• Source:JND
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Sanskrit J&K schools: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday (July 19, 2025) clarified that no official decision has been taken yet on including Sanskrit as a subject in schools under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

The clarification came after a representation by Purshotam Lal Dube, who leads a non-governmental organisation, was submitted to the Lieutenant Governor's Secretariat, requesting the inclusion of Sanskrit in educational institutions across J&K.

A government spokesperson stated that this representation was simply forwarded by the L-G Secretariat to the concerned departments and that no proposal or process has been initiated regarding Sanskrit being introduced as a mandatory or optional subject.

“The communication was routed through the General Administration Department (GAD) to the Director of School Education in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions. However, no action or proposal has emerged as a result,” said the spokesman.

He further added that any changes to the curriculum will follow a transparent and consultative approach in alignment with the NEP 2020. “All future decisions regarding subject inclusion will be communicated through official channels post thorough deliberation,” the spokesman confirmed.

Meanwhile, political tensions flared up as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday accused the previous Omar Abdullah-led government of deliberately excluding Urdu from the digitisation of land records.

PDP leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra alleged that the land digitisation contract was awarded to “Ramtech,” a private firm, years before the 2024 administration. “The company has digitised only select regions and ignored Urdu in its documentation,” Parra said, questioning the silence of the current Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who also heads the Revenue Department.

Curriculum Under NEP 2020:

The education departments are currently evaluating subject proposals through expert panels. Sanskrit inclusion, if considered, will be reviewed along with other NEP-aligned reforms before final approval.

PDP Raises Urdu Erasure Concerns:

The People's Democratic Party (PDP) legislator Waheed Parra on Saturday accused the Omar Abdullah-led National Conference government of sidelining Urdu in the ongoing land record digitisation project in Jammu and Kashmir. He alleged that the digitisation is being done exclusively in English, despite Urdu being one of the region's official languages and historically integral to revenue records.

Parra stated that the Chief Minister, who also holds the revenue portfolio, has approved "another round of land record digitisation" without including Urdu.

Parra further alleged that long before the 2024 government took office, the administration had awarded a multi-crore digitisation contract to a private company. While the firm scanned documents district-wise, only Srinagar and Jammu saw completed digitisation in three years, leaving other regions burdened and rushed by limited revenue staff.