Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 14: Girdhari Lal Raina, former MLC and spokesperson of BJP Jammu Kashmir, said that a language spoken by 0.16 percent population cannot claim the status of identity of Jammu Kashmir.
“Jammu Kashmir has a recorded history of more than five thousand years. Urdu became part of administration in 1889 only by replacing Persian imposed on the local population by foreign invaders and occupying barbarians,” he explained, in a statement, issued here today.
Recalling the 2011 Census of India record, G L Raina said that only 13,351 people in Jammu and Kashmir reported Urdu as their mother tongue. This figure represents a small fraction (0.16 percent ) of the total population of the region, he said.
“Making Urdu compulsory subject for eligibility for any post is not only discriminatory and unjustified but amounts to imposing it on others. If knowledge of Urdu or any other language is so crucial for the post of Naib Tehsildars in the Union Territory of Jammu Kashmir, the fairly selected candidates can be taught it during the training without violating the Right of equality enshrined in the Constitution,” Raina asserted, adding that this practice is adopted in several cases particularly related to judiciary.
“Imposing Urdu is undemocratic and anti-Jammu also as it excludes majority of youngsters belonging to Jammu region and minority community of Kashmir from competition,” he said and termed the latest advertisement notice of Service Selection Board as discriminatory, undemocratic and anti-Jammu.
Follow our WhatsApp channel