‘BJP Govt hell bent to demolish minorities’
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 3: Various Sikh bodies today alleged that BJP Government is hell bent to demolish the spiritual, cultural and emotional quotient of minorities in the country and strongly condemning the act of Union Government for declaring only English, Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi as official language of Union Territory of J&K and keeping out Punjabi form it.
While addressing a joint press conference on behalf of these organisations , Sudershan Singh Wazir, Chairman Sikh United Front J&K said that granting approval to only five languages English, Urdu ,Kashmiri,Dogri and Hindi as official language of J&K is a clear indication that the Punjabi language has been deliberately left out as a part of being of official language with ulterior motive to demolish the spiritual, cultural and emotional quotient of Sikhs living in J&K. Wazir further said that Punjabi has been a part of the cultural history of J&K and was there since the establishment of Khalsa Raaj by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1819. Punjabi was the most widely spoken and written language of the erstwhile J&K State for the last two centuries and was a household phenomenon even among non Sikhs and was accepted as a mother tongue of all the subjects of the State .
He further said that the present day Government is sending the contradictory signals as on one hand the new education policy announced by the Union Government envisages the compulsory education to children up to 5th standard in their mother tongue and on the other hand the Government only grants official status to five languages which is against the spirit of new education policy, this double standard of Government stands exposed.
Wazir said that a few months earlier also an attempt was made in the J&K UT to make recruitments by holding written examination in all other languages except Punjabi which give us a peep into minds of the present day establishment to demean the Sikh community and its culture.
Wazir declared that all the Sikhs organisation are going to create a joint platform to prepare the Sikh community and other minorities and ethnic groups to prepare themselves for a long drawn democratic struggle to fight these nefarious designs. Other Sikh leaders who supported were Darbinder Singh president Shiromani Akali Dal J&K, Mohinder Singh chief organizer, Bhai Kaniya Nishkam Sewa Society J&K, Ex Member DGPC Jammu, Rajinder Singh general secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal J&K, Raja Singh Sarpanch member DGPC Jammu, Ravinder Singh Sarpanch and general secretary, Shiromani Akali Dal J&K, Charanjeet Singh retired SDM (convener Punjabi Chetna Manch), Prof. Yudhvir Singh corporator, Gajan Singh, president J&K Motor Transport Company Association, Paramjit Singh Raina Ex Corporator, Kulwant Singh Khajuria joint secretary Shiromani Akali Dal J&K, Surinder Singh Kala president Fruit and Vegetable Association, Surjeet Singh Kukoo, president Sikh Naujawan Sabha, Harpreet Singh Chhotu, president Youth Akali Dal J&K , Kuldeep Kour president Istri Akali Dal J&K, Gurmeet Kour, general secretary Istri Akali Dal J&K, Harpeet Singh Lucky president Sikh Student Federation, Manmohan Singh, Chairman Gole Gujral, Rasbir Singh, Kuldeep Singh Malik, Kulwant Singh, Kultar Singh, and Tejpal Singh.
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