Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 29: Cautioning the State Government to understand sensitivities of the language issue in Jammu and Kashmir, senior PDP leader and MLC Vikramaditya Singh has sought to know whether the School Education Department was taking similar steps for promotion of Dogri in Kashmir division.
In a letter to the Education Minister Altaf Bukhari, Vikramaditya Singh has drawn attention of the Government towards the controversy surrounding alleged imposition of Kashmiri language in colleges across Jammu division and cultural invasion on Jammu.
“As you are aware, an order was issued from your department in July this year to Vice Chancellors of all Universities in the State to start post graduate classes in Kashmiri language. The Universities were asked to instruct all colleges to start the same at graduate level. There is apparently an order from the Education Dept. to reserve 40 posts of teachers to teach Kashmiri language in Jammu. The question many are posing, if the same steps are being undertaken to promote Dogri language in Kashmir division? The fear is that it is being viewed as a cultural invasion on Jammu. My advice is that it is a sensitive matter and needs to be looked at carefully by our Government,” he MLC.
In his written communication with the minister, Vikramaditya Singh has also enclosed his earlier letter, dated February 1, 2017, addressed to the then Education Minister, Naeem Akhtar, which pertains to inclusion of the period of Dogra rule in school text book.
“Till date, I have neither received a reply from him (Naeem Akhtar) nor from the department. I am sure you will appreciate that these are serious and sensitive matters on which the Government must be seen as taking action,” Vikramaditya Singh stresses.
In his earlier letter to Naeem Akhtar, the scion of erstwhile royal Dogra family had expressed his concern that a deliberate was being made post 1947 to sideline Dogra history and even show it in bad light.
The PDP MLC has also invited attention of the Education Minister towards rationalization/consolidation of schools in Urban as well as Rural areas, computer literacy in rural areas, formulating a well defined transfer policy for all ranks in education system, etc and hoped that his suggestions would be useful to address the concerns.
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