. SRINAGAR: J&K administration’s move to remove Urdu, previously a mandatory qualification for revenue services, from the newly amended draft recruitment rules has sparked a political row in the Union Territory. The decision comes nearly a year after BJP protested and sought revocation of a govt order that made Urdu a compulsory subject for the naib tehsildar recruitment exam in J&K.PDP termed it a deliberate attempt to sideline and erase Urdu from the region’s administrative framework, even as BJP called it a “course correction”, insisting that any of the five official languages in J&K should be made a criterion for qualifying for revenue services.For generations, Urdu been the backbone of revenue records, land documentation, and official communication in the UT, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said. “Diluting its role is not only culturally insensitive but also administratively unsound. Removing Urdu from revenue services will create practical challenges in handling existing records and weaken the continuity of governance,” she said, adding that PDP views this decision as part of a broader pattern of undermining the linguistic and cultural identity of J&K.“Urdu has not been removed. It has been removed as the sole mandatory language for qualification,” BJP general secretary Ashok Koul said, adding that since J&K has five official languages, candidates should have knowledge of any one to qualify, and land records should be made available in all official languages.The row began after the revenue department on April 10 issued a draft of Jammu and Kashmir Revenue Service Recruitment Rules for non-gazetted posts, inviting objections within 15 days of the notification. According to the draft, the minimum qualification for direct recruitment has been kept as “graduation from any university”. Earlier, along with graduation, the knowledge of Urdu was a necessary criterion for recruitment.National Conference has not commented on the issue.Urdu has a long association with J&K. In 1889, Maharaja Pratap Singh, the third ruler of Dogra dynasty, replaced Persian with Urdu as the court language in the region. After 1947, the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir recognised Urdu as a link language of the erstwhile J&K state, which included Ladakh, and retained it as an official language.Over time, English gradually replaced Urdu in official communication, particularly after the extension of central services to the region in 1962. As IAS and IPS officers were posted in J&K, English increasingly became the preferred administrative language.This arrangement remained in place until Sept 2, 2020, when the Union Cabinet approved the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, declaring Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri and English as official languages of the region. The bill was later passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha, effectively ending Urdu’s 131-year status as the sole official language in J&K. Experts say apart from J&K, no other region in the country has five official languages in use.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosHow Kejriwal’s AAP And Raghav Chadha Drifted Apart In A Slow-Burn Political Breakup”Right Man, Wrong Party”: Raghav Chadha Quits AAP with 6 MPs; The End of Kejriwal’s RS Power?Why Israel Is Relocating Hidden Jews From India-s Northeast Amid War PressuresAshok Mittal Joins BJP After Replacing Raghav Chadha In RS & ED Raids | WatchSamrat Choudhary, Tejashwi Yadav Clash Over CM Post, Stability & Lalu LegacyHow Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal Exit Triggers AAP CrisisAAP Targets Raghav Chadha & MPs Over Exit, Says they ‘Betrayed The People Of Punjab’Meet The 7 AAP MPs Who Resigned And Joined BJP In Big Political Shock To KejriwalRaghav Chadha Quits AAP, Joins BJP With Six Other MPs | WatchBihar CM Samrat Choudhary Clears Floor Test, NDA Government Proves Majority In Assembly123PhotostoriesAnupamaa fame Paras Kalnawat opens up about being cheated on and a toxic relationship that took a toll on him; says, “Main tadap raha tha aur uske 15-16 boyfriend ban rahe the”Why do aloo bhujia sticks to the kadhai? 4 simple tips to fix it at homeForget mozzarella and cheddar: Try these 6 traditional Indian cheeses that are highly nutritiousAre you loading your dishwasher the right way? 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SRINAGAR: J&K administration’s move to remove Urdu, previously a mandatory qualification for revenue services, from the newly amended draft recruitment rules has sparked a political row in the Union Territory. The decision comes nearly a year after BJP protested and sought revocation of a govt order that made Urdu a compulsory subject for the naib tehsildar recruitment exam in J&K.PDP termed it a deliberate attempt to sideline and erase Urdu from the region’s administrative framework, even as BJP called it a “course correction”, insisting that any of the five official languages in J&K should be made a criterion for qualifying for revenue services.For generations, Urdu been the backbone of revenue records, land documentation, and official communication in the UT, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti said. “Diluting its role is not only culturally insensitive but also administratively unsound. Removing Urdu from revenue services will create practical challenges in handling existing records and weaken the continuity of governance,” she said, adding that PDP views this decision as part of a broader pattern of undermining the linguistic and cultural identity of J&K.“Urdu has not been removed. It has been removed as the sole mandatory language for qualification,” BJP general secretary Ashok Koul said, adding that since J&K has five official languages, candidates should have knowledge of any one to qualify, and land records should be made available in all official languages.The row began after the revenue department on April 10 issued a draft of Jammu and Kashmir Revenue Service Recruitment Rules for non-gazetted posts, inviting objections within 15 days of the notification. According to the draft, the minimum qualification for direct recruitment has been kept as “graduation from any university”. Earlier, along with graduation, the knowledge of Urdu was a necessary criterion for recruitment.National Conference has not commented on the issue.Urdu has a long association with J&K. In 1889, Maharaja Pratap Singh, the third ruler of Dogra dynasty, replaced Persian with Urdu as the court language in the region. After 1947, the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir recognised Urdu as a link language of the erstwhile J&K state, which included Ladakh, and retained it as an official language.Over time, English gradually replaced Urdu in official communication, particularly after the extension of central services to the region in 1962. As IAS and IPS officers were posted in J&K, English increasingly became the preferred administrative language.This arrangement remained in place until Sept 2, 2020, when the Union Cabinet approved the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, declaring Urdu, Hindi, Kashmiri, Dogri and English as official languages of the region. The bill was later passed by voice vote in Rajya Sabha, effectively ending Urdu’s 131-year status as the sole official language in J&K. Experts say apart from J&K, no other region in the country has five official languages in use.
