JAMMU, Oct 13: The Jammu and Kashmir unit of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has urged the Central Government to grant official language status to Punjabi in Jammu and Kashmir. Party president Manish Sahni said Punjabi is an integral part of the region’s rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity and deserves due recognition and respect.
Addressing the media at the party office while holding placards in support of Punjabi, Sahni said, “Grant Punjabi its rightful status and stop politicising language.”
He pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, passed by Parliament in September 2020, recognised Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, Urdu and English as official languages, but left Punjabi out. Punjabi is one of the 22 languages included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution and has deep historical and cultural roots in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sahni urged the Central Government to make the necessary amendments to the Act to grant Punjabi the status of an official language in the Union Territory.
“Dogri is our pride, Punjabi our heritage, and Kashmiri an important part of our cultural identity. Giving recognition to one language cannot mean disrespecting another,” he said.
Sahni emphasised that language is a medium of connecting people, not dividing them. Granting official recognition to Punjabi, he said, would not be against any other language but would reflect respect for linguistic diversity, shared heritage and communal harmony.