Hindi, Dogri among 5 official languages in J&K

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 2

In a major move after the Centre’s decision to do away with special provisions under Article 370 of the Constitution and reorganising the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir into two UTs, the government today approved a draft legislation to make Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi and English official languages of J&K.

The decision, once passed by Parliament and got Presidential assent, will change the recognition of Urdu as the sole official language of the erstwhile state. As of now, the official language of J&K is Urdu and Kashmiri is recognised as a regional language.

Briefing the media after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “The government has approved the introduction in Parliament the Jammu & Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, in which five languages — Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi and English — will be its official languages.”

Noting that the decision has been taken on public demand, Javadekar said the Bill was expected to be tabled in Parliament during the monsoon session, which is slated to begin from September 14.

The erstwhile state of J&K, comprising the Ladakh region, was stripped of its statehood and reorganised into two Union Territories in August 2019.

Cabinet okays draft bill; Over to Parliament

• The draft Bill proposes to include Kashmiri, Urdu, Dogri, Hindi and English as official languages of J&K
• It is expected to be tabled in Parliament during the monsoon session slated to begin from September 14

Why not Punjabi, it’s anti-minority: APSCC

Srinagar: The All-Party Sikh Coordination Committee (APSCC) on Wednesday flayed the Centre over the exclusion of Punjabi from the J&K Official Languages Bill, describing the move as “anti-minority”. Its president Jagmohan Singh Raina said before the abrogation of Article 370, “Punjabi was a recognised language duly certified by the Constitution of J&K.” PTI