J&K's maiden Urdu council constituted

JAMMU: A year after it was first announced, the state government on Friday finally constituted the first ever State Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (SCPUL), in a bid to promote the official language of Jammu and Kashmir.
Consisting of 39 members and to be headed by the education minister, Altaf Bukhari, the announcement for the council was reiterated by the Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu in the Assembly in his budget speech last month.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has expressed her happiness on the constitution of the council as she hoped that it will do wonders for flourishing of the language in the state.
"Urdu hai jiska naam, hamee'n jaante hain 'Dagh' / Sare jahan mein dhoom hamaari zabaan ki hai," Mehbooba shared a famous couplet on her Twitter account.
"The newly constituted J&K State Urdu Council for Promotion of Urdu Language will ensure that the language doesn't just live on, but flourishes," she added.
As per the official order in this regard, the council headed by the education minister will consist of 29 official and 10 non-official members.
While the official members include vice-chancellors of all central and state universities in the state, administrative secretaries of finance, school education, culture and law departments; secretary of the J&K academy of art, culture and languages, among others, the ten non-official members include Prof Hamidi Kashmiri, Prof Mohammad Zaman Azurdah, Prof Nazir Ahmad Malik, Prof Noor Mohammad Shah, Prof Ahmad Quddus Javed, Prof Zahoor-ud-Din, Wali Mohammad Aseer, Farooq Muztar, Khalid Bashir Ahmad and Javed Azar.
Pertinently, the Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu had announced for the constitution of the council last month in the Assembly during his budget speech.
"Urdu is not just the official language of the state and spoken in all its regions, it is also a vast repository of the cultural heritage of the Indian sub-continent, popularly known as Ganga-Jamni Tehzeeb," Drabu had said.
He had said the government had announced forming a Council for Promotion of Urdu Language last year, but that could not get fructified in time.
"This year, the proposed council will be formed without any further delay. I have set aside Rs 2 crore for this purpose," he had said.