Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 16: BJP Minority Morcha president Ranjodh Singh Nalwa today urged Union Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri to grant official status to Punjabi in J&K, besides considering their demand for ST status to the PoJK refugees who had fled their homes in the J&K areas which are presently under the illegal occupation of Pakistan.
In the morcha meeting with Puri, which was arranged by Nalwa and attended, besides others, by scores of prominent citizens, several other demands were also listed. Nalwa strongly put forward the demand for grant of official status to Punjabi in J&K so that it was again taught in the UT schools and other educational institutions. He hoped that their demand, which was pending for the past several years, would be met soon.
Welcoming the Government decision to grant ST status to the Pahari-speaking people, Nalwa said that the PoJK refugees too fulfill all the criterion of getting ST status. “Let me tell you that PoJK refugees fully qualify for ST status as their mother tongue is Pahari, they belong to Pahari clan, are Pahari tribe and, being Paharis, constitute one of the largest indigenous ethnic group in J&K,” Nalwa said and added, “These are the main criterion to get ST status.”
He urged the Union mMnister to sympathetically consider their demand, terming it as the ‘most genuine’ one. Nalwa also drew Puri’s attention towards the plight of PoJK refugees and the endless difficulties they had to face after leaving their homes and other properties across the border. “The Government must reserve some seats in professional colleges and higher educational institutions of the country for the children of PoJK displaced persons, like it has reserved for the children of Kashmiri migrants who too are refugees in their own country,” he demanded.
Nalwa was accompanied by Minority Morcha’s National secretary Narendra Singh Raina, J&K general secretary Santokh Singh, vice-president Balwinder Singh, vice-president Rajinder Singh, Mubashir Azad, vice-president Jasmeet Kour, senior leader Mohammad Iqbal Malik and several prominent citizens.
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