Onlykashmir.in News Desk
SRINAGAR: The J&K Youth Empowerment Society (YES) has launched a signature campaign in Kashmir to support the ongoing Punjabi Language Morcha in Jammu and to press for official language status for Punjabi in the Union Territory. The campaign takes a demand that has largely played out in Jammu into the Valley, widening the circle of public voices behind it.
The Morcha has been under way in Jammu since the start of October, with an indefinite sit-in and demonstrations demanding that Punjabi be recognised as an official language. The issue has a history. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, five languages hold official status: Urdu, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi and English. Punjabi was left out, and the exclusion drew objections from Sikh organisations at the time, who called it an anti-minority move. The Morcha is the latest and most visible expression of that grievance.
Through the signature campaign, J&K YES aims to mobilise public support and raise awareness of why recognising Punjabi matters. The society says the language carries a rich cultural, historical and linguistic significance in Jammu and Kashmir, and that its recognition would honour communities for whom it is a mother tongue and a marker of identity.
The society appealed to the public, especially young people and members of civil society, to come forward and add their signatures. It argued that official recognition of Punjabi is essential for preserving linguistic heritage and promoting cultural identity, themes that resonate in a region where language has long been bound up with questions of belonging.
J&K YES also reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful and democratic initiatives aimed at safeguarding language, culture and the rights of communities across Jammu and Kashmir. By choosing a signature drive, a form of civic participation that is quiet, orderly and open to anyone, the society has underlined that it sees the demand as one to be pursued through persuasion rather than confrontation.
The campaign also reflects an effort to present the language question as a shared concern across regions rather than a Jammu-only matter. How the government responds to the demand will be closely watched, as will the response from civil society groups in the Valley to the call for signatures.
