Srinagar, Oct 15: The National Conference-led Jammu and Kashmir Government will introduce a bill during the 2027 budget session of the Legislative Assembly to grant official language status to Punjabi, Gojri and Pahari, NC Rajya Sabha MP Shammi Oberoi said on Thursday.
Oberoi said the decision was in line with the commitment made to the people on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, particularly regarding the inclusion of Punjabi in the list of official languages of Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have decided to adopt Punjabi, Gojri, and Pahari languages as official languages,” Oberoi told KNO.
The MP said he had assured members of the Sikh community that the government would take steps to include Punjabi under the Union Territory’s Official Languages Act.
On Wednesday, Oberoi met members of the Sikh Sangat and representatives of various Gurdwara Prabandhak Committees, where he reiterated the commitment to granting Punjabi official language status.
The proposed legislation comes amid renewed demands from the Sikh community for the restoration of Punjabi’s official language status. In recent weeks, members of the community have held protests, seeking its inclusion in the official language list.
The demand is rooted in the changes made following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. Parliament subsequently enacted the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, which recognised Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English as the Union Territory’s official languages.
The Act also provides for special efforts by the UT administration to promote and develop Gojri, Punjabi and Pahari through institutional mechanisms, including the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
If introduced and passed, the proposed bill would add Punjabi, Gojri and Pahari to the existing list of official languages, addressing a long-standing demand of sections of the region’s linguistic communities.
