Kuldip Nayyar inaugurates Conference of Persian Teachers

Amritsar, Dec 27 (UNI) Veteran journalist and former Rajya Sabha MP Kuldip Nayyar today inaugurated the Conference of Persian Teachers, advocating one common market from Iran to Myanmar.

''All borders should only be laqeers (lines). India has good relations with Iran and Afghanistan. They are from one culture having similar way of living,'' Mr Nayyar said while addressing the delegates at an international session of 28th All India Persian Teachers Conference at Guru Nanak Dev University here.

History writing should be assigned to International Commission and we should strive for a new region full of democratic values and secular ethos, he said expressing hope that proper functioning of democracy in Iran and Afghanistan would enrich cultural interaction in Asia.

More than 150 delegates from India, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan are participating in the conference, being held by the Department of Guru Nanak Studies of the University in collaboration with All India Persian Teachers Association.

Mr S M Nabi Zadeh, The Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr Sayed Makhdoom Raheen, The Ambassador of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Jathedar Joginder Singh, Vedanti of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib also expressed their views.

Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, highlighted the importance of Persian in the verses of Guru Gobind Singh in Zafarnama and writings of Bhai Nand Lal and expressed wish that the Persian scholars would help in the analysis of the Bani and Sikh religion.

Union Minister for Human Resources Development Arjun Singh, in his message which was read on the occasion, emphasised the significance of Indo-Persian poetry in Asia. A message from Mr Hamid Karzai, President of Afganistan was read in Persian.

Mr S M Nabi Zadeh, Ambassador of Iran in his address said the two countries had a common heritage and the Persian language has flourished in India. The young generation should be apprised about the importance of Persian language, he said.

Dr S Makhdoom Raheen, Ambassador of Afghanistan in India, spoke about close relations between the two countries noting that before Islam there was Budhhism in Afghanistan and Brahmins ruled the people there. He said that Afghanistan had produced a number of Sufi Saints.

UNI