Delhi's new signages to display info in Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Urdu

Delhi road signages, directional boards, and metro station information will soon include Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Urdu, following a directive issued by the Department of Arts, Culture, and Language on November 4. 

The directive applies to metro stations, hospitals, public parks, and government offices, including the nameplates outside bureaucrats’ offices. The Public Works Department, which manages 1,250 km of roads in Delhi, will oversee updates to road signage.

 

Currently, most public signage in Delhi displays information only in Hindi and English. Under the new directive, all public boards and signages must include all four languages in the sequence of Hindi, English, Punjabi, and Urdu. Uniform font sizes will be maintained across all languages.

 

Delhi’s multiculturalism

The move aligns with a 2011 order from the Union Home Ministry’s Department of Official Language, mandating states in Region A, including Delhi, to prioritise Hindi on public signage while considering other languages of regional significance.

 

This initiative also aligns with The Delhi Official Languages Act, 2000, which recognises Hindi, Punjabi, and Urdu as the city’s official languages. 

The justification behind the inclusion of these four specific languages are:

• Hindi: Recognised as the first official language due to its widespread usage.
• English: Included as an associate official language because of its administrative prominence.
• Punjabi: Reflecting the significant Punjabi-speaking population of approximately 873,000 people, as per the Delhi Statistical Handbook 2023.
• Urdu: Culturally and historically relevant with 867,000 speakers in the city.

 

“These languages represent our Ganga-Jamni tehzeeb [composite culture]. Such decisions encourage linguistic and cultural diversity,” Shehpar Rasool, chairperson of the Delhi Urdu Academy told PTI.  (With PTI inputs)