Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 22: Former minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla today said that there was a need to promote the local languages in the State.
Talking to various Sikh deputations here today, Bhalla said J&K is the only State in the country where one finds so many languages being spoken by people. It should be a matter of pride for us that there is so much diversity of languages in the State. People of Jammu and Kashmir speak around eight languages – Kashmiri, Hindi, Dogri, Gojri, Ladakhi, Pahari, Balti and Urdu and discrimination with others is unjustified.
While reacting over the implementation of Government order No 333-Edu of 2017 by which Kashmiri, Dogri and Bodhi languages are made compulsory in 9th and 10th standard in the area where these languages are spoken as mother tongue, Bhalla said that it is a humiliating attack on the Punjabi language. He said Punjabi has been one of the oldest languages in the State, but now unfortunately it has been withdrawn and eliminated from schools under the new circular of education department.
“Present State Government has divided the State on the basis of language and most of the Punjabi speaking population in J&K will be deprived of any further education in their mother tongue Punjabi. It’s highly unfortunate that such an order has been issued by the state government,” Bhalla said.
Bhalla claimed that because of Punjabi language having been given recognition and guarantee under Article 146, Schedule VI of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, it becomes obligatory on the part of J&K Government to make all efforts for the promotion of this language in addition to other languages, he added.
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