Did Hindi replace Urdu as official language of Jammu and Kashmir? What Mahua Moitra claimed in Parliament

On February 3, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in her speech in Lok Sabha accused the Centre of wanting to “alter history.” The MP, in her speech on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, alleged that the government had replaced Urdu with Hindi as the first and official language of Jammu and Kashmir.

“The INA’s (Indian National Army) motto were three Urdu words – ittehad, itmad aur qurbani – unity, trust and sacrifice. The same Urdu language that this government is so delighted to replace with Hindi as the first and official language of Jammu and Kashmir,” Moitra said in her speech in Parliament.

The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 22, 2020, and in the Rajya Sabha the next day, states that Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English are the official languages of Jammu & Kashmir. “The Bill declares Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English as the official languages to be used for the official purposes of the union territory, from such date as the Administrator of the union territory may notify. The Bill adds that the business in the Legislative Assembly of the union territory will be transacted in these official languages,” the Bill read.

The Bill was cleared by both Houses of Parliament on September 23 for the inclusion of Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi in the list of official languages in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the existing Urdu and English.

Replying to a debate on the Bill, the then Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy had stated that around 74% of the population in the Union Territory spoke Kashmiri and Dogri languages. He pointed out that according to the 2011 Census, 0.16% population in Jammu and Kashmir spoke Urdu, while 2.3% spoke Hindi.

In her speech in Lok Sabha on Thursday, Moitra also asked people to think about the kind of Republic they want. “What is the kind of Republic we want, what is the India we want today, what is the idea of India we want to stand up for, fight for, get jailed for? Ours is a living Constitution. It breathes as long as we like to breathe life into it. Else it is just a piece of paper,” she said.