PDP, NC defend Urdu in govt exam, say has been official language for 130 years

In the wake of protests by aspirants and Jammu-based political parties over Jammu and Kashmir government’s decision to make Urdu test mandatory for the Naib Tehsildar selection exam, Kashmir-centric PDP has said that “seeing Urdu through a regional prism is a grave mistake”.

The Jammu-based aspirants and political parties have criticised the J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB) notification, which made it mandatory for the applicants for Naib Tehsildar posts to have working knowledge of Urdu. Jammu being predominantly Hindi and Dogri speaking region, many aspirants do not have the knowledge of Urdu language.

In a post on X, PDP MLA Waheed Para stated, “Seeing Urdu through a regional prism is a grave mistake. Urdu has been official language of J&K for over 130 years adopted not by force, but by consensus, as a unifying and practical choice. Urdu isn’t just a language it’s part of shared identity, belonging, beyond region or religion”.

Meanwhile, National Conference (NC) MLA and chief spokesperson, Tanvir Sadiq, in a statement said, “We believe that the place of Urdu in our revenue, judicial, and administrative system is rooted in history, not in any political or sectarian agenda. Urdu became the official administrative language of J&K over 130 years ago during Maharaja’s reign, evolving naturally as a unifying and functional language for all regions and communities”.

He said that it has since formed the backbone of our governance from revenue records, land settlements and court judgments to legal correspondence and continues to serve as the working language for vast volumes of existing official documents.

“The system, the records, and the legal processes were all built around it. Any attempt to undermine Urdu’s role today would not only be historically dishonest but would create immense administrative and legal complications, risking serious disruption in governance” he said.