Govt forms state council to promote Urdu

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 23

To promote the state’s official language, the J&K Government today constituted the State Council for Promotion of Urdu language.

As per an order issued today by the Principal Secretary, Higher Education Department, Asgar Hassan Samoon, the council will be headed by the Education Minister.

The non-official members of the council are Prof Hamidi Kashmiri, Prof Mohammad Zaman Azurdah, Prof Nazir Ahmad Malik, Prof Noor Mohammad Shah, Prof Ahmad Quddus Javed, Prof Zahoor-ud-Din, Wali Mohammad Aseer, Farooq Muztar, Khalid Bashir Ahmad and Javed Azar.

The official members of the council include the Vice Chancellors of all Central and state universities, Administrative Secretaries of Finance, School Education, Culture and Law Departments, Secretary, J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, Director, State Council for Promotion of Urdu Language, Principal Information Officer, Director, Colleges, HoD of Urdu, University of Kashmir, HoD of Urdu, University of Jammu, HoDs of the Urdu Departments of MAM College, Jammu, Government Degree College (GDC), Poonch, GDC, Doda, GDC, Baramulla, GDC, Anantnag, Amar Singh College, Srinagar, GDC, Leh, and GDC, Kargil.

The announcement for the council was made by Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu during his Budget speech in the Assembly last month.

“Urdu is not only the official language of the state and spoken in all its regions, but itis also a vast repository ofthe cultural heritage of the Indian subcontinent, popularly known as Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb,” Drabu had said.