Jammu and Kashmir: Chief Minister admits Urdu is dying in State

[Nover, Steve]

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Steve

________________________________

From: owner-lgpolicy-list at ccat.sas.upenn.edu on behalf of Harold F. Schiffman
Sent: Tue 1/23/2007 8:32 AM
To: Language Policy-List
Subject: Jammu and Kashmir: Chief Minister admits Urdu is dying in State 



CM admits Urdu is dying in State

NASEER A GANAI

Jammu, Jan 22: The Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Monday acknowledged
that Urdu was getting a raw deal in the State and promised that the
government would formulate a plan to restore the pristine glory of the
language.  It is fact that Urdu language has not got the right which it
deserves in Jammu and Kashmir, the Chief Minister said responding to a
question of the National Conference MLA Dr. Chaman Lal Bhagat.

In Maharastra, Karnataka and other states one cannot apply for Government
job unless he is not literate in official language of the State but here
no one takes the language seriously, the Chief Minister said.  The
promotion and development of Urdu, he said, should be concern of every
citizen of the State. It is not Kashmiri that people of Jammu will not
like. It is not Dogri which Kashmiris wont like. It is Urdu and every
person in the State speaks it. So it needs promotion, the Chief Minister
said.  The State Government, the Chief Minister said, was sending a high
level team of officers to Maulna Azad National Urdu University Hyderabad
and Urdu University Lucknow to study how technical and science subjects
are taught in Urdu. He said the Government would take any suggestion
coming from any quarter to promote Urdu seriously. You are talking about
Urdu academy and Government is contemplating about establishing Urdu
University, he said.

Earlier, responding to the main question Minister of State for Higher
Education informed the House Committee has reported that the introduction
of Urdu language as medium of instruction up to the University level is
not practicable as most subjects like science could not be taught in the
language. The House Committee, constituted to give boost to Urdu language,
has tabled its report on April 10, 2000. The Minister said the Government
was exploring the possibilities to find out as to how Urdu could get the
requisite thrust within the existing language policy.  In his
supplementary, Mian Altaf said that the Government schools in Udhampur,
Kathua and Jammu districts schools were not getting Urdu teachers. He
asked the Government to appoint Urdu teachers in the schools in these
three districts. Intervening, the Chief Minister said he would look into
the matter.

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/Home/Newsdetails.asp?newsid=3057&Issueid=125&Arch=#

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