Mumbai: You need to have Urdu knowing person along to get land records and other personal documents from government offices in Punjab. The reason cited is absence of Urdu knowing staff in concerned departments of the state.
"Due to lack of Urdu knowing staff, when a person approaches government offices to obtain old land records, he is advised by officials to come with someone who can read the language," Patrika, a local newspaper, reported Sunday.
In Punjab, the entire official work till 1887 was done in Urdu language. The staff, whether they are Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs or of any caste or religion, they used to be well versed in Urdu - the official language of the time.
"Since most of old records in Punjab's government offices are in Urdu, people are facing difficulties in getting the birth, death and other personal records from concerned departments in the state", the report said.
The report said in the state, which once had majority of its habitants who were speaking Urdu, people who know the language are found with much difficulty.
Interestingly, the renowned Urdu poet Allama Iqbal was from Punjab's Sialkot. India's former prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, IK Gujaral and Dr Manmohan Singh were all well versed in the Urdu language.
Against this backdrop, it is surprising to note that the state which had such a bright history of the language, is struggling to get staff who can read the official records written in Urdu.
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