LS passes Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill; Shah hails passage

Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hailed the passage of Jammu Kashmir Official Languages Bill in Lok Sabha and said that long-awaited dream of the people of Jammu and Kashmir has come true. As per the Bill, Kashmiri will be the official language along with four other languages -- Dogri, Hindi, Urdi and English.

New Delhi:The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020 with voice vote, allowing Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi, apart from the existing Urdu and English, to be official languages in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Amit Shah, who made a series of tweets, also expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra for his commitment towards restoring the culture of Jammu and Kashmir through the bill.

"A momentous day for the people of J&K as Jammu Kashmir Official Languages (Amendment) Bill was passed in Lok Sabha. With this historic bill...Long-awaited dream of the people of J&K comes true! Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English will now be the official languages of J&K," Shah said.

He said Modi government will leave no stone unturned to bring back the glory of Jammu and Kashmir. "I thank PM Narendra Modiji for his commitment towards restoring the culture of Jammu and Kashmir through this bill. I also want to assure our sisters and brothers of Jammu and Kashmir that the Modi govt will leave no stone unturned to bring back the glory of Jammu and Kashmir," the minister said.

Speaking on the Bill, Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy said that it was a demand of the people of Jammu and Kashmir that the languages they speak should be official languages of the UT.

Since 53.26 per cent of people in Jammu and Kashmir speak Kashmiri, there was a need to include it as the official language of the state, he said.

The minister added that people in Jammu and Kashmir speak as well as write Kashmiri, so there is no problem in including it as an official language.

As per the Bill, Kashmiri will be the official language along with four other languages -- Dogri, Hindi, Urdi and English.

Reddy said that 26.64 per cent of the people in the UT speak Dogri, while Urdu, which is currently an official language, is spoken only by 0.16 per cent the population.

The minister said while the government is not against any regional language, the Bill gives importance to those 70 per cent people who speak Kashmiri and Dogri in the UT.

For the last 70 years, Urdu has been the official language of Jammu and Kashmir, he said, adding that 2.36 per cent of the population in the UT speaks Hindi.

(With inputs from agencies)