Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 17: In a Public Interest Litigation filed by Advocate B R Manhas against utter discrimination being meted out to Dogri language both by the Central and the State Governments, Division Bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice M M Kumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur today issued notice to Union of India through Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs, Secretary Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India through its Governor, Secretary Ministry of Communication and IT, Secretary Ministry of Human Resource Development, Secretary Department of Official Languages, Chief Secretary Jammu & Kashmir, University of Jammu and J&K Board of School Education with the direction to file response before March 17, 2014.
In the PIL, it has been submitted that if the discrimination with the Dogri was not checked soon, this language may extinct. “Though Dogri language was inserted in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India in the year 2004, yet it is not being printed on the language panel of the bank notes and Indian Postal Orders”, the petitioner said.
The petitioner further submitted that other languages inserted in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, do find a place on the language panel of the bank notes issued/ printed by the Central Government/RBI and Indian Postal Orders issued/ printed by Central Government.
The petitioner prayed for issuance of directions to the respondents Union of India to place Dogri language in Dogri script on the language panel of currency notes designed by the Central Government and on the language panel of Indian Postal Orders issued by the Postal Department in the same manner as has been done in the case of other languages/scripts.
He also sought directions to the State for teaching of Dogri language and its script from 1st Standard in the schools of J&K.
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