BANGALORE: It was a pleasant moment for Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh to recall his association with Urdu and make some promises for the betterment of the language.

He assured the Karnataka Urdu Academy that the Government will provide a site for the construction of Urdu Bhavan at Miller's Tank Bed and sanction funds for betterment of the language.

Mr. Singh was presenting the academy awards for 2004 to five eminent Urdu-speaking personalities and Academy Book Awards to three writers here on Thursday.

The Chief Minister, who recalled that his association with the language dates back to his school days, said Urdu was a beautiful language and has acquired a prominent place in the country.

His Government is committed for the betterment of the language and people speaking it, Mr. Singh said while pointing out at the selection of Mumtaz Begum as Mayor of Bangalore Mahanagara Palike on the 50th year of Karnataka Statehood day.

He said that the language cannot be improved within the four walls of Madrasas and there is a need for all sorts of help to teachers and academics for the spread of the language.

Although he began his speech in Kannada, he switched over to Urdu unable to resist his love for the language.

Quoting a shayari from Mugdum Moinuddeen to stress the richness of the language, Mr. Singh said that he has thousands of shayaris in his memory and he cannot quote them because of paucity of time.

On the occasion, the Honorary Awards for 2004 were presented to Hina Ruhi, Jabbar Jameel, Siddiq Alduri, Ikram Quavish and Abdul Khadeer.

The Book Awards were presented to Mir Fayaz Ali Qureshi, Anwar Meenai and Javid Rifai.

Principal Secretary to the Government, Department of Kannada and Culture, Usha Ganesh and Chairman of the Academy M.N. Sayeed were present.

The Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad, Obaid Siddiqui, presided over the programme.

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