Hindko: A culturally and historically rich Language I
Dr. Syed Mehboob
Economic and Political Analyst
Allah Tabarak wa taala says in Quran Chapter 55:
Arehman Allamal Quran Khalaqal Insan Allamahul Bayan
“ The most compassionate ( Allah) ! He has taught the Quran. He created man. He taught him speech ( and eloquent explanation).”
This means communication skill is the blessing of Almighty Allah which distinguishes human beings from animals and other creatures. A language makes human being super creature which is the reflection of thoughts and ability to covey them before others. Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the basic and primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing. Human language is characterized by its cultural and historical diversity, with significant variations observed between cultures and across time. Estimates of the number of human languages in the world vary between 5,000 and 7,000. Precise estimates depends on an arbitrary distinction ( dichotomy ) established between languages and dialects. Natural languages are spoken, signed, or both. English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Spanish, and French ranking as the mostly widely spoken, considering both native and second language speakers.
Hindko is a sweet, cultured and historical language spoken in many parts of Pakistan including Hazara division, Peshawar, Kohat, Kashmir, Attock and Hidkowans ( Hindko speaking people ) are migrated to Karachi, many parts of Punjab, interior Sindh and Baluchistan. Hidkowans also live abroad in Middle East , the USA and some parts of European countries. It has a rich historical and cultural background. Although Hindko is my mother tongue as ancestrally I belong to Kothiala, a beautiful village in Abbottabad and about a century ago my parents migrated to Hyderabad and I was brought up there but still I have my roots in Abbottabad. My relatives live in different parts of Hazara division including Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Havelian , Karachi , Quetta , Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. For several years I believed that Hindko is not a language it is only spoken and does not exists in written form. Then I interacted with Mohtarma Riffat Swati sahib who is lovingly called” Madre Hindko” and contributed a lot for the promotion of Hindko language. She introduced me to Aurangzeb Ghaznavi, a highly dedicated and sincere person who is doing a good job for the promotion of Hindko language. Under his supervision a monthly magazine,” Farogh” is published in which my number of articles have been published. Although for several years I am writing on International and diplomatic issues and recently I have completed my century of articles on China and Russia while I have also written more than forty articles each on Indonesia, Malaysia, Oman, Türkiye, Iran, and a dozen each on Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc. I have received awards from these countries in recognition of my services to promote Pakistan and respective country’s friendship. Besides English and Urdu, I from time to time write in Hindko and Sindhi languages as well. Mr. Aurangzeb Gaznavi gifted me number of Hindko books which I read thoroughly and it came to my knowledge that Hindko is a very rich and historical language and besides Hindko dictionary the Holy Quran also has been translated into Hindko language. Currently I am serving as “ Senior Research Editor “ at the News Lark Karachi a Karachi based newspaper a member of the APNS, CPNE and is ABC certified. It is a well know name among the diplomatic circle of Karachi and I am proud that I have contributed a lot to give this status to the News Lark. It is published under the supervision of Mr. Jawed Ahmed Malik, a senior journalist and a veteran marketing expert. Another name whom I know very well is Zia ul Huq Sarhadi a well known businessman cum intellectual who rendered valuable services for the cause of Pakistan, a Hindkowan, who also dedicated himself for the promotion of Hindko language.
Hindko is an Indo Aryan language primarily spoken by around 8 to 10 million people in Pakistan, notably in the Hazara division, including Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Havellian and parts of KP including Peshawar, Kohat , and parts of Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Hindko means “ language of Indus”. Hindko is supported by the Hindko Adbi Board and promotes literature, produced by many scholars and researchers. Speakers of Hindko are called “ Hindkowan”
The central dialect group comprises Kohati (spoken in the city of Kohat and a few neighboring villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and the three closely related dialects of Attock District, Punjab: Chachi (spoken in Attock and Haripur, Ghebi (spoken to the south in Pindi Gheb Tehsil) and Awankari (spoken in Talagang Tehsil, now part of Chakwal district Rensch's classification based on lexical similarity also assigns to this group the rural dialects of Peshawar district. Shackle, however, sees most of them as closely related to the urban variety of Peshawar City.
In a group of its own is Peshawari, the prestigious urban variety spoken in the city of Peshawar and the one that is promoted as a standardized literary language. It has a wide dialectal base and has undergone the influence of Urdu and Standard Punjabi.
A separate group is formed in the northeast by the relatively homogeneous dialects of the Hazara region, which are collectively known as Hazara Hindko or Northern Hindko. Hindko is also spoken further east into Kashmir. It is the predominant language of the Neelam Valley, in the north of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, where it is locally known as Parmi (or Pārim; the name likely originated in the Kashmiri word apārim 'from the other side', which was the term used by the Kashmiris of the Vale of Kashmir to refer to the highlanders, who spoke this language). This variety is also spoken across the Line of Control into Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir
The whole dialect continuum of Hindko is partitioned by Ethnologue into two languages: Northern Hindko for the dialects of Hazara, and Southern Hindko for the remaining varieties. This grouping finds support in the results of the intelligibility testing done by Rensch, which also found out that the southern dialects are more widely understood throughout the Hindko area than are the northern ones.
Hindko dialects gradually transition into other varieties of Lahnda and Punjabi to the south. For example, to the southwest across the Salt range are found dialects of Saraiki,] and at least one of these – the one spoken in the Dera Ismail Khan district– is sometimes also referred to as "Hindko”. To the southeast, Hindko is in a dialect continuum with Pahari Pothowari, with the Galyat region of Abbottabad district and the area of Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir approximately falling on the boundary between the two.
There are Hindko diasporas in major urban centres like Karachi as well as in some neighboring countries.
Before independence of Pakistan in 1947, a substantial population of Hindkowans were Hindus and Sikh.. This population migrated to India. These Hindkowans have completely assimilated into larger Punjabi-speaking and Hindi Speaking speakers in India, with only few elders identifying as hindokowans. Some Hindkowans who were settled in parts of today’s India got high reputation like Bollywood top hero “ Shah Rukh Khan” and late Yousaf Khan popularly knows as “ Daleep Kumar” was also Hindko speaking.
The most common second language for Hindko-speakers in Pakistan is Urdu and the second most common one is Pashto. In most Hindko-speaking areas, speakers of Pashto live in the same or neighboring communities (although this is less true in Abbottabad and Kaghan Valley).
The Gandhara Hindko Board is a leading organization that has been active in the preservation and promotion of the Hindko and culture since 1993. The board was launched in Peshawar in year 1993 to preserve and promote Hindko —the second most spoken of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It brings out four regular publications— Hindkowan, The Gandhara Voice, " Sarkhail" and "Tarey" and a number of occasional publications. Late professor Zahoor Ahmad Awan of Peshawar city, the author of 61 books and publications, was the founding-chairman of the board. Now the board is headed by Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi. 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 is spoken and understood.
In 2003 the Gandhara Hindko Board published first a Hindko dictionary which was compiled by a prominent linguist from Abbottabad, Sultan Sakoon. The board published a second more comprehensive Hindko dictionary in 2007 prepared by Elahi Bakhsh Awan of the University of London. He is the author of Sarzamin e Hindko, and Hindko Sautiyat. His three booklets on Hindko Phonology were published by the University of Peshawar in the late 1970s.
The Idara-e-Faroghe Hindko based in Peshawar is another body that is promoting Hindko. Riffat Akbar Swati and Aurangzeb Ghaznavi are main people of this organisation. The Idara has published the first Hindko translation of the Quran by Haider Zaman Haider and the first Ph.D. thesis on Hindko by E.B.A. Awan. A monthly magazine Faroogh is also published regularly from Peshawar under supervision of Aurangzeb Ghaznavi. In Karachi Dr. Syed Mehboob ( writer of this article) is working for the promotion of Hindko. His articles are frequently published in Farogh monthly. He is organizer of Hindko Falahi Forum.
Many organizations like Bazm-e-Ilm-o-Fun Abbottabad and Halqa-e-Yaraan Shinkyari promote Hindko and literature. Asif Saqib, Sufi Abdur Rasheed, Fazal-e-Akbar Kamal, Sharif Hussain Shah, Muhammad Farid, Yahya Khalid, Nazir Kasalvi, and Muhammad Hanif have contributed a lot in this regard. Sultan Sakoon has written the First Hindko dictionary that has been published by Gandhara Hindko Board. Sultan Sakoon stands out for his literary contribution as he is a prolific writer and his books including those on Hindko proverbs and Hindko riddles have been published. ( continued )
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