Koshur
The mother tongue of Kashmir
Kashmiri is one the official language of India. The Kashmiri language is traditionally written in Sharda script after the 8th century A.D. This script however, is not in common use today, except for religious ceremonies of the Kashmiri Pandits. Today it is written in Perso-Arabic and Devanagari script with some modifications.
The Perso-Arabic script
is recognized as the official script of Kashmiri language by the Jammu and
Kashmir government. Nowadays, Kashmiri Perso-Arabic has come to be associated
with Kashmiri Muslims, while the Kashmiri Devanagari script has come to be
associated with the Kashmiri Hindu community. It is an indispensable part of
our culture.
The occupation over
Kashmir by many foreign rulers has laid an impact on native culture. The Mughal
regime gave the main emphasis on Persian language and the Dogra regime gave on
Urdu language, which lousily affects the Kashmiri language.
Nevertheless, many
people in Kashmir can speak the Kashmiri language orally but there is a
very scanty number of people in the Valley who can speak as well as write in
Kashmiri. It is a well-known fact that in the mother language a student can
grasp more easily than any other language. In educational institutions besides
Urdu and English language we should also give more emphasis on mother
tongue.
There is a dire need for government patronage to hold programs at gross root level in order to make people aware of the importance of their mother language. Lastly, it is the responsibility of every Kashmiri to promote and preserve the indigenous language and culture.
Nadiya Shafi Bhat(M.Sc. Student)
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