BATHINDA: To get Punjabi its due, supporters of the language have decided to hold a protest outside Punjab governor’s house in Chandigarh on November 1. They claim that Punjab was carved out on the basis of language in 1966, yet various governments had failed to fully protect their mother tongue all these years.Activists of Ma Boli Satkar Committee, an outfit formed for the promotion of the language, stated on Thursday said they would assemble at Mohali on the morning of November 1 and head towards Punjab Raj Bhawan. Committee members Lakhbir Singh alias Lakha Sidhana and Hardeep Singh Mehraj told newspersons at Bathinda on Thursday said Punjabi had not been given its due ever since Punjab was carved out on linguistic basis on November 1, 1966.“Demands have been raised from time to time to make Punjabi compulsory in all official communication. Acting on the demand, directions were issued many times to do the official work in Punjabi in the government offices but these orders were never seriously implemented. Punjabi language remained at the crossroads. In some of the convent schools in Punjab, speaking in Punjabi is as an offence,” said Sidhana.They said they have been working for the promotion of Punjabi and had faced a number of police cases for smudging display boards written in English or Hindi above Punjabi but they would continue to raise their voice. “We are sure that a large number of persons will join hands on November 1 to raise voice for the language,” said Mehraj.

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