Dogri is an indo aryan language spoken by about five million people in Pakistan and India, chiefly in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, but also in northern Punjab ,Himachal Pradesh, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and elsewhere. Dogri speakers are called Dogras, and the Dogri-speaking region is called Duggar. Dogri is a member of theWestern Pahari Group of languages. The language is referred to as Pahari in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered parts of Kashmir. Unusually for an Indo-European language, Dogri is tonal, a trait it shares with other Western Pahari languages and Punjabi.
Dogri was originally written using the Takri script, which is closely related to the Sharada script employed by Kashmiri and the Gurmukhi script used to write Punjabi. It is now more commonly written in Devnagari in India.
The Greek astrologer Pulomi, accompanying Alexander in his 323 B.C. campaign into the Indian sub-continent, referred to some inhabitants of Duggar as "a brave Dogra family living in the mountain ranges of Shivalik." In the year 1317, Amir Khusro, the famous poet of Hindi andPersian, referred to Duger (Dogri) while describing the languages and dialects of India as follows: "Sindhi O’ Lahori O’ Kashmiri O’ Duger."
Dogri programming features regularly on Radio Kashmir and Doordarshan (Indian state television) broadcasts in Jammu and Kashmir. However, Dogri does not have a dedicated state television channel yet, unlike Kashmiri (which has the Doordarshan Koshur channel, available on cable and satellite television throughout India).
Official recognition of the language has been gradual, but progressive. On 2 August 1969, the General Council of the Sahitya Academy, Delhi recognized Dogri as an "independent modern literary language" of India, based on the unanimous recommendation of a panel of linguists. (Indian Express, New Delhi, 3 August 1969). Dogri is one of the state languages of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. On 22 December 2003, in a major milestone for the official status of the language, Dogri was recognized as a national language of India in the Indian constitution. In Pakistan, the language (under the name "Pahari") continues to thrive, but is not known to have received official patronage to date. The Alami Pahari Adabi Sangat (Global Pahari Cultural Association) is a Pakistani organization dedicated to the advancement and progress of the language.
