Jammu, Oct 5: Members of the Sikh community and civil society on Monday organised a “Jammu Punjabi Morcha” in Jammu, demanding restoration of Punjabi as an official language of Jammu and Kashmir, a status it held before 2019.
The protesters called for immediate action on what they described as long-pending demands of the Sikh community and warned that the agitation would be intensified if their grievances were not addressed.
A Sikh youth delegation, including YES founder Sardar Pardeep Singh, young political leader Angad Singh Khalsa, Advocate Jasmeet Singh, SYFJK president Gurkirat Singh and Bhim Army member Mohammad Jasarath Khan, participated in the protest and extended support to the ongoing indefinite sit-in.
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Addressing the morcha, speakers accused the administration of neglecting the Punjabi language and issues concerning the Sikh community in J&K.
They said Punjabi was not merely a language but was closely linked to the community’s identity, heritage and mother tongue.
“Punjabi is not just a language, but our identity, heritage and mother tongue, and any attempt to erase it will not be tolerated,” the leaders said.
The protesters unanimously demanded the immediate restoration of Punjabi as an official language and sought concrete measures to address other pending issues raised by the Sikh community.
The organisers also warned the administration that failure to act on their demands would lead to an escalation of the agitation.
“If our genuine demands are not fulfilled immediately, the agitation will be intensified at every level through democratic and peaceful means,” they said.
