Reading is a process of spiritual nourishment. Reading expands one's outlook, increases one's vocabulary, and makes one's speech more fluent. Reading a good work distracts a person from everyday worries, raises his morale and gives him peace of mind.
Yusuf Khos Hajib, a Turkic poet, thinker, and statesman, wrote in his work "Qutatgu bilig" ("Knowledge that leads to happiness"):
Learning is welcome,
knowledge is an honor,
Because of these two
he is a great person.
The great poet and thinker Alisher Navoi said that the book is a great teacher, the main source of knowledge and spiritual growth.
In the reign of our grandfather Amir Temur, there was "Dar ul-kutub" ("House of Books"), which was considered the largest and richest library of its time. Great attention has been paid to the preservation and preservation of unique books and manuscripts in this place of knowledge and enlightenment.
According to the researchers, Abdujabbar Khorazmi, Shamsuddin Munshi, Abdullah Lison, Badriddin Ahmad, No'moniddin Khorazmi, Khoja Afzal, Alouddin Koshi, Jalal Hokiyil, who were considered to be the most mature scholars of their time, carried out scientific and creative activities in the library of the palace in Samarkand under the patronage of Amir Temur.
Today, the development of reading in Uzbekistan has become one of the priorities of the state policy. The fourth of the 5 important initiatives put forward by our President is aimed at raising the morale of young people and widely promoting reading among them. Based on this initiative, "Yosh Kitabkhan" competitions are being held. Through this competition, thousands of young people were attracted to book reading, and the winners are given valuable prizes.
In internal affairs bodies, it has become a good tradition to hold the "Best Reader" contest every year, book fairs are often organized, and libraries are established.
At this point, I would like to pay special attention to the decision of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan on January 15 of this year "On measures to develop the reading culture and increase interest in reading among the population." According to the decision, the Fund for the Development of Literary Culture will be established under the Youth Affairs Agency.
Grants for young writers will be allocated through the competition at the expense of the fund, and their works will be published, and projects in the field of children's literature will be supported. When translating the best foreign literature into Uzbek and national literature into foreign languages, 50% of the costs of preparation and printing and 80% of the costs of copyright are covered.
Also, the "Book is a source of enlightenment" program will be implemented to promote reading among the population, especially among young people. "Traces of Jadidlar Izidan" reading clubs are organized in general educational institutions. Every quarter, the members of the most active "Traces of Jadidlar Izidan" reading clubs in the district (city) are encouraged.
From now on, a list of recommended professional activity literature will be created in the relevant field. A "Book corner" is organized in organizations of each system. A monthly "Book reading hour" is organized for employees. An internal reading rating system will be introduced. Based on the competition, the employee who read the most books will be given a monetary reward in the amount of 1 month's salary.
On February 24 of this year, during the dialogue of the head of our state with the youth in the Koksaroy residence, a task was set to prepare a collection of the best 100 works and deliver them to all schools and technical schools before the new academic year, and to reward the most active readers with 10 million soums. Also, a 7% loan mechanism for 3 years up to 1 billion soums was envisaged for entrepreneurs who opened a library, "book cafe" and bookstore and sold more than 10,000 books per month.
At the same time, it is necessary to dwell on one important change introduced into the legislation. According to it, if it is confirmed that he has read books from the list of literature approved in the prescribed manner, aimed at forming the correct spiritual and moral values in prisoners during the period of serving the punishment in the form of deprivation of liberty, the term of serving the sentence imposed on the prisoner can be reduced.In this case, it is envisaged that the sentence will be reduced to three days for each book read, but to a maximum of thirty days in one year. Except for those sentenced to life imprisonment.
So is any book useful? No, of course. If poor-quality food poisons the body, a poor-quality and harmful book poisons the human mind.
Harmfulness of the book is determined by its content, negative impact on the human psyche and norms of social decency. There is no need to read or print books that depict immorality, immorality, and lifestyles that are contrary to human values as normal.
Works that spread the seeds of extremism and enmity, cause national or religious conflicts, justify terror, and incite hatred towards other nations and peoples are also included in the list of harmful books. They emphasize stability, harmony, and tolerance in society.
Works that make a person despair and even commit suicide are harmful to mental health. Low-quality works that are products of "mass culture" do not give a person knowledge or spiritual nourishment. They only steal time, kill taste, limit thinking.
A book is a mirror of the soul. Through it, we understand ourselves, our identity, learn the heritage of our ancestors and lay the foundation for the future. If every member of the household reads useful books, this society will definitely progress and morale will rise. So let's keep in touch with this ungrateful friend. May the pleasure of reading never leave you.
Bobomorod TASHEV,
our own reporter.