Pakistani Languages (Hindko)

Hindko (هندکو /Hindkoŭ/), also Hindku, Hinko, or Lahnda (ਲਹਿੰਦਾ, لَیہندا) is anIndo-Aryan language spoken by Hindkowans in Pakistan and northern India^[4][5], as well as by the Hindki people of Afghanistan. The literal meaning of the word "Hindko" is "Mountains of the Indus". The word "Hind" is the Persianised reference to the regions associated with the Indus River immediately to the east of Persiaand "Ko" means mountains. The word Hindko has also been interpreted to mean the language of India. The term is also found in Greek references to the mountainous region in eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan as Καύκασος Ινδικός (Caucasus Indicus). The language is spoken in the areas of the North West Frontier Province (including Hazara), Punjab (including Attock), and Azad Kashmir by an estimated 2.2 to 4 million people.

There is no generic name for these people because they belong to diverse ethnicities and tend to identify themselves by the larger families or castes. However the people of the largest group in the districts of Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra are sometimes recognised collectively as Hazarawal, named after the defunct Hazara Division that comprised these districts. In Peshawar city they are called Peshawari or "Kharay" by Pashtuns meaning City-dwellers orHindkowans.

History and Origin:

During the pre-Buddhist era in present day Pakistan, the language of the masses was refined by the ancient grammarian Pāṇini, who set the rules of a structurally rigorous language called Sanskrit which was used principally for Hindu scriptures (analogous to Latin in the Western world). Meanwhile, the vernacular language of the masses, Prakrit developed into many tongues and dialects which spread over the northern parts of South Asia. Hindko is believed to be closely related to Prakrit. Due to the geographic isolation of the regions, it has undergone very little grammatical corruption, but has borrowed considerable vocabulary from its neighbours, in particular Pashto. It shows close affinity to Punjabi and theLahnda sub-group of Indo-Aryan tongues and can be sub-divided into a northern and southern dialect (the southern dialect shows some similarity with Siraiki as opposed to Punjabi). On the language is mutually intelligible with other Lahnda dialects such as Pothwari, western Punjbai, and Mirpuri.

Speakers:

The largest geographically contiguous group of Hindko speakers is concentrated in the districts of state Abbottabad, Haripur, Mansehra, Attock, Muzaffarabad and Kaghan valley of Pakistan, while there are a substantial number of geographically isolated speakers of Hindko in cities like Peshawar, Mardan andKohat.

People here tend to associate themselves with the larger families instead of a language (or caste as it used to be called). The Qureshi(Arabians), for example, have a great history of bravery and are known as lords of the Hazara Division. Other tribes are Turks, Awan, Tanoli, Tareen, Jadoon, Abbasi, Karlal, Tahirkhelietc. People who speak Hindko are referred to by some academics as Pathansprobably because of the many Pashtun tribes, for example Jadoons, Tareen,Tanolis and Tahirkhelis, who settled in places like Hazara, adoptedHindko as their first language and gained political power in these areas during the British rule, and also because of many ethnic Pashtuns such as Kakar, Durani, Popalzai, Sadozai, Ghaznavi and Khogyani, etc who speak Hindko as their first language in Peshawar and Kohat are Pashtuns by origin. The Hindko speaking people living in major cities Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan are bilingual in Pashto and Hindko. Similarly many Pashto speaking people in districts like Abbottabad and Mansehra (especially in Agror Valley and northern Tanawal) have become bilingual in Pashto and Hindko.

The NWFP Imperial Gazetteer (1905) refers to the language as Hindko. More than one interpretation has been offered for the term Hindko. Some associate it withHindustan (as the word may have been used during the medieval Muslim period in the Indian subcontinent), others with the Indus River which is of course the etymological source of all these terms. Farigh Bukhari and South Asian language expert and historian Christopher Shackle believe that Hindko was a generic term applied to the Indo-Aryan dialect continuum in the northwest frontier territories and adjacent district of Attock in the Punjab province to differentiate it from Pashto.

Linguists classify the language into the Indic subgroup of Indo-European languages and consider it to be one of the Indo-Iranian languages of the area. An estimated 2.4 per cent of the total population of Pakistan speak Hindko as their mother tongue, with more rural than urban households reporting Hindko as their household language.

Literature and writers:

Gandhara Hindko Board (Registered) is the most active organisation that has been offering great services for the preservation and promotion of Hindko language and Hindkowan culture since 1993. The board was launched way back in year 1993 to preserve and promote Hindko language-- the second main language of Gandhara province (officially known as North-West Frontier Province) of Pakistan. It brings out two regular publications-- "Hindkowan" and "The Gandhara Voice" and a number of occasional publications. The board is headed by Professor Dr Zahoor Ahmad Awan of Peshawar city who has to his credit 60 books and publications. The board has published first Hindko dictionary and several other books on a variety of topics. With head office in Peshawar, the organisation has regional offices in other cities of the province where Hindko language is spoken and understood. The organisation has arranged a number of mega events to raise awareness among the Hindkowans about the importance of their language and culture. The board seeks respect for and due attention to all the languages spoken in Gandhara province .The organisation has its own website-- www.hindko.pk.

Idara-e-Faroghe Hindko [Regd.] Peshawar Pakistan is another worth-mentioning body that is rendering valuable services to promote the Hindko language. Riffat Swati and Aurangzeb Ghaznavi are the heart and soul of this Organization. The Idara has published the first Hindko translation of the Holy Quran by Haider Zaman Haider. A monthly Magazine Faroogh is also published regularly from Peshawar under supervision of Aurangzeb Ghaznavi. In Karachi Dr.Syed Mehboob is also working for the promotion of Hindko language.

A great sufi poet Professor Muhammad Farid has been serving the Hindko language for over 40 years. Professor Yahya Khalid is another great scholar of Hindko language.