JAMMU, Jul 14: The BJP legislative party on Monday staged a protest outside the Civil Secretariat and Assembly here, demanding the immediate revocation of a government order making Urdu a compulsory language for the Naib Tehsildar recruitment examination in Jammu and Kashmir.
The saffron party, which has been opposing the order for over three weeks through district-level rallies and protests across Jammu, warned of launching a region-wide agitation if the directive is not withdrawn.
Carrying placards denouncing what they called injustice against Jammu’s youth, Dogras, and other official languages of the Union Territory, BJP MLAs gathered outside the Secretariat in the morning, raising slogans against the government and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
“We are staging this dharna because making Urdu mandatory for Naib Tehsildar exams is completely unacceptable,” said BJP MLA and former minister Sham Lal Sharma. “This is yet another instance of discrimination by Kashmir-centric parties, particularly the National Conference, which have sidelined Jammu for decades.”
Sharma alleged that the order aims to deny job opportunities to Jammu’s youth by privileging one language over others officially recognised in the Union Territory. “By doing this, NC rulers have reversed earlier provisions where Urdu was not compulsory. It clearly discriminates against other official languages like Dogri and Hindi,” he added.
Highlighting the party’s sustained opposition, Sharma said memorandums had been submitted to the Lieutenant Governor through deputy commissioners, and 14 BJP MLAs had even met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who had shown a “positive approach.” “Still, no action has been taken, and tomorrow is the last day to apply,” he noted. “They are forcing us onto the streets. Today’s two-hour-long token dharna by all 28 BJP MLAs is just the beginning. The party will soon announce its next course of action,” he warned.
Echoing Sharma’s concerns, BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi termed the move a “gross injustice” to Jammu’s youth and a deliberate attempt to deny them equal opportunities. “This imposition of Urdu reflects the same divisive policies once pursued by the Omar Abdullah-led government,” Sethi said, adding, “We will not tolerate the repetition of such injustice.”
The MLAs collectively asserted that mandating Urdu violates the equal status granted to all five official languages of Jammu and Kashmir — Dogri, Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu, and English — and marginalises large sections of youth from the recruitment process.
“We are warning the government not to play with the sentiments of the people of Jammu, who are fed up with decades of discrimination,” Sharma concluded.
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