Dr Praveen Yograj
dr.praveenyog1@gmail.com
My dear brothers and sisters of Duggar, the time has come for us to stand tall and reclaim what is truly ours. Dogri is our mother tongue, the Dogra Rajput legacy is our pride, and Dogra Akkhar – our own beautiful script – is the crown of our cultural heritage. For far too long we have allowed outsiders and even our own people to call it simply “Takri”. That must change today.
Dogra Akkhar is the refined, royal, Jammu-specific variant of the ancient Takri family of scripts. Just as Punjab calls its script Gurmukhi (and never “Landa”), just as Maharashtra calls its script Modi (and never just “old Devanagari”), we must proudly call our script Dogra Akkhar or Nave Dogra Akkhar – the very form perfected by Maharaja Ranbir Singh 150 years ago.
Look around Jammu today and you will see this magnificent script returning home:
My own clinic board at New Plot- Jammu, All major railway stations – Jammu Tawi,Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, Udhampur, Samba
Outside the residence of veteran Dogri warrior Dr Kasturi Lal Gupta
Senior Citizens Club office, Chowadi
The entrance of ISKCON Temple, Jammu
Amar Singh Club gate.
Every single letter on these boards is pure Nave Dogra Akkhar – the same script in which Maharaja Ranbir Singh issued royal farmans, minted coins, printed postage stamps and banknotes, published the first-ever printed Dogri book Lilavati (1873) at Vidya Vilas Press, and brought out newspapers like Dogra Mittar. He gave us complete vowel signs a special letter for our unique Dogri “?a” sound (?), elegant headlines, and above all – dignity.
Yet after 1947, this royal script was pushed into darkness. Urdu was imposed, then Devanagari took over, and even scholars started calling our script “Dogri Takri”. Every time we say “Takri” we unintentionally hand over Maharaja Ranbir Singh’s legacy to Himachal Pradesh, where Chambeali Takri, Kulluvi Takri and Sirmauri Takri are their proud variants. We cannot let that continue.
The good news is that the tide has turned. Unicode recognised Dogra Akkhar as a separate block in 2018. Young Dogri lovers are bringing it back to signboards, nameplates, social media, and cultural events. Two names deserve our deepest gratitude in this revival:
The Dogra Akkhar Twitter handle (@DograAkkhaar) which daily spreads awareness, shares charts, and corrects misconceptions.
Ms Shikha Magotra, who selflessly teaches hundreds of us how to read and write Dogra Akkhar through her dedicated WhatsApp group – line by line, letter by letter, with endless patience.
Because of their efforts, and because of the quiet determination of ordinary Jammuites, our script is once again visible on our streets.
Now I appeal to every son and daughter of Jammu:
If you are putting up a nameplate, clinic board, shop sign, or school banner – write at least one line in Dogra Akkhar.
Journalists and writers – stop writing “Takri script” when you mean Dogra Akkhar.
Teachers – introduce children to Dogra Akkhar from Class 5 onwards, the way Punjab teaches Gurmukhi and Maharashtra teaches Modi Script.
Cultural organisations, temples, clubs, and government offices – make Dogra Akkhar compulsory on all new signboards alongside Devanagari.
Parents – teach your child to write their name in Dogra Akkhar the same day they learn it in Devanagari.
Dogri fought for decades to enter the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution. Now Dogra Akkhar is fighting to reclaim its correct name and place in our daily life.
Let every corner of Jammu, from New Plot to Trikuta Nagar, from Rehari to Janipur, echo with one voice.
Let us make Jammu the city where India comes to see a living, breathing, 150-year-old royal script still glowing with pride.
(The author is Ex Medical Superintendent- Gandhinagar Hospital, Jammu)
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