J&K Promises Panjabi as Official Language; Jhota in Sikh Museum

October

2026

The Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) gave written assurance to the Punjabi Morcha on 14 Oct for the inclusion of Panjabi language, besides Gojri and Pahari as official languages of J&K. The National Conference‑led government has decided to introduce a bill in the 2027 Budget Session of the Assembly to declare the inclusion. After the government’s assurance, the Morcha in Jammu suspended its agitation and took out a victory march. Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) organized a special seminar titled ‘Guru Varosai Gurmukhi’ to mark Gurmukhi Diwas, dedicated to the Gurtagaddi Diwas (Coronation) of Guru Angad, at the Sri Guru Angad Dev College in Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran district. The Granthi (reciter) of Darbar Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar, Parvinderpal Singh drew attention to the problem of Panjabi language and Gurmukhi script being ignored in schools these days. Additionally, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said a portrait of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota, who a pharmacy owner in Mansa killed on 13 Oct, will be displayed at the Central Sikh Museum located within the Darbar Sahib complex, Amritsar. Dhami said that the portrait would serve as a symbol of remembrance of Jhota’s commitment to saving Panjab’s youth. He met Jhota’s family on 16 Oct. Ironically, the announcement comes at a time when SGPC has put on hold the installation of a portrait of the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Central Sikh Museum despite approving it on 13 May 2025. The then SGPC secretary Partap Singh said Dhami had ordered the matter put on hold temporarily after objections from various groups. Concurrently, ahead of 2027 Panjab assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to build a pro-Sikh image by weaving historical Sikh narratives and appropriating Sardar Teja Singh Samundri—a key architect of the Sikh Gurdwara reform movement and a co-founder of the SGPC. Ironically, Samundri refused to compromise and declined conditional release from British custody, subsequently dying at the Lahore Central Jail at the age of 43. In comparison, BJP’s ideologue Veer Savarkar from its parent organization, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, compromised with the British by submitting multiple mercy petitions between 1911–1920 while serving a 50-year sentence at the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands (earlier coverage).