Urdu facing erosion under a conspiracy in IIOJK, MLA Nazir Ahmad Khan warns
Questions replacement of Urdu with Hindi in Assembly question banks
Srinagar: In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), National Conference leader and Member of Legislative Assembly Nazir Ahmad Khan has expressed concern over the erosion of the Urdu language in the territory, saying it was being done under a conspiracy.
According to Kashmir Media Service, speaking during Question Hour in the IIOJK Legislative Assembly today, MLA Nazir Ahmad Khan said question banks had previously been provided in both English and Urdu.
“But now, it is available only in two languages– English and Hindi,” he said, adding that “It is a conspiracy to erode the Urdu language and this is totally unacceptable.”
Taking note of the matter, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather said that the issue had been taken up with the Indian Parliamentary Affairs Ministry. “We have taken it up and informed the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry that Urdu is our national language,” Rather told the House.
The status and preservation of the Urdu language in IIOJK has become a highly contentious political and cultural debate, particulary following the BJP-led Indian government’s August 2019 unilateral changes to the territory’s constitutional and administrative framework. Kashmiri Muslim politicians and cultural groups have strongly criticized subsequent language and administrative changes, calling them a conspiracy or deliberate attempt to sideline Urdu’s traditional role.
For over 130 years, Urdu was the sole official language of Jammu and Kashmir. However, following the enactment of the J&K Official Languages Act, 2020, four more official languages, Kashmiri, Dogri, Hindi, and English, were accorded official status alongside Urdu. Kashmiri cultural figures and political parties have argued that removing Urdu’s exclusivity was an attempt to dilute the territory’s unique cultural identity.
Historically, knowledge of Urdu was also a requirement for certain local government jobs, including Patwaris and Naib Tehsildars because Kashmir’s entire land and revenue records were maintained in Urdu. In July 2025, however, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) stayed this requirement. The subsequent changes to the draft recruitment rules and the removal of the Urdu proficiency requirement in early 2026 sparked massive public outrage. Critics argued that appointing revenue officers who cannot read Urdu land records is administratively impractical and politically motivated to reduce local representation.
