On July 14, the BJP legislative party staged a protest outside the Civil Secretariat and Assembly in J&K, demanding the withdrawal of a government order making Urdu a compulsory subject for the Naib Tehsildar recruitment exam in J&K.
The party has been opposing the decision for over three weeks, organising rallies and demonstrations across the Jammu districts. BJP leaders warned of a region-wide agitation if the order is not revoked. Calling the move discriminatory and harmful to the aspirations of Jammu’s youth, BJP MLAs held a dharna at the Civil Secretariat earlier in the day.
Holding placards highlighting injustice towards Jammu’s youth, Dogras, and other official languages of the Union Territory, BJP leaders raised slogans against the government and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, accusing the party of attempting to provoke unrest in the region.
“We are protesting against the decision to make Urdu mandatory for the Naib Tehsildar exams in J&K, which is completely unacceptable to us,” said BJP MLA and former minister Sham Lal Sharma.
He stated, “Kashmir-centric parties, especially the National Conference, have been discriminating against Jammu for decades—this order is yet another example.” Criticising successive National Conference governments for their long-standing bias, he added, “We had hoped their approach would change after 2019, but the discrimination persists.” He further alleged that the order is a deliberate attempt to exclude Jammu’s youth from job opportunities and marginalise other official languages of the Union Territory.
“By making Urdu mandatory for key government posts, the National Conference leadership has overturned earlier provisions where knowledge of the language was not a requirement,” Sharma said.
He added, “We are protesting to get this order revoked. Youth are already out on the streets expressing their anger. The issue has been raised with the Lieutenant Governor, and memorandums have been submitted through deputy commissioners, but no action has been taken so far.”
Sharma said that 14 BJP MLAs had met Chief Minister Omar Abdullah regarding the issue. “His response was positive, yet no concrete action has been taken,” he noted. “They are trying to provoke unrest in Jammu and are leaving us with no choice but to launch an agitation. All 28 BJP MLAs have kickstarted the movement with today’s two-hour token dharna,” he added. The former minister said the party would soon announce its next steps.
“We warn the government not to toy with the sentiments of the people of Jammu, who are tired of the continued discrimination by Kashmir-centric leadership,” Sharma stated.
Other BJP legislators echoed the warning, threatening large-scale protests if the Urdu language requirement for Naib Tehsildar recruitment is not removed. “Making Urdu compulsory for this post is a grave injustice to Jammu’s youth,” said BJP MLA Yudhvir Sethi. “Such discrimination will not be tolerated,” he added.
The BJP MLAs firmly opposed the decision, calling it a “deliberate attempt” to sideline the youth of the Jammu region. “This is a calculated move to deny equal opportunities to Jammu’s youth,” said MLA Yudhvir Sethi.
He criticised the imposition of Urdu, saying it reflects the same divisive and exclusionary approach once adopted by the Omar Abdullah-led government. “We will not allow such injustice to be repeated,” Sethi asserted, adding that the order clearly violates the equal status granted to all official languages of the Union Territory, including Dogri, Hindi, Kashmiri, Urdu, and English.
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