Punjab CM Writes to the PM; Requests to Include Punjabi Language in the Official Language List of J&K

Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting inclusion of Punjabi language in UT Jammu and Kashmir’s list of official languages. He has sought the inclusion in view of the historical link between Punjab and J&K since the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

The former CM, in his letter, has urged the Prime Minister to ask the MHA to take the matter into consideration, and review the list of J&K’s official languages to include Punjabi language to the list.

Singh, in his letter, has raised question over the exclusion of the language from the official language list of Jammu & Kashmir, since the union territory was a part of Punjab during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Back then, the Punjabi language used to be one of the most prominent languages of the region. 

A statement by the ex-CM has also been issued from the Chief Minister’s Office, which says – “When the Valley came into existence as an independent state, Punjabi was a widely spoken language in the state and is now the mother tongue of all the Punjabis in the Jammu region, besides being spoken by the Punjabi community living in here in Kashmir”.