Kaladi Mahajan
I am one of the few persons in Jammu who can write Dogri in its original Takri script (standardised during the reign of Maharaja Ranbir Singh) with the same nimbleness and agility as one would expect me to write Hindi in Devanagari. Hence, the present decision of the central cabinet to declare Dogri, Hindi and Kashmiri as the official languages of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, along with the Urdu and English is a great news for me, in particular and all Dogras, in general. This much awaited order comes almost 17 years after Dogri was inserted in the eight schedule of the constitution in 2003. It’s still debatable as to why Kashmiri, which was restricted in its scope, geographically and otherwise was included in 8th schedule while Dogri which was numerically superior and spatially dispersed was ignored for so many years.
This decision as taken by the cabinet, nevertheless, is well timed. It must come as a succour to the people of Jammu, in particular, who have been, for long, demanding the inclusion of Dogri as the official language of Jammu and Kashmir. Principally, it draws its spirit from Section 47 of J&K reorganization Act, 2019 which stated that “The Legislative Assembly may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir or Hindi as the official language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir”. As the legislative assembly has not been constituted as of now, the power to frame a law on this subject lies with the Parliament. . But, here’s a caveat, as to how shall it be formalized in the face of extreme lackadaisical government response, except insofar as it functions as another procedural appendage in the already stretched governance structure and serves a tool for face saving tactic for the ruling party while it’s receding back into the dark political alleyways of the yore in its bastion?
Let us answer them one by one. I, for one, believe that if Dogri has to shine and rise again, then it must be ‘democratized’ to the hilt. This democratization shall have a cocooning effect which shall bring citizenry into this fold of this new lingual paradigm, which often got ignored in the past. And for this it’s necessary that the future statutes, bylaws, guidelines that are enacted by the government must have an attached Dogri translation. A visible multipronged strategy must be devised by the administration in this regard and, if necessary, people should be hired and trained for undertaking such tasks. This shall also generate new jobs. Secondly, the decision will also provide an opportunity for Dogras to self introspect and forage in their own historical annals. They must understand as to how Jammu was systematically emasculated . From the archives of Intelligence Bureau, it’s amply clear that our forefathers were eager to create a secular state of linguistic ‘Dograland’ in early 1950s, but It couldn’t materialise. Thirdly, it has provided a visible representative symbol for Dogras who earlier, were colluded within the overarching Kashmiri narrative. Fourthly, it buttresses the multicultural and multilinguistic parameters of Indian Union. Fifthly, the decision shall restrict, to an extent, the future cultural degeneration, in which, the newer generation of Jammu has largely embraced Hindi and English as their primary languages. Sixthly, This shall attenuate the domination of a ‘relatively foreign’ Urdu language, which perhaps was another bizzare rhetoric of the past used by the suave Kashmiri leaders to associate themselves with Pakistan (with only 1% of native speakers).
As the first phase of a solemn endeavour to promote and propagate the use of Dogri has begun, it’s essential to expand it in other avenues as well. The Dogri ought not to be restricted to extant government files only. The new beginning has to be made by making Dogri compulsory in the elementary schooling along with Hindi and English in all the government aided and private schools present in the Jammu division till class 8th. Only then one can hope to really see a fathomable change in the process of rejuvenating our language. Padma Shri Padma Sachdev ji has often said, O kaade Dogre, jede Dogri ni bolde (one who doesn’t speak Dogri can’t be a Dogra) Additionally, Dogri script must be introduced in public, for instance, on billboards, milestones, shops, public signage, government complexes etc like the way Indian Railways has used the Takri version of script in Jammu, Bari Brahmana, Kathua Stations etc. This shall be a new developmental stratagem which shall usher in a sense of rightful pride in our distinct culture.
Notwithstanding the material and intellectual progress that our society has achieved from last many years, it must be acknowledged that this has always been an inherently lopsided growth, for our value systems and cultural practices were inconsistent with other cultural societies. I understood this while I was in DU and JNU. My south Indian friends usually taunted me for speaking in Hindi with my family, knowing very well that I’m a Dogra. And gradually, it dawned on me that my cultural identity was missing. This was indeed a major nudge for me to consolidate my identity and what followed was a structured learning and practising Dogri language and script and fortunately, today, after two years, I can say with boldness that I can read, write and speak Dogri fluently. As Rita Mae Brown has said “Language is the road map of a culture, it tells you where its people come from and where they are going”, similarly, every Dogra individual must strive hard to preserve, nurture and propagate this language, for government can, at most, be only an effective means for language formalisation. The ultimate baton is in our hands and we must transfer it safely down to our next generation.
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