Kashmiri (/kæʃˈmɪəri/)[6] (कॉशुर, کأشُر), or Koshur, is a language from the Dardic subgroup[7] of the Indo-Aryan languages and it is spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley and Chenab valley of Jammu and Kashmir.[8][9][10]
There are approximately 5,527,698 speakers throughout India, according to the Census of 2001.[11] According to the 1998 Census there were 132,450 Kashmiri speakers in Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PaK).[12] According to Professor Khawaja Abdul Rehman the Kashmiri language, spoken in the Neelum Valley, is on the verge of dying out.[13]
It is close to other Dardic languages spoken in Gilgit, Pakistan and in northern regions of Kargil, India. Outside the Dardic group, tonal aspects and loanwords of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, especially its northern dialects.[14][15]
This language is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India,[16] and is a part of the eighth Schedule in the constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir. Along with other regional languages mentioned in the Sixth Schedule, as well as Hindi and Urdu, the Kashmiri language is to be developed in the state.[17] Most Kashmiri speakers use Urdu or English as a second language.[1] Since November 2008, the Kashmiri language has been made a compulsory subject in all government schools in the Valley up to the secondary level.[18]
The India For You letter
A little more India in your inbox, every week.
New stories on heritage, festivals, travel and traditional wisdom, plus the festival calendar before it happens.