The Unfolding Tragedy of Census Data and Pahari Board Survey
By Sadaket Ali Malik
The majority of the languages spoken in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda Kishtwar and Ramban belongs to the western pahari grouping as elucidated in the first linguistic survey of India. Dogri, a language was once written in Takri, but later this script was not accepted. language. In Nepal, a form of pahari is included in the constitution of the country and it has constitutional protection.
Pahari dialects of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban come under the manifold of Western Pahari classification as elucidated by Grierson and other Linguists like Ghraham Belley and Patter hook.
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir documents like [District Doda at a Glance 2016-17 Page 5] mentioned these dialects as Pahari. The pahari Speaking people are a specific class that has a distinct culture, way of life and customs, and the most distinctive feature of the native speakers is that they all are regarded as Pahari dwellers owing to their languages, attributes and ethnicity. The native speakers are paharies not in this sense that they inhibit in this tough terrain but these are legally paharies owing to their mother tongue, visiting dhoks in the summer for pastoral purposes viz a viz ethnicity.
The identity of this class is similar to the way Gujarati speakers are called Gujjar, Kashmiri speakers are called Kashmiri, Dogri speakers are called Dogra and Ladakhi speakers are called Ladakhi, Bhalessi speakers are called Bhalesi, Bhaderwahi speakers are called Bhaderwahi, Padri speakers are called Paddri, the people inhibiting in Saraz are Sarazi, and Paharis of Pogal Puristan and Ramban District are speakers of Pogali, Gaddi (pastoral dialects Gaddi dialect) spoken in Bhaderwah and Bani Billawar areas.
Languages spoken in sub Himalayan (Middle mountains as the Fredric Drew calls) i.e erstwhile Doda Kishtwar and Ramban having ethnic relevance are as under:
Bhaderwahi, Bhalesi,Padri, Sarazi, and others. Besides these the following are having ethnic relevance too. We are dealing with all these languages on a separate chapters on Bhaderwahi, Bhalesi,Padri,Sarazi, Pogali, Gaddi and many others.
The Pahari dialects belong to the Indo-Aryan family and has been categorised into three main groups, with Nepali in the east, Kumauni and Garhwiali in the middle and Western Pahari in the west. It means Pahari language is an umbrella term under which different languages and dialects and sub dialects are falling.
The three major groups if Pahari has been classified by GA Grierson in his linguistic survey of India. The three groups are Eastern Group, Central Group of Pahari and then lastly the western pahari languages. These western pahari languages are spoken in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda Kishtwar and Ramban besides, Karnah Teetwal, Rajouri poonch Barmullah and Anannag. The languages which are spoken in the foothills of Doda Kishtwar and Ramban are Pougali, Bhaderwahi, Bhalesi, Padri, Sarazi, Saroori, Bonjwali, Kishtwari, Marwi, Dachhni, Gaddi, Deshwali and others. All these languages or dialects are spoken by the majority of the populace and are referred to as the lingua franca of Pogal Paristan, Bhaderwah, Bhalessa, Saraz, Saroor, Dachhan, Marwah, Kishtwar, Padder, Dessa and Bonjwah areas of erstwhile Doda (Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban) of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Dr. S P Vaid in his Analytical study of Paharies of Jammu and Kashmir, he has mentioned about these languages and dialects spoken in Pahari belt of Doda Kishtwar and Ramban.
However, western Pahari are mostly spoken in hilly areas of shimla. In the areas of foot hills of middle mountains in Jammu and Kashmir is a Pougali having close proximity with the western pahari dialects.
According to the J&K Board for Development of Pahari Speaking People (PSP) survey of 2018, Doda Kishtwar and Ramban has 0% of the Paharies. Whereas the statistics issued by the Census authorities says different. The following are the figures of the census of 2011. Both are contrary and the irony is that even census authorities have also wrong figures and classification of the pahari speaking people of Doda Kishtwar and Ramban.
The comparative statements of both the competent authorities are given in Tables. The J&K Board for Development of Pahari Speaking People (PSP) survey of 2018, says that Anatnag has 7.86% of Pahari speaking people, Budgam has 0.70%, Bandipore 4.33 percent, Baramulla 14%, Doda 0% (The borad forgotten the Western Pahari classified languages like Bhalesi, Sarazi and Bhaderwahi a large chunk of population of Pahari speaking people). The board in its surveys further reveal that Ganderbal has 5.88% of Pahari Speaking people, Jammu, Kargil, Ramban, Reasi, Samba, Kathua, leh and Kishtwar has no Pahari Speaking People, The again forgotten the Padari (Paddari) a Western Pahari offshoot) classified under the first linguistic Survey of India (LSI 1919) conducted by GA Grierson. The Board statistics further says that Kupwara has 11.84 percent, Pulwama has 1.59%, The Board of Parahi Speaking People which comes under the Social Welfare Department of Government of Jammu and Kashmir has interesting figures for Poonch and Rajouri and Shupiyan i.e 56.3 and 56.10% and 5.4 % pahari speaking people respectively which is totally differs the Census of India, Lingustic survey of India, and other researches. The fact that Pahari Boards survey reveal that there is 0% pahari speaking population which is contrary to the Census and other research documents like Linguistics survey of India. These figures has undermined the identity and basic rights of the people of Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban.
As far as the census of India 2011 is concerned, the statistics are quite different and contrary to the survey conducted by the J&K Board for Development of Pahari Speaking People (PSP). The census 2011 says that all the Paharies of Doda comes under Hindi or Dogri that is also irony. The fact that Pahari is a distinct language and some and umbrella teem. The fact that Census has shown that Pahari and Bhaderwahi speaking are different. In Doda according to the census papers Bhaderwahi speaking people are 81999 and Pahari has 9971 population in Doda, 244 number of people speak Pahari in Thathri, and in Ramban Banihal there are 6816 PSPs.
The census has also said that people in Doda Kishtwar and Ramban also speaks Magadhi, Dogri, Rajasthani, Haryanvi. The Census also reveled that Dhundhari, Dogri and Rajasthani is spoken in District Ramban. This is irony that languages like Bhalessi, Saroori, Padri, Pogali, Bonjwali, Dachni, Deshwali has not been covered under the Census. The Door to Door surveyers of Census might be hired from Magadh, Haryana and Rajisthan. They might not be aware of a large chunk of ethnic population who speak Pogali(Pougali) Bhalessa and Rambani, Zundhari, Neervi, Sarazi, Saroori, Dachni and Marvi etc.
All these languages has been kept under pahari classification by G A Griersonand others like Dr. Sideshwer Varma, P K Koul, Dr SP Vaid abd even government has admitted it in the district handbooks.
There is therefore a need to identity all these languages which are pahari so that the indigenous language revitalization can be ensured as envisaged by United Nations and right of the people can be guaranteed to them on the basis of language, ethnicity and folklore.
Sadaket Ali Malik can be reached at sadaket.lpu@gmail.com
