Exclusion of Punjabi from the Jammu and Kashmir languages bill is “an anti-minority move”

Sikh groups and political parties have blasted the Indian government for excluding Punjabi from the Official Languages Bill of Jammu and Kashmir. 

Punjabi had been a recognised language certified by the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, and is spoken by hundreds of thousands of people in the region. The criticism came just hours after the government approved a bill, under which Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi will be added to Urdu and English as the official languages in the Union territory.

The The All Party Sikh Coordination Committee (ASPCC) has called the exclusion “extreme” and “anti-minority”, sentiments that were echoed by Punjab’s former deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. The Congress Party also described it as “another move that exposes the anti-minority mindset of the BJP”, while Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state president, Bhagwant Mann, condemned the decision and said he would raise the issue in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.

“Exclusion of Punjabi from the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill 2020 is an anti-minority move,” APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said in a statement. He added that Punjabi was until recently part and parcel of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and that the move had “badly bruised the sentiments of the minorities, more so those belonging to the Sikh community”.  Raina demanded that an amendment should be made in the bill and Punjabi should be included in it.

Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar criticised the BJP party, currently in office, over the decision. “The move reflects the mindset of the incumbent regime, and it’s because of this mindset that no minority community in the country feels secure — be it surrounding their religion, language or culture. This speaks dangerously about our democracy and our social fabric,” he added. “The government should notify Punjabi language as an official language,” he added.

Upon news of the exclusion of Punjabi, protests erupted in the region. Supreme Sikh Organisation (SSO) chairperson Gurmeet Singh warned the demonstrators said they would intensify their struggle if their demand is not met.

“We held this rally to express our anger over the step-motherly treatment being meted out to Punjabi-speaking people and injustice with the Sikh community at large. We want the Centre to include Punjabi and other regional languages in the official list,” he said. “Punjabi belongs to all and not only to Sikhs.”