A day after protests over the proposed removal of Urdu proficiency as an eligibility criterion for Revenue department recruitment, Peoples Democratic Party leader Iltija Mufti on Wednesday accused the Omar Abdullah government of gradually sidelining Urdu in Jammu and Kashmir and questioned the Chief Minister over such moves.
Addressing a press conference, Iltija said the issue of Urdu was not political but concerned the “cultural and linguistic identity” of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
She alleged that the government led by Omar Abdullah had taken a series of steps that collectively weaken Urdu’s institutional presence.
Referring to a July 9, 2025 order issued by the Revenue Department, which is headed by the Chief Minister, she claimed that the government had mandated digitisation of revenue records in English, despite the historical use of Urdu in land documentation. She said the move created discrepancies on the ground and caused difficulties for officials who traditionally rely on Urdu records.
Iltija further alleged that recent amendments to recruitment rules under SRO-74 removed the requirement of Urdu proficiency for posts like patwari and tehsildar. She claimed that a notification issued on April 14, 2026, allowed any graduate to apply for these posts without mandatory Urdu knowledge, calling it a move that would disadvantage local youth familiar with the language.
The PDP leader said the issue was “not a personal fight” but about safeguarding the region’s cultural identity.
“I want to ask Omar Sahib… what did not happen here during the time of the Maharaja, what the BJP did not try to erase—why are you doing that?” she said, questioning the rationale behind decisions such as digitising revenue records in English and ‘removing’ the Urdu requirement for jobs. “Why are you erasing Urdu from our history? You know Urdu is a very big part of our culture..,” she added, accusing the government of issuing “order by order” to sideline the language.
“Are you doing this on the instructions of the BJP? But the surprising thing is that those six years when Jammu and Kashmir was under LG (Lieutenant Governor), since 2018 to 2024, these things were not done by the BJP, which Omar sahib is doing today as Chief Minister,” she alleged.
Iltija questioned the government’s intent, asking why such changes were being introduced “quietly” and without wider public consultation. She also linked the issue to rising unemployment, arguing that removing Urdu as a requirement would reduce job prospects for many candidates.
After the protest by the PDP on Tuesday over the issue, the Jammu and Kashmir government strongly refuted the allegations of removing Urdu as a criterion from Revenue recruitment. Advisor to the Chief Minister, Nasir Aslam Wani, said no notification had been issued to remove Urdu from the system and accused the opposition of “misleading people” for political purposes.
“The claims being made are baseless. There is no move to sideline Urdu,” Wani said, adding that the opposition was attempting to create unnecessary controversy.
Responding to questions on the 2025 Rajya Sabha elections row, PDP leader Iltija rejected allegations against her party of indirectly helping BJP to win a seat and cited National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah as saying the PDP had extended support.
“Farooq Abdullah sahib himself thanked the PDP publicly after the elections. If that is the case, are they now saying he was wrong?” she asked, alleging that the issue was being raised to divert attention from the ongoing controversy over Urdu.
She urged the media to focus on what she termed a “larger and more serious issue,” accusing the government of undermining Urdu through administrative decisions.
