Hyderabad: In an important unifying move, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao Friday declared Urdu as the second official language in Telangana.
The announcement was made by the chief minister in Telangana assembly on Friday.
''I am declaring today, not considering districts as unit but the state as a unit, in the entire Telangana state Urdu will be considered and practised as the second official language. It has been a demand for a long time", he said amid applause.
About 77% of the population of Telangana speak Telugu, 12% speak Urdu, and 13% speak other languages. Before 1948, Urdu was the official language of Hyderabad State, and due to a lack of Telugu-language educational institutions, Urdu was the language of the educated elite of Telangana.
Simultaenously, the chief minister also asked all government offices starting from the Chief Minister's Office to District Collectorate, to receive all petitions in Urdu as well. All competitive examinations will also be conducted in Urdu.
The chief minister also noted that 66 Urdu employees would be recruited in 60 days to place them in CM and all Minister's offices, in Assembly and Council, in general administration, information and public relations departments and in district collectors’ offices for helping people represent their grievances in Urdu.
The announcement of Chief Minister to name Urdu as the second official language in Telangana comes barely three weeks after the Telangana government declared to develop an exclusive industrial estate and Information Technology (IT) corridor for Muslims in the state.
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