PIL for Hindi as official language

JAMMU: In a Public Interest Litigation seeking direction to government to declare Hindi as the official language of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir or Hindi language as one of the language in use in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir in terms of Section 47 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act 2019, the J&K High Court sought reply from the UT administration.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Sanjay Dhar issued notices to Secretaries of GAD, Department of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Home Department and Financial Commissioner Revenue Department and directed them to file their reply.
During the course of hearing counsel for the petitioner submitted that right from the very inception of erstwhile state of J&K the commonly used language in the Province of Jammu is Dogri and Hindi.
“All the government and private schools in Jammu province, Hindi language has remained a compulsory subject upto 10th standard and Urdu as a optional subject. Also the people of Jammu has become constant victim of this language barrier which has been slapped over them by the administration in the erstwhile state. This discrimination is in force right from the day of accession of J&K and is still holding its feet even after the abrogation of Article 370 viz-a-viz, the J&K reorganization Act, 2019,” said the PIL.
“Our revenue record and police record is in Urdu language because of which the people of Jammu Province has to be at the receiving end always and even as per the High Court Rules, a translated copy is required to be submitted which makes it difficult for judiciary as well as the people,” it added. JNF