Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday urged the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir to immediately restore to the Punjabi language its due status as an official language in the State.
The Union Cabinet has approved a bill, under which Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi, apart from the existing Urdu and English, will be the official languages in the union territory.
Drawing the attention of the Lt Governor to “reports of the discriminatory exclusion of the Punjabi language as one of the official languages of the Jammu and Kashmir,” in a letter released here this afternoon, Badal pointed out that “Punjabi is not only the mother tongue of a very significant part of the people of the state but it was also a recognised language duly certified in the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Stating that the SAD had always been in the forefront in the fight for justice for the mother tongue of crores of Punjabis, Badal declared that the party “would not hesitate to do so in future also.”
The SAD president pointed out that the Punjabi language had profound religious, cultural and emotional implications for the Sikh community. “As such, the exclusion of Punjabi as an official language in Jammu and Kashmir is bound to be seen as an anti-minority and is certain to be seen as an anti-Sikh step of the J and K administration”. Mr Badal also cautioned that “decisions such as these provide dangerous propaganda ammunition to those who are always looking for such opportunities to disturb peace and communal harmony in the country, especially in the sensitive border states of Punjab and J and K. “
The Akali leader described the move as “violative of the spirit that runs through every word of the Constitution of India which stands for unity in diversity”. He said the move would deliver “a severe blow to the idea of cooperative cultural and political federalism in the country.” He said the Founding Fathers of the Indian Constitution were inspired by a vision of India as a multi religious, multicultural and multilingual nation. “Respect for regional languages was seen as a significant tool for preserving and promoting this ideal.”
Pointing out that Punjabi language featured prominently among the officially recognised languages in the Constitution and was also the mother tongue of all Punjabis across the globe,” Mr Badal emphasized the special status of the language in Punjab and its neighbouring states such as Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan , Delhi and J and K.
EXCLUSION OF PUNJABI AN ATTACK ON FEDERAL STRUCTURE, SAYS PB MINISTER CHANNI
Punjab Cabinet Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has also flayed the Centre over the exclusion of Punjabi language from the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, terming it as an attack on the federal structure of the country.
Channi, while dubbing the decision "anti-minority", said the BJP-led Union government and the Shiromani Akali Dal, which is part of it, are “equally responsible” for this move against the regional languages. In a statement, Channi said Punjabi was a part and parcel of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir before the abrogation of its special status. The minister said Punjabi was popular among a large population of Jammu and Kashmir and the move has hurt sentiments of lakhs of Punjabi-speaking people there.
By excluding the Punjabi language, the Government of India has taken an extreme step which has caused resentment among minorities not only in Jammu and Kashmir, but amongst all Punjabi-speaking population of the country, said the minister. It is another attack on the federal structure of the country, he said. Channi Punjabi is not only one of the main languages in Punjab but also in all adjoining states like Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
The minister said even countries like Canada and the UK have given due recognition to Punjabi language at international level but in its own country, the BJP-led government has done this “shameful act”. Channi said the Union government has to face consequences of the “dictatorial” steps against the minorities. He appealed to the Centre to review this “discriminatory move” and demanded that an amendment should be made in the bill to include Punjabi.