Phagwara (July 6):- General Secretary of the Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha (Sekhon) Regd., Prof. Sandhu Varianvi, and Office Secretary, prominent folk poet Jagdish Rana, issued a press note to the media stating that an emergency meeting of the Sabha was held in Ludhiana under the chairmanship of President Pawan Harchandpuri and the leadership of General Secretary Prof. Sandhu Varianvi. After serious deliberations, the following important decisions were taken:
Personal letters will be written to the Chief Minister of Punjab, the Minister for Higher Education and Languages, and the Finance Minister regarding the demands of the Language Department and the Punjabi language. Emphasis will be placed on fulfilling the demands mentioned in the Sabha's memorandum and resolving critical issues concerning the Language Department. The Sabha also reviewed the statement given by the Language Minister regarding the Language Department of Punjab. Furthermore, the Sabha will write to the Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha requesting the mandatory use of the Punjabi mother tongue during the drafting of legislation.
Pawan Harchandpuri highlighted the current demands: doubts regarding the closure of the Language Department must be cleared; its financial management should be strengthened; all vacant posts must be filled; and the 'Lekhak Bhawan' (Writers' Building) must be immediately freed from NCC possession.
Other major demands include:
Amending the Language Act to make Punjabi mandatory from pre-nursery to the first grade.
Enacting a Library Act in Punjab.
Establishing a Punjabi Language Tribunal to ensure the strict implementation of Punjabi.
Ensuring every bill introduced in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha is drafted in Punjabi.
Immediately constituting the Language Advisory Board and announcing the pending awards for the last six years (since 2020).
Providing financial assistance for books and publishing pending manuscripts.
Granting literary pensions to impoverished writers.
Providing free bus travel facilities to writers, similar to Haryana.
Ensuring a speedy resolution to the court cases regarding previous awards and holding a meeting with the Kendri Sabha to resolve all outstanding issues.
In addition to Pawan Harchandpuri and Sandhu Varianvi, the meeting included Dr. Joginder Singh Nirala, Dr. Gurcharan Kaur Kochar, Amarjit Sherpuri, Surinder Pal Sharma, Sukhchain Thandewal, Jagdish Rana, Amrik Singh Talwandi, Surinder Sagar, Gulzar Singh Saunki, Sukhdev Singh Aulakh, Jaswinder Singh Jassi, Nakkash Chittiwan, Krishan Lal Faridkot, K. Sadhu Singh, Kulwant Bunga, Amarjit Aman, Darshan Singh Preetiman, and Mukhtiar Singh Bangar.