Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 29: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader, Iltija Mufti, today accused Omar Abdullhah-led Government of “systematically attempting to remove Urdu from administration, recruitment, and collective history of Jammu and Kashmir,” calling it an assault on “identity, culture and youth.”
Targeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during a press conference, who also heads the Revenue Department, the PDP leader asked, “Why are there so many repeated orders that undermine Urdu? Why do you want to remove Urdu from our collective history? You want to erase our past. You want to erase our future. So, you have no right to sit on that chair.”
She added that he had promised to protect Jammu and Kashmir’s identity during the elections. Click here to watch video
Referring to protests held a day earlier, Iltija said, “You all know that yesterday we protested against the removal of Urdu from the recruitment exam. Our protest was successful. We also had an argument with the police.”
She added that later the Chief Minister’s Advisor and the Deputy Chief Minister held a press conference denying any such plan. “Today, I am here to fact-check the claims of our Chief Minister,” she said.
The PDP leader claimed she had documentary proof and asserted that there is no doubt the Government is attempting to remove Urdu from the system, despite having “50 MLAs.”
Outlining a timeline, she alleged that the process began on July 9, 2025, when the Revenue Department ordered the digitization of records in English. “Despite knowing that all revenue records have been in Urdu for over 100 years, you said you would digitize only in English. You removed Urdu from the system,” she said, claiming this created confusion among officials.
She also cited changes to recruitment rules under SRO 74, alleging that on April 14, 2026, Urdu was removed as a requirement. “You do not need knowledge of Urdu,” she said, adding that the notification was issued “quietly, in the dark.”
Iltija emphasized that Urdu serves as a link language in the linguistically diverse region. “In Jammu and Kashmir, everyone’s mother tongue is different-mine is Kashmiri, someone else’s is Gojri, another’s is Pahadi-but we communicate with each other in Urdu,” she said, accusing the Government of attacking “the foundation of our history.”
Highlighting the employment impact, she said the move would harm local youth. “Our young men and women are already unemployed, and many are fluent in Urdu. Why do you want to exclude them from recruitment? This is also an attack on the youth of Jammu and Kashmir,” she said.
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