A deputation of All Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee Saturday called on Advisor to Lt Governor, KK Sharma and raised several issues related to inclusion of Punjabi as one of the official languages of Jammu and Kashmir.
The deputation was led by Sardar Baldev Singh, Chairman All Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee-Kashmir and Presidents of Gurudwara Prabandak Committees of Kashmir including S Santpal Singh, S Budha Singh, Dr Tara Singh, Dr Ravi Singh, S Inderjit Singh and S Bupinder Singh.
The deputation referred to the Bill approved by the Union Cabinet, in which Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi and English have been included as the official languages of J&K and Punjabi, which is mother tongue and spoken by majority of Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims living in J&K, has been excluded.
They maintained that language had been given the recognition and guarantee under Article 146, Schedule VI of the J&K Constitution. “Thus it becomes obligatory on part of the J&K government to make all the efforts for promotion of Punjabi language in addition to other regional languages,” they said.
The Advisor while interacting with the deputation assured them that the issue raised by them would be looked into and taken up with the concerned.