BJP, ABVP protest against ‘discrimination’ towards Hindi, Sanskrit in JKPSC recruitment

Jammu, Dec 17: Workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held a strong protest on Tuesday, alleging discrimination by the Jammu and Kashmir government against Hindi and Sanskrit in recruitment for various government jobs.
Hundreds of students, led by the ABVP and joined by BJP workers, marched through Jammu and staged a dharna on the main Tawi Bridge. The protest caused severe disruption to traffic movement, leading to traffic jams in several parts of the city.
The protesters accused the National Conference (NC)-led government of deliberately sidelining Hindi and Sanskrit in a recent recruitment notification issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Commission (JKPSC) for 10+2 Lecturer positions. They also alleged the government’s preference for foreign languages, such as Arabic and Persian, over the national and regional languages.
Carrying placards and raising slogans, the protestors marched from Jammu University through the city. They described the omission of Hindi and Sanskrit as regional and linguistic discrimination against Jammu.
“This is regional and linguistic discrimination by the current government. National languages like Hindi and Sanskrit, which are an integral part of our identity, are being deliberately ignored,” said ABVP leader Surinder Singh.
“We are not against any language, but the government’s preference for foreign languages like Arabic and Persian over Hindi and Sanskrit is an assault on our civilisation, and we will not tolerate it,” he added.
The protesters expressed frustration over the JKPSC’s notice dated November 12, which advertised 575 teaching positions but failed to include posts for Hindi and Sanskrit lecturers.
The protest escalated as police intervened to clear the blockade. Several protesters were arrested and detained, while senior police and district administration officials engaged with them to restore normalcy.
The BJP and several Jammu-based organisations condemned the government’s move and issued warnings of serious repercussions if the issue is not addressed.
“This is unacceptable, and we will not stand for it,” said BJP MLA Vikram Randhawa, who spoke at the protest. Randhawa urged the JKPSC to ensure fair representation for regional and national languages by adding 200 posts for Hindi and at least 20 posts each for Dogri, Punjabi, and Sanskrit.