Members of the Sikh community held a peaceful protest rally here under the banner of the Jammu Punjabi Morcha, demanding the promotion and restoration of Punjabi as an official language in Jammu and Kashmir.
The protesters urged the Lieutenant-Governor’s administration and the government to introduce Punjabi into the school curriculum and promote it as a community language.
Surjan Singh, general secretary of the District Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, said the protest was organised to highlight the long-pending demand to restore Punjabi in schools.
“Punjabi was taught in schools long before 1947, but it was subsequently removed from the curriculum outside Punjab. We have been urging the Lieutenant Governor’s administration for a long time to implement it, but no government has paid heed. Punjabi is our mother tongue,” Singh said.
He said the Lieutenant Governor had earlier acknowledged the youths’ concerns.
“A protest is currently under way here in Jammu. If our concerns are not addressed amicably, we will press for this demand through protests and sit-ins,” he said.