NEW DELHI: Union minister of Culture Mahesh Sharma launched the 'Cultural mapping of India' on Saturday at Mathura, the religious place in UP and birthplace of Deen Dayal Upadhayay. While speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the government is planning to set up an academy to promote Braj Bhasha, a dialect of Hindi which is spoken primarily in Braj region.
“India's identity lies in its culture and people from all over the work come here to experience the traditions of braj,” Sharma said adding that the academy, Braj Sahitya Academy, most likely will be set up in Mathura.
Braj Bhasha, also called Braj Bhasa, Braj Bhakha, or Brij Bhasa, is a language descended from Shauraseni Prakrit and commonly viewed as a western dialect of Hindi.
The minister said that it is the dream of PM Narendra Modi that every artist in the country should get recognition and the government should provide a platform to artists so that they could showcase their talent. “We have started this scheme from Mathura and it will also be started in Shimoga Block in Shimoga District, Karnataka, Thanesar Block in Kurukshetra District, Haryana, Chauri–Chaura Block in Gorakhpur District in Uttar Pradesh & Saraikela Block in Saraikela-Kharsawan District in Jharkhand.”
Under the Cultural mapping initiative, the ministry has planned to hold talent hunt competitions with various rounds from Block level to National level. The scheme is set to cover all the blocks of the Country, involving a total of 6.40 Lakh villages over the span of next 3 years with a budget of about Rs 470 crore.