For centuries, the Kashmiri language has survived only through oral traditions; by 2013, those who could write the script fell to just 5%. This year, two technological giants, Microsoft and Google, will infuse a new lease of life into the language, whose rich literature continues to remain accessible to only a small section of people.
Like most adult Kashmiris, 40-year-old Azar Nazir, a poet and resident of Srinagar, can only transliterate Kashmiri words into the English language; he cannot write in his mother tongue itself. “When I was growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, the Kashmiri language was neither taught in schools nor preferred at homes. Like many, I have the handicap of not being able to read and write in Kashmiri. However, my poetic sensibilities come from the spoken Kashmiri I hear on a daily basis,” Mr. Nazir said.
Linguists in the Kashmir Valley are hoping for a turnaround this year, thanks to the giants of Silicon Valley. Microsoft India’s MS Translator software has now included the Kashmiri language. In November 2023, an online campaign was get Kashmiri included in Google Translate as well; this demand has also been accepted and is likely to be rolled out in the next six months. These moves are likely to benefit 70 lakh Kashmiri speakers living in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir, including those in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
