Advertisement notice for Naib Tehsildar posts: LoP Sunil Sharma, J&K BJP president call on LG; seek intervention
Jammu, Jun 12: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in J&K Legislative Assembly Sunil Sharma called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday. He was accompanied by Sat Sharma, president, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Jammu Kashmir Union Territory. Sunil Sharma sought the Lieutenant Governor's intervention into the issue of Naib Tehsildar aspirants and requested him to make the working knowledge of Urdu language non-mandatory for Naib Tehsildar examination.
He highlighted that making working knowledge of one language mandatory, given the UT of J&K’s five official languages, violated the constitutional principles of equal opportunity and administrative impartiality and it created an unfair barrier, particularly putting aspirants from the Jammu division in a disadvantageous position. The senior BJP leaders also requested the Lieutenant Governor for translation of government documents and procedures into all the official languages of J&K UT.
Earlier on June 11, the LoP shared his serious concern with the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha over “the issue of mandatory qualification of Urdu language for the post of Naib Tehsildar” through a letter. In a letter written to LG Sinha, LoP, while referring to the advertisement notice of Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) for 75 posts of Naib Tehsildar in the Revenue department issued on June 9, 2025, expressed his resentment over, what he said, “administrative discrimination against the youth from Jammu region.”
“Advertisement notice has yet again specified Urdu language as mandatory requirement for the post of Naib Tehsildar. This has created serious concern among the youth from Jammu region. They feel deprived of their fundamental rights of justice and equality. This situation, not only, encourages regional imbalance but also gives rise to a feeling of linguistic discrimination and administrative prejudice,” Sunil Sharma wrote. He also sent a copy of the letter to the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah for “information and necessary action.”
LoP has pointed out that Urdu language is taught only as an optional subject in schools and colleges in Jammu region unlike Kashmir region where it is intrinsic part of the education and administrative mainstream. To substantiate his point that the mandatory Urdu language clause is depriving a whole generation of youth in the region of equal opportunities vis-à-vis recruitment in the revenue department, he referred to the JKSSB exam conducted in 2019 for the recruitment of Naib Tehsaildars.
“Out of 817 candidates who appeared in the exam, 126 candidates failed only in the Urdu exam. Of these 126 candidates, 122 belonged to the Jammu region,” he said.
LoP, in the letter, said that J&K Official Languages Act, 2020 brought parity in Dogri, Hindi, English, Kashmiri and Urdu as official languages. “Therefore, making only Urdu mandatory in the recruitment process yet again contradicts the essence of the constitution vis-à-vis equal opportunities and administrative impartiality,” Sunil Sharma asserted. In the recent past, the LoP has mentioned, revenue records and documents have been translated in English. “This makes it evident that the government works or administrative process are not only reliant on Urdu. Then why has it been made mandatory yet again? This is unwarranted and discriminatory. We believe that Revenue records should also be translated in Hindi and Dogri to provide justice to regional languages and end monopoly of a language of a particular region,” LoP wrote. He asserted that all Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, office bearers and other representatives were strongly protesting against this “unilateral discriminatory policy.”
“This is not an issue related to recruitment policy only but an issue delineating hopes, constitutional rights of lakhs of youth from Jammu region and their self-respect. Repeated discrimination on linguistic basis further deepens regional imbalance in the J&K and further promotes cultural division in the society,” LoP opined. “You are therefore requested to take immediate cognizance of this issue, in earnest and ensure removal of this clause of mandatory Urdu in the exam to be conducted by JKSSB for Naib Tehsildar recruitment. Besides, you are requested to ensure translation of all official records and processes in all other official languages as well,” Sunil Sharma wrote to LG Sinha. “To ensure justice, impartiality and equal opportunity to Jammu youth is your constitutional duty as well as moral responsibility,” LoP addressed the Lieutenant Governor.
