The Crossbill News Desk
A political row has erupted in Jammu and Kashmir over a demand by BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in the UT Assembly, Sunil Sharma, to remove the requirement of working knowledge of Urdu for the Naib Tehsildar recruitment exam.
Sharma, who met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday (June 12) along with J&K BJP president Sat Sharma.
According to The Indian Express, Sharma argued that the current requirement disadvantages candidates from the Jammu division and violates the principles of equal opportunity and administrative neutrality.
He said that making one of J&K’s five official languages “violates the constitutional principles of equal opportunity and administrative impartiality, and it creates an unfair barrier, particularly disadvantaging aspirants from the Jammu Division.”
The controversy follows a June 9 notification issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for the recruitment of 75 Naib Tehsildars.
The exam guidelines specify that Paper II will test candidates’ working knowledge of Urdu—a language historically embedded in J&K’s revenue, legal, and administrative systems.
The BJP’s objection has drawn sharp criticism from regional parties. National Conference chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq defended Urdu’s role in the region’s administration, calling it an essential and unifying part of Jammu and Kashmir’s institutional legacy.
Sadiq said that Urdu has been the official administrative language for over 130 years since the time of the Maharaja.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Pulwama, Waheed Para, also condemned the BJP’s stance, warning that such moves could undermine the region’s cultural fabric.
“Urdu is more than a language, it’s a key part of the region’s heritage. Undermining it divides communities and rewrites memory,” Para said.
Urdu is one of the five official languages of Jammu and Kashmir and continues to be widely used in land records, court proceedings, and official documents.
Critics of Sharma’s demand say the language’s administrative role remains indispensable, and that excluding it from recruitment criteria would compromise the functioning of revenue departments.
The BJP has yet to respond to the criticism from the National Conference and PDP, but the issue has sparked fresh concerns over the politicisation of language and identity in the Union Territory.
Sharma, who met Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday (June 12) along with J&K BJP president Sat Sharma.
According to The Indian Express, Sharma argued that the current requirement disadvantages candidates from the Jammu division and violates the principles of equal opportunity and administrative neutrality.
He said that making one of J&K’s five official languages “violates the constitutional principles of equal opportunity and administrative impartiality, and it creates an unfair barrier, particularly disadvantaging aspirants from the Jammu Division.”
The controversy follows a June 9 notification issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for the recruitment of 75 Naib Tehsildars.
The exam guidelines specify that Paper II will test candidates’ working knowledge of Urdu—a language historically embedded in J&K’s revenue, legal, and administrative systems.
The BJP’s objection has drawn sharp criticism from regional parties. National Conference chief spokesperson and MLA Tanvir Sadiq defended Urdu’s role in the region’s administration, calling it an essential and unifying part of Jammu and Kashmir’s institutional legacy.
Sadiq said that Urdu has been the official administrative language for over 130 years since the time of the Maharaja.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MLA from Pulwama, Waheed Para, also condemned the BJP’s stance, warning that such moves could undermine the region’s cultural fabric.
“Urdu is more than a language, it’s a key part of the region’s heritage. Undermining it divides communities and rewrites memory,” Para said.
Urdu is one of the five official languages of Jammu and Kashmir and continues to be widely used in land records, court proceedings, and official documents.
Critics of Sharma’s demand say the language’s administrative role remains indispensable, and that excluding it from recruitment criteria would compromise the functioning of revenue departments.
The BJP has yet to respond to the criticism from the National Conference and PDP, but the issue has sparked fresh concerns over the politicisation of language and identity in the Union Territory.
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