Edited
by: P. N. Pushp and K. Warikoo
Himalayan Research
and Cultural Foundation
Har-Anand Publications |
Appendix A
Memorandum by VIKALPA (Forum of Emigree
Kashmiri Writers)
ADOPTION AND RECOGNITION OF DEVNAGRI AS AN
ALTERNATIVE SCRIPT FOR KASHMIRI LANGUAGE
As everyone knows, one of the prime targets of
terrorism in Kashmir has been the Kashmiri ethos or the peculiar Kashmiri sense
of values and ideals as represented by Lalleshwari and Sheikh Nur-ud-Din and
nurtured over the centuries by the saints and the Sufis. With the Kalashnikov
culture penetrating every walk of life in Kashmir and terrorists calling all the
shots, all literary activity, and, in fact every form of creativity, has been
abruptly disrupted, resulting in a stunning silence that has continued for the
last three years. One of the most tragic dimensions of the situation is that
non-Muslim Kashmiri writers and intellectuals-the whole lot of them and perhaps
a few Muslim writers too-have been forced by fundamentalist Muslim insurgents to
flee their homes in the Valley together with their entire community. Cut off
from their natural soil, these writers are struggling, today to save their
identity as well as their language as a relevant medium of expression.
In such circumstances, challenges have to be faced squarely and crucial
decisions taken without any delusions, for one false step can spell disaster for
a culture in exile. It is in this context that the question of adopting Devnagri
as an alternative script for Kashmiri has assumed supreme importance. The
officially recognised Perso-Arabic script was adopted as a compromise to placate
Muslim sentiment at the cost of the age old indigenous Sharda script. But this
script is no longer suitable in the situation that has emerged, particularly
when it will be the diaspora Kashmiris who will form the main audience of the
displaced Kashmiri writers in the years to come. Not only is the Perso-Arabic
script defective and incapable of rendering Kashmiri sounds correctly, but it is
also solely dependent on scribes and calligraphers-a fast dwindling tribe which
is likely to become extinct soon even in the Valley. This script, it must be
pointed out, has failed to take advantage of even elementary typography, not to
speak of advanced technology in the field, with the net result that the number
of books published in Kashmiri has been decreasing year after year in direct
proportion to the decreasing number of calligraphers.
The adoption of Perso-Arabic script for Kashmiri has deprived most of the
non-Muslim Kashmiris, especially womenfolk, of the readership of Kashmiri
literature, old and new. To benefit this vast section of Kashmiri-speaking
people, both inside the Valley and outside, a demand was raised in some quarters
for allowing the use of Devnagri as an alternative script, but it was met with
stiff opposition from fanatical elements among supporters of the PersoArabic
script on grounds more religious than academic. Strangely, however, these very
elements pressed for and succeeded in getting Persian adopted as an alternative
script for Dogri and Punjabi in addition to the officially accepted Devnagri and
Gurmukhi scripts just to appease a handful of people reluctant to learn the
Devnagri or Gurmukhi scripts.
With the onset of the present militancy, none among the known or unknown
Kashmiri writers living in the valley has been able to come out with anything in
print. The reason for this may be the fear of the terrorists and fundamentalists
to a great extent. But non-availability of skilled calligraphers has also been
an important factor.
Paradoxically, it is in areas outside Kashmir Valley where writing in
Kashmiri is going on at present. Apart from well known Kashmiri writers who have
been forced to migrate from Kashmir, some young and up-coming Kashmiri writers
have also appeared on the scene.
Devnagri, in fact, has been in use for writing Kashmiri for a long time now,
not only by Kashmiris settled outside the valley during the earlier exoduses,
but in the valley itself. Among its prominent protagonists have been people like
Pandit Ishwar Kaul who wrote the first Kashmiri grammar and compiled the first
Kashmiri dictionary (subsequently edited by Grierson). Professor S.K. Toshakhani
who wrote the first Kashmiri novel besides several text books in the script for
use in the schools run by the Women's Welfare Trust, and the renowned Kashmiri
poet Master Zinda Kaul who was the first Kashmiri writer to have bagged the
Sahitya Akademi award. The first Kashmiri drama by Pandit Nand Lal Kaul and the
Kashmiri Ramayana as also several other Kashmiri classics have already appeared
in the Devnagri script catering to a substantially large readership.
Considering the issue in all its aspects, this forum of displaced Kashmiri
writers, VIKALPA, has come to the conclusion that it is high time that Devnagri
was adopted as an alternative script for Kashmiri as a practical necessity
dictated by the times and also with a view, to preserving the cultural identity
of diaspora Kashmiris of which Kashmiri language forms the most important and
inseparable part. To pursue this objective VIKALPA feels it necessary to raise
its voice for the fulfilment of the following demands:
1 Recognition of Devnagri as an alternative script for Kashmiri by the State
and Central Governments, State and Central Academies, Universities and other
official/ semi-official bodies.
2 Kashmiri books and manuscripts written in Devnagri script should also be
considered by the State and Central Academies for grant of awards, prizes and
financial assistance on the basis of their literary merit.
3 In keeping with its policy of encouraging use of Devnagri script for other
regional languages also, the central government should provide liberal
financial assistance to institutions/ individuals who will undertake the task
of transcribing Kashmiri classics (old and new) into Devnagri script.
| 
Previous
Chapter
