An Open Letter by a Kashmiri Student: It’s HIGH TIME; Koshur should lead as an official Language in Jammu Kashmir

 

"I belong to a Kashmiri Hindu family. On October 31, 2019 the state of Jammu and Kashmir was officially made a UT. Being a Kashmiri, it was a dream comes true for me. My parents had migrated from the valley in the late 90s. I was not born in Kashmir, but always had an emotional connect with the place. We still celebrate our festivals, talk in our native language and follow our traditions. I always had a wish to visit the valley and my parents’ home there but my parents never agreed to visit the valley again, Maybe, They did not want to recall the misery and pain they saw in that era. Our only thing which helped us to sustain our identity was culture and in that language played the most vital role. Now, my parents don’t feel any problem in going to the valley again and they have high hopes regarding the development of JK now as now it is a Union Territory of India. The UT’s population can be divided into three major linguistic groups-Kashmiris speak Kashmiri, people of Jammu region use Dogri and Ladakhis speak Ladakhi. Other principal languages spoken in the state are Hindi, Pahari, Balti, Punjabi, Gojri and Dadri.

 

 

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act was passed in August 2019 and has come into effect from 31 October. It contains provisions to reconstitute the state which also includes the official language. English and Hindi are the languages for that as for now and official language may change in future as the UT gets totally reorganized.

 

 

 

Language is very much important to our culture. Language allows us to pass on and exchange ideas, knowledge, and even culture on to the next generation. Language allows the culture to develop by developing people and making them understand its value and importance. They say ‘if you want to kill a nation; kill its language. It explains the importance of language. History tells us examples, of how countries were overpowered by making linguistic restrictions like Germany used linguistic chauvinism to overpower French and used different methods for it.

An official language is a language that the population operates in. As a Kashmiri, I think that now the official language of the UT should be changed.

 

 

It is important to have an official language so that the people who are bound together by the state have a common language. Our public facilities should be in the language that is the primary language so that the most amounts of people can understand it. We should be able to interact. We have to offer the same opportunities to everyone. By means of an official language, we can make sure that every domestic business and administration runs smooth and perfectly.

 

 

A language which is used as the official language of a state should be prominent in the region due to obvious reasons. Out of the 22 scheduled languages mentioned in the 8th schedule of the constitution of India, 5 are most frequently spoken in JK. These are Kashmiri, Hindi, Dogri, Punjabi and Urdu.

 

 

 

 

I believe that Kashmiri can be the best option as 54.76% population of UT is its speaker. There are about 6.8 million speakers of Kashmiri and related dialects in Jammu and Kashmir and amongst the Kashmiri diaspora in other states of India. Devnagri, perso-arabic and even Sharda can be used as a script for the language. This will help in reviving the lost heritage and help in cultural development and promotion of the state. It will make Kashmiri a prominent language overall. Using Sharda as a script with the language will restore its use in the UT. The script which is named after the Goddess was in widespread use between the 8th and 12th centuries in the northwestern parts of India (in Kashmir and neighboring areas including Afghanistan), for writing Sanskrit and Kashmiri. The Gurmukhi script was developed from Sharda. What happened with it was similar to what Germany tried in France to decrease the use of French. The relevance and significance of Sharda are recorded in history but it was never promoted or publicized as it could harm some politicians and separatists. Originally more widespread, its use became later restricted to Kashmir, and it is now rarely used except by the Kashmiri Pandit community for ceremonial purposes, we still use some scriptures on some religious rituals. The introduction of Persian as the court language destroyed the patronage that Kashmiri once had. The interaction with Persian led to the introduction of many Persian words into the Kashmiri language. The introduction of Urdu as the official language during the Dogra period pushed Kashmiri further into the background. Similarly, the coming of English into Kashmir too had its effects on the native culture of Kashmir. The scrapping of 370, which will help in returning of Kashmiri Hindu community, will also increase Kashmiri speakers in the UT. It will not be less than a bliss for Kashmiri Hindus if Kashmiri becomes the official language and if the script used would be Sharda, it will be very overwhelming for us.

 

 

Many Kashmiri Hindu families live in my locality. They all feel and want that Kashmiri should be the official language, they feel that their language should be promoted and widely used just like languages of neighbor states like Punjabi, they think that it will also help in restoring the Kashmiri film industry which can furthermore promote the language on a better scale and the children who are young will not feel odd in speaking Kashmiri, as they feel today. Even after so much struggle and sacrifice, they have managed to sustain themselves and their community. Some people of the community like Virender Koul {son of Sarwanand koul Premi) are giving the best efforts to preserve the language. The govt. needs to understand their pain and listen to their aspirations as well.

 

 

Kashmiri with Sharda script should be taught to children in schools just like other languages. This is not a foreign or new thing but it is their own script with language. Any individual who would lose a precious personal belonging can never feel sad if he finds it. Kashmiri can be the most appropriate option for the official language. For decades, Jammu and Kashmir which was the land of saints, poets, scholars, and mystics has been used for selfish purposes by different anti-national forces, separatists have created a negative image of the territory among people which is now being changed after it has become a UT and is being reorganized. The government is working for the betterment of JK and its people and we believe that whatever it does got the UT will definitely help in its development in all aspects.

 

 

Considering all these facts, we find that, Kashmiri is most appropriate as an official language of the UT due to obvious reasons.

 

 

However, people in a democracy always have the choice and the public may be allowed to represent themselves in any of the languages which are popular in J&K.

 

 

Jammu Kashmir needs to reconstitute itself in the true sense by accepting the change be it linguistic or in other aspects in order to clean the stains of the past."