Demanding that all administrative works be done in Punjabi and all the provisions of the Punjab Official Languages Act, 1967 be notified, a group of writers and activists have written to the political parties and candidates in fray for February 20 polls to include the issues in their manifestos.
Punjabi Bhasha Pasaar Bhaichara’s MS Sekhon said they want poll candidates to work for the effective solution to the issues related to Punjabi language.
The primary demand raised by the outfit is proper implementation of the provisions of the Punjab Official Languages Act, 1967.
“It should be ensured that all the work in the administrative offices is done in Punjabi, as per a provision mentioned in the Act, and any violation should be strictly prohibited,” reads the letter written to the political parties. It, however, adds that work can be done in both Punjabi and English, if required.
“As per the Act, the functioning of all district courts in Punjab such as claims, counterclaims, orders and judgments etc. has to be done in Punjabi, with effect from November 5, 2008. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has since sought 1500 new employees to implement this provision. However, no government has adhered to this request. The state government should acknowledge this demand of the High Court, as this would not only provide employment opportunities to the Punjabi educated unemployed, but also give basic right to the people to get justice in their mother tongue,” it adds.
The letter further says that a provision in the Act states that the language of the rules and bye-laws made in the Vidhan Sabha should be Punjabi. “This section also provides that a separate notification will be issued regarding the date from which this law will come into force. Regrettably, 54 years after the establishment of Punjab, and 53 years after the passing of this Act, this notification has not been issued by any government. Due to lack of notification, all the laws, rules made in the Vidhan Sabha are made in the English language only. The Punjab government should immediately issue this notification so that the people can get the information of the laws applicable to them in their mother tongue,” further says the letter.
“We agree with the government policy that in order to secure a sound future for the children, they must be proficient in the English language…Being proficient in a language does not necessarily mean that language is to be made the medium of instruction. We are opposed to the Punjab government’s imposition of English as the medium of education especially in the rural areas. We request that provision should be made for the child to be made proficient in English by the time he passes the matriculation examination, but the medium of instruction should be Punjabi only,” adds the letter.
“As per the provisions of The Punjab Learning of Punjabi and Other Languages Act, 2008, Punjabi is to be taught as a compulsory subject in every school in Punjab from class I to X. But most of the private schools are violating this law. Strict enforcement of the provisions of this Act should be ensured and schools which do not teach Punjabi as a compulsory subject should be de-recognized,” it adds.
“Parties should ensure that their manifestos include a commitment to solve the above issues pertaining to the Punjabi language…54 years of injustice meted out to the mother tongue of Punjab is stopped forthwith and due pride is given to the language,” said Sekhon.