Punjab and Haryana high court to review exclusion of Urdu from HCS exams

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has issued notice to the Haryana government and the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) over the exclusion of Urdu as a subject from Haryana Civil Services (executive and allied services) competitive examination. Haryana only offers Hindi, Punjabi, and Sanskrit literature as optional subjects in the prestigious examination.
Contending that even the Constitution recognizes Urdu as a national language under VIII Schedule, Mohammad Imran (35) of Haryana’s Nuh district moved the high court and sought directions to the Haryana government to include Urdu as an optional subject for the main examination of Group-A and B HCS posts advertised on February 26, 2021.
Justice Arun Monga asked the Haryana chief secretary and the HPSC to submit their replies to the notices on the issue by September 9.
According to the petitioner, Urdu should have been included as an optional examination as it has the largest number of speakers in the country and even the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) stipulates that candidates appearing for the all-India civil services examination who are proficient in Urdu and have studied it as a part of their curriculum or as their mother tongue can take Urdu as an optional subject.
“The HPSC has been adopting a very strange process in making appointments to HCS by debarring candidates proficient in Urdu or who have learnt Urdu as their mother tongue because in the main examination list, Urdu has not been included and thereby putting the future of aspirants who know Urdu at stake. The act of the HPSC is arbitrary and totally unknown to law,” the petitioner submitted.
He also informed the HC that Urdu is officially recognized in India and has official status in the National Capital Territory of Delhi as the language has deep roots in the area through the medieval history of Muslim sultanates and empires.
The petitioner, who has completed his entire education in Urdu, added that he would be deprived of his legitimate right as he was not permitted to take Urdu as an optional subject in the HCS examination.
Discrimination Alleged:
The petitioner highlighted that Haryana’s exclusion of Urdu from the list of optional subjects for the competitive examination amounts to discrimination vis-a-vis other languages that have been included.