Delhi to soon get an institution to preserve Kashmiri language, school being explored too

“The L-G assured them that to begin with, an Academy for Kashmiri and Dogri languages will be immediately set up and a school on the lines of various schools run by state associations like Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh among others will also be explored,” officials said.

According to officials, Saxena, on Thursday, discussed the matter with his J&K counterpart, Manoj Sinha, who had assured him of providing both manpower in the form of teachers and linguistic experts as well as other provisions such as study material, for instance, for the initiative.

Sunil Shakdher, who hails from J&K and made the request to Saxena, said the move would benefit over 1 lakh members of the community residing in and around the capital.

“It is the enduring hope of the community, of which there are more than 6 lakh living across the country in exile, to return to their land one day which is a matter of time. But, in the meantime, given the miles between us and our roots, our language has become one of the biggest casualties,” Shakdher told The Indian Express.

“When we eventually do return home, we need to ensure that the younger generations who have come into being in the decades away from our roots are able to embrace it wholly along with its language and culture. Both have to be kept alive till then,” he added.
Delhi has Punjabi, Urdu, Sindhi and even Maithili and Bhojpuri Academies run by the Delhi government; but a similar institution for Kashmiri is absent; similarly, various state associations run schools and even colleges where the curriculum includes the state’s language apart from regular courses.

“To begin with a Kashmiri-Dogri Academy is planned to be set up; the L-G, who is also Chairman DDA, has asked for suitable land to be identified for an academy as well as a school. In the interim officials have been asked to identify a community centre in a central location that is not in use,” officials said.