the most beautiful languages in the world and the beauty and intellectual heritage of Persian literature has had a profound impact on my life. I have learned a lot from Persian language and literature.
Dawood Mirza asserted: “As a member of the Dawoodi Bohra community, I have a deep connection with the Persian language because the language of our community includes many Persian words and idioms.”
At the end of this ceremony, Director of Iran Culture Center, Talebinia, the Chairman of Persian Department, University of Karachi, Dr. Ramzan Bamri, Professor of Faculty of the Islamic Studies, University of Karachi, Dr. Jawad Hashmi, and the head of Jamiat Al-Zahra Madrasa, Tahira Fazali, distributed shields, certificates of appreciation and cash prizes among the 14 selected students of the Olympiad.
A large number of students including Persian professors, social personalities and media representatives participated in this event.