On Friday, the Punjab government issued mandatory orders to all departments to change existing signboards and include the Punjabi language in Gurmukhi script. This decision is for all government, semi-government corporations and state road milestones. The state government has ordered that Punjabi text will be at the top on such signboards, and other languages may be included below it in smaller fonts.
Punjab Govt makes mandatory all govt & semi-government institutions, boards, corporations to write all signboards in the Punjabi language in Gurmukhi Script. Besides this the road milestones would also be written in Gurmukhi Script in the state.
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2020
During a session in the assembly, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, the minister for Higher education and languages said, it was his promise to implement this decision in order to commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of prominent Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
Incidentally, it was announced on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day. The new regulations, however, will not apply to the national highways and various central government departments.
The Punjab Languages Department issued orders in this regard as per the Punjab State Language Act, 1967. The order states “The sign boards in all the government and semi-government institutions, boards, corporations and road milestones would be written in Punjabi on the top in Gurmukhi Script and if need arises to write in any other language, it will be written below in smaller font”.
The Secretary, Higher Education and Languages, Rahul Bhandari, has written a letter, related to its implementation to all heads of all state departments, divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, district sessions judges, Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary, Punjab and Haryana High Court registrar, chairmen of boards and corporations and all semi- government organisations. A separate notification will be sent to private business, industrial and educational establishments, asking them to follow the rule.
