It was only a few days ago that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had made a surprise announcement and released the draft rules for the new class 10th examination, removing Punjabi from the list of languages in which exams were to be conducted from now on. Due to the strong protest movement in Punjab over this issue, the CBSE had to backtrack on its announcement and the board clarified that all regional languages, including Punjabi, would continue to be included in the CBSE board examinations. The CBSE had given the names of the 14 languages on its website for which there was no option to take the class 10th examination. But later, the board officials clarified this and said that this language list in the draft rules is merely indicative. But this is not the first time. For a long time now, CBSE has been Due to its Tughlaq decisions, it has been criticized all over India. In the name of improving the curriculum, this board made many grave mistakes about the history and culture of Punjab, but now the attempt to completely ignore the Punjabi language in the 10th class examinations has given another proof of the biased behavior of the board.
About 15 crore people speak Punjabi all over the world and it has its own identity at the global level. There is hardly any country in the world where the Punjabi language is not understood. This is a common stepmotherly treatment of the Punjabi language, whether it was done out of negligence or intentionally. The Punjabi language should be given its due place. The best literature has been created in the Punjabi language, including Sri Guru Granth Sahib. The foundation of the Punjabi language was laid about 800 years ago by the great Sufi saint Baba Sheikh Farid Ji. The Gurus and Pirs have played a role in taking this language forward. Punjabi has produced many great writers, poets and lyricists, who have brought glory to Punjab and India all over the world. These great personalities have been honored with Padma Awards in India and other major awards all over the world. Punjabi singing is also being praised all over the world at this time and world famous singers of other languages also feel proud to sing with Punjabi singers. No unscrupulous Punjabi will tolerate such treatment of this language spoken by 15 crore people all over the world.
The decision of CBSE to exclude Punjabi and other regional languages from the draft prepared for the 10th exams on 25 February 2025 cannot be called symbolic. The smell of the education policy of the Central Government is definitely visible in this amendment. In this context, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s statement attracts attention, who say that the central government is trying to impose Hindi on the states under the guise of a new education policy. Taking a strong and bold step in this regard, the education department of the Punjab government has demanded immediate action to restore Punjabi as a main subject in the CBSE board curriculum for the 10th examination and also to include Punjabi language in the list of regional languages across the country. The Punjab government has also expressed its protest that the central board is deliberately ignoring the Punjabi language. The Punjab government has appealed to the central government to intervene immediately and rectify this major omission. It is noteworthy that the Punjab government has made Punjabi a compulsory main subject in all schools in the state by issuing a notification a day after the notification issued by the CBSE board on 26 February 2025, irrespective of which educational board the school is under. According to this notification, certificates of schools that do not teach Punjabi as a main subject will not be recognized by the Punjab government. The way the central government is trying to implement its own agenda through its institutions in a crooked manner, it can prove fatal for the federal and linguistic structure of the country. Imposing any one language on the multilingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural character of the country will not benefit national unity and communication, but will increase mutual distances. C.B.S.E. should issue instructions to teach and conduct examinations in the regional languages of the states as compulsory subjects after English in 10th and 12th in its affiliated schools. The Punjab government and writers’ organizations should also raise this issue.
