Maj Gen S K Sharma
At the time of independence of India, most of the people in Jammu province were speaking Dogri. However, when the state joined Indian Union in 1947, Dogri was not made as one of the national languages whereas Kashmiri and Urdu were given that status and included in the 8th Schedule to the Constitution of India. This led to stopping of teaching the subject of Dogri in most of the private schools initially and Govt. schools later on. And as a result, the number of Dogri speaking people in Jammu city reduced drastically to just 10 percent or so and that too mostly the senior citizens.
Whenever the language (mother tongue) of any society fades away, that culture is bound to die down. Language is a vital part of human connection which creates bonds with each other. It also gives identity to any group or culture and eradicates differences among the people. Similarly Dogra culture is due to its Dogri language.
Dogra culture has an accumulated wealth of traditions and customs which unite people irrespective of their geographical distance. Younger generations get motivated by knowing their cultural heritage. Dogra warriors, like General Zorawar Singh and Mian Dido keep inspiring the youth to be brave like them and serve their people.
Dogri language had its script known as Dogra Akkhar. Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857-85) improved this script and came out with Namme Dogra Akkhar which was made as the state language. It became very popular and the official publications of the state from revenue rules to civil, penal and military codes were published in this language. Even stamp papers, postal stamps and currency was in this language. It is believed that Ranbir Penal Code which was in place in J&K till 2019 was originally written in Dogra Akkhar.
Already the non-teaching of Dogri language, as a compulsory subject, has led to a reduction of Dogri-related jobs in Govt departments, educational institutions and other organizations. Per force, the Dogra students had to go out of J&K to get jobs. Some of the students, however, do not come back to their motherland due to lack of jobs resulting in their permanent migration.
With the great struggle of Dogra organizations over the years, in 2003, Dogri was included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution, making it a national language. It was assumed that this language would become a compulsory subject in all the govt and private schools, at least in primary classes, but nothing happened on ground.
In the neighbouring state of Punjab where Punjabi language is a national language, Government of Punjab has made it a mandatory subject in all the classes from class 1 to 10 for all the schools. Any school, govt or private, defaulting on this issue is fined from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 2 Lacs.
Central Board of Secondary education, CBSE which prepares students for jobs at national level, have also revised their Academic Structure from 2024 onward. They have recommended introduction of one additional subject of native language (Dogri in our case) for the students of 10th, 11th and 12th classes and it will be a mandatory subject.
In 2020, when Manoj Sinha assumed the appointment of Lt Governor, UT of J&K, he took the initiative of making Dogri as the state language too and got the bill passed in the Lok Sabha. So as on date, Dogri is the national as well as the UT language.
In 2020, new National Education Policy NEP-2020 was announced by the Govt. of India. It laid due importance for the mother tongue and instructed all the states to teach students of classes 1 to 5 in their mother tongue. Also stressed the need to follow 3-language formula which says that first language will be mother tongue, second language be Hindi/English based the English/Hindi speaking state and third language could any other.
Despite all this, Dogri language has not been given its due place. The Calendar issued by State Council of Education and Research (SCERT) of J&K UT which is responsible for issuing syllabus for each class in schools, has not made Dogri as a compulsory subject in classes 1 to 5 but maintained the status quo i.e. left Dogri as an optional subject only.
Citizens and organizations of Jammu are making all efforts to apprise the Govt officials in chain the latest status of Dogri and requesting them to take action appropriately.
In this connection, a delegation of Senior Citizens Support Service Club, Chowadi met Manoj Sinha, Lt Governor in Sep 2023 and submitted proposal to implement NEP 2020 and make Dogri as the Compulsory language in classes 1 to 5 in all the Govt and private schools in Jammu Province. Lt Governor informed the delegation that the action was in hand and will be implemented from the ensuing session commencing from April 2024.
It is also informed here that a proposal was handed over to Piyush Singla, IAS, Secretary, School Education J&K Govt. and explained to him all the aspects. It was nice of him to study the proposal and assured of prompt action.
J&K State Council of Education, Research & Training (SCERT) is responsible for framing syllabus for the all the classes from class 1 to 12. Prof Prikshit Manhas, Director, SCERT, was also approached with a request to implement NEP-2020 and make Dogri as compulsory in lower classes.
It is also advocated that the current Dogri-speaking citizens do not have sufficient job opportunities in the . It is because of the fact that the Recruitment Rules made by various depts. do not consider Dogri as a mandatory language for the jobs.
In that connection, Govt of J&K was requested by many Jammu-based organizations to amend its Recruitment Rules and include knowledge of Dogri as a mandatory requirement for all the class III and IV posts in Govt departments of Jammu province.
Sanjeev Verma, IAS, Principal Secretary, General Administration Dept, Govt of J&K and other Additional Secretaries were approached for the needful. They have assured that needful will be done within the purview of the rules to meet the aspiration of the locals.
In view of the facts mentioned above, following action plan by various Govt. agencies is recommended on behalf of Dogri speaking people of Jammu.
(a) By JK SCERT – Prepare Calendar for the Primary classes and include subject of Dogri as a mandatory subject for all the private and govt. schools in Jammu province and make it applicable commencing from the next session starting from April 2024.
(b) By ARI and Trainings Dept, Govt of J&K – Convene meeting of the Standing Committee for Recruitment Rules with a guideline to include knowledge of Dogri as mandatory for all the posts in Jammu Province.
(c) By Secretary Education, Govt of J&K – Recruit more number of Dogri speaking teachers as given in the NEP 2020 and strengthen the deficient staff in schools and colleges.
(d) By CEOs and ZEOs of Jammu Province – Issue instructions to the schools under them, to implement guidelines of NEP 2020 and encourage students to study Dogri, being a national and state language.
(e) By CBSE Regional Office, Panchkula (Haryana) – Instruct all the schools affiliated to CBSE Board in Jammu province to introduce Dogri in 10th , 11th and 12th classes as an additional subject.
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