A political controversy erupted in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) accused Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of attempting to remove Urdu from the region’s administrative framework and historical records.
Addressing a press conference, PDP leader Iltija Mufti alleged that the process began in July 2025 when the Revenue Department, under the chief minister, initiated steps to shift official records away from Urdu.
She claimed that an order was issued directing that digitisation of revenue documents be carried out exclusively in English. “This is despite the fact that all our revenue records for centuries are in Urdu. Why impose such a system here?” Mufti said, questioning the rationale behind the move.
She further alleged that the requirement of Urdu proficiency, earlier mandatory for recruitment in the Revenue Department, had also been removed under the present dispensation.
“There is no doubt that the government is trying to gradually remove Urdu, which is the language of every section of society in J&K, from the system,” she said, adding that the move amounts to erasing a key component of the region’s cultural and administrative heritage.
Drawing comparisons with past regimes, Mufti remarked that such a step was not taken even during earlier political dispensations. “What did not happen in Maharaja’s time or even when others attempted, why is it being done now?” she asked.
