Connecting Urdu with identity of Jammu Kashmir obnoxious: Girdhari Lal Raina
Jammu, 14 June 2025: A language spoken 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 local population by foreign invaders and occupying barbarians.
This was stated by Girdhari Lal Raina Ex-MLC and spokesperson of BJP Jammu Kashmir. 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%) of the total population of the region.
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 forpost 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. 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.
GL Raina strongly criticized imposing of Urdu on non-Urdu knowing people of Jammu Kashmir. He termed the latest advertisement notice of service selection board as discriminatory, undemocratic and anti-Jammu.
Appreciating timely action of the leader of opposition, Raina added that there is a brewing resentment among the people of State especially those living in Jammu region over inclusion of Urdu as a compulsory descriptive subject in the syllabus of written test for the post of Naib Tehsildars.
He said it is not known why Urdu will be a compulsory language in Jammu and why not Hindi which is a national language. He said such a step will have a negative effect on the youth of the region.
