Row as Urdu made must for naib tehsildar recruitment in J&K
A row erupted over a job advertisement for 75 naib tehsildar posts in the revenue department by the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) which mandated working knowledge of Urdu language a must for the recruitment.
The aspirants, especially from the Jammu region, contend that the requirement is discriminatory as the Union territory has five official languages. They urged lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha to intervene in the matter.
JKSSB has invited online applications from June 16 to July 15.
'The requirement of Urdu as a compulsory language in the naib tehsildar recruitment examination is creating undue barriers for candidates from Jammu region. This decision reflects preferential treatment toward Urdu language while disenfranchising candidates who have not had formal Urdu education despite their professional qualifications and competencies,' said Vinkal Sharma, a youth leader.
'The Constitution guarantees equal employment opportunities to all citizens, irrespective of linguistic background. Any attempt to impose language restrictions as an eligibility criterion must align with constitutional provisions, he added.
'We urge the authorities concerned to amend the recruitment policy and introduce a fair and inclusive framework that respects linguistic diversity and ensures equal access for all eligible candidates', he said.
Another aspirant Abhijit Gupta said, 'Employment should be determined by merit and capability rather than arbitrary linguistic requirements that serve as exclusionary tools.'
Gupta sought immediate corrective action to safeguard the integrity of the recruitment process.
According to the notification, the JKSSB made graduation with knowledge of Urdu as mandatory criteria to apply for the post.
Following abrogation of Article 370, Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English were declared as official languages of J&K through the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill, 2020.
The J&K revenue department has also digitised the revenue records in three languages – Urdu, English and Hindi.
'The JKSSB has called for an objective test in English and a descriptive test in Urdu. If Urdu is still indispensable for the revenue department, then the government could have adhered to the previous format of conducting objective test first and then affording probationary period of one year for the candidates to learn Urdu before appearing in the test,' said Anjul Kesar, another aspirant.
In schools across Jammu, Urdu is an optional subject from Class 5 to 8.
Shiv Sena UBT's J&K unit president Manish Sahni pointed out J&K's five official languages and urged LG Sinha to intervene.
MJR-47, an organisation of Pakistan-occupied J&K refugees, has also questioned the job notification.
'J&K has five official languages. If Urdu is mandatory for performing certain revenue duties, it should be part of training during the probation period after selection and not a pre-condition that disqualifies candidates before the exam,' said MJR-47 spokesperson Om Prakash Khajuria.
JKSSB chairperson Indu Kanwal Chib said she doesn't have the mandate to comment over the issue.
The revenue department commissioner secretary Rajeev Ranjan could not be reached as his phone was turned off. WhatsApp queries to him were unanswered till the time of the report going to print late on Thursday.
J&K's unemployment rate in 2023-24 stood at 6.1%.
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