Pune: The Maharashtra government has earmarked ₹18 crore for activities leading up to and including the 100th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, scheduled to be held at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) in January next year, Marathi language minister Uday Samant announced on Thursday.
He said the government is committed to promoting, preserving and strengthening the Marathi language globally and urged organisers to ensure the landmark literary event reaches Marathi-speaking communities across the world.
Addressing a press conference after meeting office-bearers of the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad (MaSaP), Samant said the government has sanctioned ₹5 crore for organising the centenary literary convention in Pune and another ₹5 crore for 99 prelude literary conventions to be held across India ahead of the main event.
An additional ₹2 crore will be mobilised through corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds for 12 literary conventions abroad. Thirteen universities across Maharashtra will host youth literary conventions, each receiving ₹25 lakh, taking the allocation to ₹3.25 crore. The Marathi Language Department will also provide ₹50 lakh for exhibition stalls at the centenary convention.
Samant said the century-old tradition of the sammelan reflects the cultural richness of Marathi society and acknowledged the contributions of writers, poets and literary workers, particularly from rural Maharashtra.
{{/usCountry}}Samant said the century-old tradition of the sammelan reflects the cultural richness of Marathi society and acknowledged the contributions of writers, poets and literary workers, particularly from rural Maharashtra.
{{/usCountry}}Samant said dictionaries of Marathi dialects should be prepared to preserve them for future generations. Literary conferences, he said, are important platforms for safeguarding the language and culture and should encourage participation from all age groups.
The minister announced that the government will set up a translation committee in the name of former chief minister late Yashwantrao Chavan to translate quality Indian and international literature into Marathi, with a dedicated budget for the initiative. As part of the “Abhijat Saptah” celebrations, the state will organise the programme “Majhi Marathi, Abhijat Marathi” across 13 universities.
During the event, the state Marathi Development Institute handed over a cheque of ₹1 crore to the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad for strengthening the institution. Samant said a meeting chaired by the chief minister would soon be convened to review preparations for the 100th literary conference and other initiatives related to the promotion of Marathi language and literature.
Samant said efforts would be made to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the convention.
Referring to the recent controversy over the state’s three-language policy, Samant said that “false narratives” had been created around Marathi.
“During the elections, people were wrongly made to believe that the government would implement a three-language policy. We have always insisted on strengthening Marathi,” he said.
He maintained that the government had never taken any decision that undermined Marathi and reiterated that promoting the language remained its priority.
Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad president Yogesh Soman said several programmes would be organised in collaboration with the Marathi Language Department and the Sahitya Sanskriti Mahamandal to mark the centenary conference and promote Marathi as a classical language. Samarth Yuva Foundation president Rajesh Pandey called for a larger movement to promote Marathi and sought government support for global literary conferences and a meeting with representatives of Maharashtra associations from across the country.