Signboards displaying information in Hindi and English in Kashmir have stoked criticism that Urdu, which served as the Valley’s official language for over a century, is being sidelined.
Social media handle Kashmir Tweets on Friday uploaded a picture of a signage of the income tax department installed by the Srinagar municipality in Rajbagh. “Has Hindi replaced Urdu as the official language in J&K? @SMC_Srinagar please clarify!” the handle posted.
The post triggered a backlash, with some suggesting a deliberate attempt to erase Urdu. “Kashmir has almost zero familiarity with Hindi while an overwhelming majority can read Urdu. It’s the first time that I’m seeing a Union government signboard in Hindi and English only, without Urdu,” former minister and PDP leader Naeem Akhtar claimed.
The controversy reared its head when lieutentant governor Manoj Sinha is scheduled to attend “Hindi Rangmanch-Humari Bhasha, Humari Pehchaan” at Tagore Hall in Srinagar on Saturday.
Urdu became the official language of Jammu and Kashmir in 1889 after Maharaja Pratap Singh issued an order replacing Persian with it.
After Independence, Urdu and English served as the official languages of Jammu and Kashmir.
A year after the 2019 scrapping of special status, the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act expanded the list of official languages to include Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi.
Last month, the Central Administrative Tribunal decided to drop Urdu as a mandatory qualification for candidates applying for Naib-Tehsildar posts in the Union Territory.
Though the Srinagar municipality falls under the Omar Abdullah-led government, the NC legislator from Lal Chowk, Ahsan Pardesi, distanced the administration from the controversy. “Such initiatives are not sanctioned by our government,” he said.
Srinagar municipal commissioner Faz Lul Haseeb did not respond to calls and messages from this newspaper.