SRINAGAR, JUNE 13: MLA Pulwama and senior J&K political leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Para has strongly criticized the demand made by BJP’s Leader of Opposition to remove Urdu as a qualifying subject from the Naib Tehsildar examinations, calling it an attack on the cultural and historical identity of Jammu and Kashmir.
In a statement posted on social media, Para said: “Urdu is not just a language it is the archive of our collective memory, a symbol of our cultural legacy, and a bridge across communities in Jammu and Kashmir. To remove it is to erase our past and divide our society.”
He warned that such moves are dangerous attempts to marginalize a language that has long been a medium of poetry, resistance, and expression in the region. “Undermining Urdu is not merely a policy change, it is a cultural rupture. This effort to rewrite our identity through exams will be resisted by all who care about Kashmir’s pluralistic history.”
Waheed Para’s statement comes amid growing concerns from civil society, writers, and scholars who see this as part of a larger campaign to diminish regional identity and linguistic heritage in Jammu and Kashmir.