JAMMU Aug 9: Senior Leader Aam Aadmi Party leader Gurmeet Singh Baaghi urged the Union Government and Chief Minister of the Union Territory of J&K, Omar Abdullah, to reinstate Punjabi as an official language in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Punjabi language is world-recognized and spoken by numerous communities. If other languages were added as official languages in J&K, why is Punjabi being eliminated from official language status in the UT of J&K?
Baaghi stated that the Sikh community had repeatedly made the request, yet no one had addressed it so far. The Sikh community have a lot of expectations from the government, and it is the government’s duty to fulfil the rightful demands of their people. He also stated that before the election, the National Conference made many promises ; now, after forming the government, it is their responsibility to fulfil all those promises.
He stated that Jammu and Kashmir was a part of Punjab during the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with Punjabi as one of the vernacular languages of the region. Punjabi was widely spoken there and is now the mother tongue of all Punjabis in the Jammu region, besides being spoken by the Punjabi community living in the Kashmir Valley. Many other countries have also recognized the Punjabi language , including Canada. Punjabi is widely spoken around the world , including inmajor countries like Australia and Canada ; even officials at several airports in Canada communicate in Punjabi.
Punjabi was a compulsory subject , like Urdu, in J&K until 1981. Regrettably, Punjabi was excluded from the list of languages under the Jammu and Kashmir Languages Bill, 2020, which was passed by both Houses of Parliament with avoice vote in September 2020 . Kashmiri, Dogri, and Hindi were included in the list of official languages in the Union Territory of J&K, in addition to the existing Urdu and English.
The Union Government’s decision to deliberately ignore the Punjabi language has created strong resentment among the minority community in J&K. The omission of Punjabi from the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill 2020 is an anti-minority move. On one side, the Centre Government talks about equality, and on the other side, a significant regional language of J&K has been overlooked. When the government is granting rights to all communities, why has the Sikh community been ignored? The Sikh community possesses a profound history of sacrifices for the country and has consistently strived for the well-being of society.
G.S. Baaghi remarked, “It’s regrettable that the Centre has not addressed the legitimate needs of Punjabi-speaking people and the minority community, even with support from various societal segments. The delay in taking any decision on declaring Punjabi as the official language of J&K has annoyed the Sikh community and the vast majority of people who speak Punjabi. The government ignored the Punjabi language, despite the fact that it has remained an important and well-spoken language in the erstwhile state. Punjabi is one of the most spoken languages in J&K, and people from all communities , religions , sections, and creeds advocate that Punjabi must be included in the official languages of J&K. Every language holds unique historical significance and thus deserves recognition. Despite demands from different sections of society and the minority community, nothing has been done in this context so far. Does the government consider minorities or Sikhs as second-class citizens? If not, then why are the basic demands of the Sikhs not fulfilled ? The Punjabi language represents the identity of Sikhs; it should be reinstated as the official language of the UT of J&K at the earliest.”