Srinagar Aug 18: Department of Urdu, University of Kashmir (KU) began a  two-day international conference on “Environmental Literature and Criticism in Urdu” at the Main Campus.
The conference  aims to bring together faculty members, researchers, students and literature enthusiasts from various across the globe to deliberate on the emerging field of environmental literature and its critical dimensions in Urdu.
Presiding over the inaugural session, Vice-Chancellor KU, Prof. Nilofer Khan described the conference theme as one of the significant academic concerns of the contemporary era.
“Literary and research activities centred on environment and nature are important in the contemporary context. Such academic initiatives help broaden the scope of research and critical inquiry in Urdu literature," she said.
Dean Academic Affairs, KU, Prof. Shariefuddin Pirzada, highlighted the interrelationship between nature, environment and human life as reflected in Urdu literature. He emphasised the need for sustained academic and research engagement with environmental literature and criticism.
Delivering the keynote address, former Head, Department of Urdu, University of Delhi, Prof. Irtiza Karim, noted the significance of environmental literature and criticism and drew attention to contemporary environmental challenges and their impact on human life and civilisation.
Head, Department of Urdu, University of Jammu, Prof. Shahab Inayat Ahmad Malik, and former Director, Centre for Distance and Online Education KU,  Prof Shafiqa Parveen, also shared their views on the theme. They described environmental literature and criticism as highly relevant to contemporary academic discourse and highlighted various dimensions of the subject and its importance for the advancement of Urdu literary studies.
Former Head, Department of Urdu, and Dean Faculty of Arts, Prof. Nazir Ahmad Malik, emphasised the importance of promoting environmental  consciousness through Urdu literature.
Earlier, in his welcome address Head, Department of Urdu, KU, Prof. Irfan Ahmad, highlighted the significance of the conference theme, observing that environmental and ecological concerns have increasingly affected human life in the contemporary era.
The two-day conference will continue with academic deliberations on various literary and critical dimensions of environmental concerns in Urdu literature.
The proceedings of the session were conducted by Dr. Mushtaq Haider, and vote of thanks was proposed by
Dr. Kausar Rasool, faculty members at Department of Urdu KU.