ABVP Protests in Jammu Over Demand for Dogri and Regional Languages in Govt Job Posts

Jammu: Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers and students staged a protest in Jammu, blocking the Tawi Bridge to demand the inclusion of Dogri and other regional languages in the list of languages for government job posts.

The protestors voiced concerns over the exclusion of these languages, which they argue are vital to the region's identity.

The protest was sparked by the recent announcement of job vacancies where only Urdu, Persian, and a few other languages were considered, leaving out Dogri, a key language spoken by a significant portion of the Jammu region's population.

Speaking at the protest, a student said, "The lecturer posts that have come out, in that, there is no post for Hindi and Sanskrit. First month, we made a memorandum and spoke to them but to no avail, our demands were not fulfilled so we had to come out on the streets. Dogri is being ignored. They have preferred the languages that are common in Kashmir but in the languages in Jammu, like Hindi, Dogri and Sanskrit, there is not a single post."

Visuals from the protest show police lathi-charged the students at the site.

The ABVP members held posters with the caption, "Videshi ka virodh, Swadeshi ka samman" (Opposition to foreign, respect for Indigenous).

Earlier on Monday, a delegation of the ABVP submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC), Prof M Jagadesh Kumar, highlighting key issues related to higher education and students, including demands for an increase in 'Fellowship' and centralization of Common University Entrance Test (CUET), according to an official press release.

The memorandum focused on crucial matters such as scholarships, fellowships, entrance examinations, commercialization of education, student union elections, and administrative reforms in universities.

The ABVP urged the UGC to implement the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) as a centralized admission process across all universities, ensuring uniform application fees.

It also called for the regularization of the academic calendars for undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs and controlling the rising application fees for admission tests.

Highlighting concerns over commercialization, corruption, and monopolization in private universities, ABVP demanded the introduction of central legislation to curb these practices.

It also appealed for a halt to the annual hikes in tuition fees by central universities and the rollback of the financial autonomy granted under the guise of "graded autonomy."

ABVP advocated for direct elections for student unions in educational institutions and stressed the need for a National Students' Union Act to streamline the conduct of student unions and their elections. It further demanded student representation on academic and administrative councils of universities.

According to the release, the UGC responded positively, acknowledging ABVP's suggestions as student-centric and assuring swift action.

The Commission committed to expediting the release of post-doctoral fellowships, increasing the number of fellowships, and simplifying administrative processes. It also emphasized strengthening the CUET process and implementing a common admission process soon.

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