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Punjabi, Urdu get second language status

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI JUNE 25. The President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, today gave his consent to the Delhi Official Language Bill, 2000, making Punjabi and Urdu the second official language of the Capital.

An official announcement here said the President gave his assent to the Bill -- which was passed by the Delhi Assembly in 2000 -- on the recommendation of the Deputy Prime Minister, Lal Krishna Advani.

The enactment declares Punjabi in Gurumukhi and Urdu in the Urdu script to be the "second official languages'' of Delhi for various official purposes, the statement said.

With this, it will be necessary to publish the translation of important Government rules, regulations and gazette notifications and also of important Government advertisements in Punjabi and Urdu. It has been made obligatory for the Government functionaries in the Capital to reply to all the application and petitions made in Punjabi and Urdu in the same language.

``The enactment further provides that thee proceedings of the Delhi Legislative Assembly shall be recorded and issued simultaneously in Punjabi and Urdu also wherever required,'' the statement said.

Welcoming the Presidential assent, the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, said the decision to make Punjabi and Urdu second language was a "happy culmination'' of the efforts made by her Government in this direction. Reminding that the Delhi Assembly had passed the Bill way back in 2000, she alleged: "But for the dilly-dallying on the part of Central Government, this momentous decision would have come into effect then itself.''

Ms. Dikshit said the decision reflected the aspirations of the millions of people in the Capital and assured that the Delhi Government would take up the task of encouraging and patronising these languages with renewed zeal.

The Presidential assent to the Delhi Official Language Bill 2000 has also been welcomed by large Punjabi and Urdu-speaking people of the Capital.

A delegation of Punjabi-speaking population led by the Ekta Forum president, Balvinder Singh, and heads of the various local Gurdwara committees today met the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, and congratulated her for initiating the move to declare their Punjabi as the second official language of the Capital.

``The entire community of the Capital is grateful to you and the Delhi Government for making Punjabi second official language. This would go a long way in promoting the cause of this great language,'' Mr. Singh said.

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