Srinagar, Oct 9: Members of the Sikh community in Kashmir have called for official recognition, restoration and promotion of the Punjabi language in Jammu and Kashmir, urging the government to take concrete measures to safeguard the linguistic, cultural and educational rights of Punjabi-speaking people.
The demand was raised by Sikh youth activists, scholars and representatives of various community organisations at separate gatherings in Srinagar on Friday. While Sikh youth assembled at Lal Chowk to express solidarity with the Jammu Punjabi Morcha, members of the community from different walks of life gathered at Gurdwara Shaheed Bunga Sahib in Baghat Barzulla to press for the language’s due recognition and institutional support.
The gatherings were attended by representatives of the All Parties Sikh Coordination Committee, Punjabi Sahit Sabha, Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Akali Dal and other organisations, besides community leaders and youth activists.
Speaking at Lal Chowk, Sardar Angad Singh Khalsa said Punjabi was an integral part of the community’s cultural identity, history and heritage, and that its official recognition deserved priority consideration by the government.
“Punjabi is an integral part of our cultural identity, history and heritage. The demand for its official recognition is genuine, and the government should consider it on priority. The removal of Punjabi from the list of official languages has deeply hurt the sentiments of the Punjabi-speaking community,” he said.
Tejveer Singh, president of the J&K Youth Empowerment Society (YES), extended support to the Jammu Punjabi Morcha and urged the government to address the concerns of Punjabi-speaking people.
“Language is not merely a means of communication, it represents our history, traditions and collective identity. We urge the government to listen to the sentiments of the Punjabi-speaking people and take appropriate steps to promote and protect the language,” he said.
At Gurdwara Shaheed Bunga Sahib, community representatives, including Jagmohan Singh Raina, Ajeet Singh Mastana, Dara Singh, D.P. Singh, Dr Rekhi and Mangat Singh Jugnu, highlighted the historical, religious and cultural significance of Punjabi, particularly for the Sikh community.
They called for Punjabi to be given its due place in Jammu and Kashmir’s educational and administrative framework and demanded effective measures to promote its teaching in schools and other educational institutions.
The community members stressed that the preservation of Punjabi was essential to safeguarding Jammu and Kashmir’s pluralistic identity and longstanding tradition of communal harmony. They maintained that all languages deserved equal respect and institutional support.
The participants urged the government to initiate meaningful dialogue with community representatives and take concrete steps towards the recognition, preservation and promotion of Punjabi in Jammu and Kashmir.
