J&K reserves 49 seats for Dogri, 25 for Punjabi-speaking candidates
JAMMU: Following stiff opposition by pro-Jammu parties, the PDPBJP government on Thursday adopted a reconciliatory approach and came out with a government order reserving 49 seats for Dogri and 25 seats for Punjabi languages for the posts of assistant professors in higher education department.
The higher education department recently came out with a government order seeking applications for 492 vacancies of assistant professors.
However, the government courted a serious controversy when it reserved 49 seats for Kashmiri language, that too, in degree colleges of Jammu province where people largely speak Dogri, Punjabi, followed by Gojri, Pahari, Sheena, Giddi and Sippi languages.
While BJP maintained a criminal silence on the “obnoxious” move by the state government, several political and social outfits in Jammu sensed the “sinister” design of imposing Kashmiri language in a largely non-Kashmiri speaking Jammu region.
On Thursday, the higher education department came out with an order which read, “Subject: Conversion of vacancies for assistant professors (Dogri) and (Punjabi) in higher education department.
In continuation to government order number 399-HE of 2017 dated 04-07-2017, 49 posts out of existing 492 vacancies of assistant professors are hereby reserved for Dogri and 25 posts for Punjabi.” The order was issued by principal secretary to government, higher education department, Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon.
According to a government order , the government accorded sanction to the introduction of Kashmiri subject in Government Degree College, Surankote in Poonch district of Jammu region from academic session 2017-18.
This order reads, “Principal GDC Surankote shall take up the matter with concerned university for affiliation and is also authorised to engage academic arrangement candidates till regular faculty is arranged.”
The government move to introduce Kashmiri language across Jammu is being seen as an attempt to “erode Dogri and other languages of the region”.