NEW DELHI: To promote linguistic inclusivity, the city will soon feature Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Urdu on road signages, directional boards, and the names of the public places, in compliance with a recent directive from the Department of Arts, Culture and Language.
This order applies to metro stations, hospitals, public parks, and roads managed by the PWD. The department oversees 1,250 km of roads in the city, and updates to signages will begin immediately.
Additionally, bureaucrats working with the Delhi government will also be required to display their names in the four languages on boards outside their offices.
In a written communication, the department directed all departments, civic bodies and autonomous authorities to ensure compliance with the Act, following instructions from L-G VK Saxena. The communication specifies that the sequence of languages on boards and signages should be Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu, with uniform font sizes for all. Currently, most signboards and nameplates display information in Hindi and English.
According to the department, the initiative aligns with The Delhi Official Languages Act, 2000, which designates Hindi as the primary official language and Punjabi and Urdu as secondary official languages.
According to the department, the initiative aligns with The Delhi Official Languages Act, 2000, which designates Hindi as the primary official language and Punjabi and Urdu as secondary official languages.
As per the 2023 Delhi Statistical Handbook, Punjabi is spoken by 8.73 lakh people and Urdu by 8.67 lakh.
Order issued
Dept of Arts has directed all authorities concerned to ensure that the sequence of languages on signages should be Hindi, English, Punjabi and Urdu, with uniform font sizes for all.