Union cabinet approves Jammu and Kashmir official language bill 2020

New Delhi: – Along with English and Urdu, Dogri, Kashmiri and Hindi will also be recognised as official languages in Jammu and Kashmir. The union cabinet has recently approved the bill ‘Jammu and Kashmir Official Language 2020’. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar, informed that the bill would be tabled during the monsoon session of the parliament. It was a long-standing demand of the local people to recognise Kashmiri and Hindi as official languages.

The Dogri language has the influence of the Indo-Aryan culture. Nearly 5 to 6 million people speak Dogri in Jammu. There are Dogri-speaking people, even in Punjab and Haryana. But concerns are being expressed that Dogri is dying a slow death in Jammu since the last few years. The new generations do not know Dogri. Therefore, the locals from Jammu are making efforts to save the language. In 2003, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee got the Dogri language included in the eighth scheduled list of the Indian Constitution.

Kashmiri is the mother tongue of the Kashmir population. This language is also known as Koshur. There are nearly 7 million Kashmiri-speaking people. This language has preserved the culture and tradition of Kashmir. Kashmiri is a widely spoken language even in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Many people from Jammu as well as Kashmir speak Hindi. All three languages have contributed to preserving the culture and traditions of Kashmir.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh welcomed the decision by saying that the government has fulfilled a long-standing demand of the Kashmiri people. The locals from Jammu and Kashmir also strongly welcomed the government’s decision. Meanwhile, ‘Mission Karmayogi’ was announced for officers and employees of various departments of the union government during the meeting of the union cabinet on Wednesday. Javadekar said that this decision was taken to enhance the efficiency of government officials.