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The Kashmir Timeline

The Kashmiri Language

Koshur, the language of the Valley.

Text placard

No freely licensed photograph of this exhibit was found, so it is shown as text.

Kashmiri, called Koshur by its speakers, is an Indo-Aryan language. Its written literature begins with the verses of Lal Ded and Nund Rishi, and it has been written in the Sharada, Devanagari and Perso-Arabic scripts. Today it is written mostly in Perso-Arabic script.

Facts

  • It became one of the official languages of Jammu and Kashmir in 2020.
  • Kashmiri has many words borrowed from Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic, reflecting the Valley's history.