Leaders express displeasure over Patil’s refusal to accept Punjabi in UT offices

Monday, 03/12/2012

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Fatehgarh Sahib : Leading Punjabis from different fields have criticised the approach of Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Shivraj Patil regarding the implementation of Punjabi language in Chandigarh.

It is worth mentioning here that Patil, while responding to the demand of a member representing 22 villages in the meeting of Administrator’s Advisory Committee at Chandigarh on Friday, flatly refused to give due status to the Punjabi language in the official work. Not only this, Patil reportedly suggested that the demand to include Punjabi language for the official work of the UT should be dropped. Instead, he offered to provide the services of interpreter for the members who could not understand English.

Senior leader of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) Balwant Singh Ramoowalia bitterly criticising the UT Administrator alleged that he was disturbing the balance the religious as well as linguistic harmony of the region as Punjabi was the language 80 per cent people of the region use. He should honour the feelings of the people of the area, added SAD leader. Ramoowalia further alleged that it was a conspiracy of the Central Government to create such an environment in which bad name could be given to Punjabis as he personally had experienced such conspiracies during the black days of Punjab.

Former Punjabi University Vice Chancellor Joginder Singh Puar said that it was injustice to the people of Punjab and the leadership of Punjab. The ruling party should take stand on it as Punjab had 60 per cent share in Chandigarh while Haryana had 40 per cent and English was not the language of both the states. He said that Shivraj Patil must know the Kothari Commission formula of three languages accepted by the Central government in which the language of the state was given first priority, second was given to Hindi while the third was any European language however we had opted English and he was reverting it.

Punjabi Sahit Academy president Gurbhajan Gill said that the clout of politicians and bureaucrats was fully responsible for non-implementation of Punjabi language in Chandigarh, which was the capital of Punjab. He said that instead of learning Punjabi language, they were hatching conspiracies to deprive the Punjabis of from their mother tongue which could not be tolerated. He also said that the approach of the Governor in this regard was not welcome.

Global Punjab Foundation head HPS Walia said that there were some more than 104 million speakers of the Punjabi language including 76 million in Pakistan, 28 million in India and millions in the USA, UK, Canada and Persian Gulf countries such as UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia making it the 10th most widely spoken language in the world. But it was shameful that in the Capital of Punjab, the administrator himself was suggesting that the demand of making Punjabi the language of the UT should be left, he asserted.