Mehbooba: Urdu being unfairly communalised in J&K
Mehbooba Mufti took to X to express her disagreement over the CAT order. 'It is deeply unfortunate that our judiciary appears to be influenced by divisive politics. Urdu, a recognised official language for decades, is now being unfairly communalised,' she said.
In an interim measure, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Jammu, stayed Urdu language compulsion and ordered J&K Services Selection Board (JKSSB) to accept applications for the post of naib tehsildar from candidates who have graduation with knowledge of any of the five official languages enumerated in the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, which includes Hindi, Kashmiri, English, Dogri and Urdu.
Following the order, the J&KSSB on July 15 put the recruitment process on hold as it deferred the advertisement calling for applications for NT posts which was issued in June 2025.
Mufti said that J&K's administrative work has been maintained in Urdu.
'Our revenue records and administrative work continue to be maintained in Urdu, and it is only logical that applicants for the post of Naib Tehsildar possess basic proficiency in the language. This requirement is rooted purely in administrative efficiency not in any form of divisiveness,' she said.
The CAT's order has been celebrated by Bharatiya Janata Party after it launched a campaign to remove Urdu as a mandatory qualification for naib tehsildar posts in Jammu Kashmir.
PDP leader and MLA Pulwama, Waheed Parra alleged that BJP's attempt to view Urdu through a 'communal lens marks a dangerous and disgraceful new low' in our political discourse in J&K.
Peoples Conference president and MLA Handwara Sajad Lone also voiced deep concern over the exclusion of Urdu as a qualifying requirement for the post of Naib Tehsildar in Jammu and Kashmir, calling it part of a 'systematic marginalisation' of the Kashmiri-speaking majority and a dangerous step toward the 'linguicide' of Urdu.
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