MJR-47 Raises Strong Objection to Discriminatory Language Requirement in JKSSB Naib Tehsildar Recruitment
Jammu, Jun 11(PTK) : A press conference was organized today by MJR-47 to strongly oppose the recently published advertisement by the Jammu & Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for the post of Naib Tehsildar, in which Urdu has been made a mandatory language requirement for the examination.
Spokesperson of MJR-47 Om parkash Khajuria questioned the rationale behind this condition, especially in light of the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, passed by the UT administration, which clearly recognizes five official languages for the Union Territory: Urdu, Hindi, English, Dogri, and Kashmiri.
“If all five are official languages, why is only Urdu being imposed as a compulsory qualification for this recruitment?” asked the spokesperson of MJR-47.
It was further highlighted that the digitalization of land records, initiated by the J&K UT administration during 2021–22, is already under way in 22 languages, which questions the claim that Urdu is the only medium for understanding revenue records.
The spokesperson pointed out that a significant population in the Jammu region prefers Hindi as their medium of academic education, and that Urdu is not commonly chosen in many districts. Imposing Urdu as a mandatory qualification is seen as a discriminatory policy against a large section of aspirants from the Jammu region.
MJR-47 emphasized that if knowledge of Urdu is essential for performing certain revenue duties, it should be part of the 9-month training period at the Revenue Training Institute, after selection, not a pre-condition that disqualifies candidates before the exam.
“We urge all students, civil society members, and intellectuals to raise their voices against this unjust and biased decision. Discrimination in the name of language cannot be tolerated in a multi-lingual and diverse UT like Jammu and Kashmir,” the organization stated.
MJR-47 demanded immediate rectification of this clause in the advertisement and urged the JKSSB to ensure equal opportunity to candidates of all linguistic backgrounds across the Union Territory.other who were present during press conferences were Krishan Lal Sudan and Madhan Lal Raina. (PTK)
