Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Mar 4: Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir today launched national level campaign through social networking sites to include their mother tongue, Gojri in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India.
The program was organised by Tribal Research and Cultural Foundation a leading organisation of Gujjars in J&K. The programme was presided over by noted Gujjar Scholar Dr Javaid Rahi while a number of students, tribal elders were present on the occasion.
Dr Javaid Rahi in his presidential address stated that the new campaign for inclusion of Gojri in Indian Constitution is highly innovative whereby social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Whatsapp, Instagram, e-mails and others are to put in use as a tool to spread the long pending demand across India.
He said initially, our focus will be to unite Gujjar community residing in 12 States of India for a joint struggle to get Gojri recognised at national level.
He said Gojri, a tribal language spoken by nearly two million Gujjars in J&K, deserves more attention from the Government. Gojri is also very rich in terms of literature. At present more than one thousand books are available in Gojri-mainly on the subjects like poetry, prose, folk lore, novel, flora-fauna, history etc.
The meeting was informed by the members of Tribal Foundation that for inclusion of Gojri in Indian Constitution, the J&K Govt recommended the Gojri time and again. “Noted saint scholar and Hindi Persian poet of 13th century Amir Khusroo had formally mentioned Gojri language in the list of 18 major Indian languages of his time. Several researchers have already said that the Gojri language is the mother of Rajasthani, Gujrati, Urdu and Haryanvi languages,” they added.
State Government has already recognized Gojri by including it in the Sixth Schedule of its Constitution. The speakers sought the help of Kashmiri, Dogri and other linguistic groups, political parties, social organisations in this regard.
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