New Delhi: A delegation of Kashmiri Pandits on Thursday met HRD Minister Smriti Irani and pressed for measures to ensure displaced students get benefits of central educational schemes available to Jammu and Kashmir and steps to promote Kashmiri language and literature and revival of Sharda script.
The delegation of All India Kashmiri Samaj and Jammu and Kashmir Vichar Manch also called for extending the special scholarship scheme for Kashmiri students to pursue higher studies in the country to displaced students.
A demand for extending reservation for displaced Kashmiri students for admission to medical education institutes was also made. Currently, the reservation is available for admission to engineering and management institutes.
Kashmiri Samaj President Moti Kaul and Vichar Manch President Sanjay Ganjoo reminded the previous NDA government's promise of setting up a national council for promotion of Kashmiri language on the lines of similar councils for Urdu and Sindhi and called for its early setting up.
The delegation demanded that Devnagari script for Kashmiri language be given official recognition as an alternative script as the new generation can neither read or write Urdu and hence their inability to write Kashmiri in Persio-Arabic. They said most of the post-exodus Kashmiri literature is in Devnagari.
The delegation also asked the HRD Minister to improve educational infrastructure in Jagti Camp in Jammu where a large number of Kashmiri Pandits settled after their displacement from the Valley a few years ago.
They also demanded the setting up a special institution on the pattern of Navodaya Vidyalayas exclusively for wards of Kashmiri migrants living in Jagti camp and till then displaced students be accommodated in existing Vidyalayas in Jammu.
The delegation also sought passing of standing instructions by the HRD Ministry for admission of displaced students to central schools under Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan as such admissions are currently done on a year-to-year basis.
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