Primary-level textbooks seen as lifeline for a fading mother tongue
TAUSEEF AHMAD
SRINAGAR, Jan 01: In a landmark step towards preserving Jammu and Kashmir’s rich linguistic diversity, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (JKBOSE) has announced the introduction of Shina language textbooks for Classes I and II from the 2026 academic session, a decision that has sparked fresh hope among the Shina-speaking community of Gurez Valley in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
The move has been widely welcomed by residents of the remote border valley, who see it as a long-awaited recognition of their mother tongue and a crucial intervention to revive a language that has been steadily fading from formal spaces, particularly classrooms.
Speaking to Kashmir Despatch over phone, local residents expressed relief and optimism, stating that the absence of written material and institutional backing for decades had pushed Shina to the margins, especially among younger generations. With education largely conducted in Urdu and Kashmiri, children in Gurez were growing up without learning how to read or write their own indigenous language, limiting Shina’s use to informal household conversations.
Residents believe that introducing Shina at the primary level will not only help children gain literacy in their mother tongue but also reconnect them with their cultural and linguistic roots at an early and formative stage. They say this step could play a transformative role in strengthening cultural identity and ensuring intergenerational transmission of the language.
“This decision is not just about textbooks; it is about safeguarding our heritage,” said locals, adding that language is the backbone of a community’s identity and history. They noted that formal education in Shina would instill pride among children and encourage families to actively use the language at home.
Mohd Hamza, a resident of Gurez, said Shina has been gradually losing ground due to the lack of textbooks, minimal institutional support, and weakening transmission from elders to the youth. “For years, our language survived only through oral tradition. This step will help keep our identity alive and allow the younger generation to reconnect with their mother tongue in a meaningful way,” he said.
Hamza pointed out that Shina is not confined to Gurez alone but is widely spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan and parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where written literature and textbooks in the language already exist. “It was ironic that in Gurez Valley, where Shina is native, there were no textbooks in schools. Our children were deprived of learning their own language in written form,” he remarked.
According to available estimates, nearly 50,000 people in Gurez Valley and parts of Drass speak Shina, making it one of the most significant indigenous linguistic communities in the region. Despite this sizable population, the lack of formal education in Shina had resulted in many young people slowly forgetting the language or using it in a very limited manner.
Another resident, Mohd Anwar from the Bagtore area of Gurez, termed JKBOSE’s decision as a “ray of hope” for the survival of the language. He said the introduction of textbooks would encourage wider use of Shina not only in schools but also within households.
Anwar urged the authorities to view this initiative as the first step of a larger roadmap. He called for proper teacher training, development of quality learning material, and gradual expansion of the Shina curriculum to higher classes in the coming years. “If sustained, this move can become a turning point in protecting and promoting a language that was on the verge of disappearing,” he said.
Residents across Gurez Valley hope that JKBOSE’s initiative will pave the way for similar measures to preserve other endangered indigenous languages of Jammu and Kashmir, ensuring that linguistic diversity remains a living reality rather than a fading memory.
