Gujari
Gujari also spelt Gurjari, Gojri, Gujri, Gojari, or Gurjar is a Central Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages, spoken by most of the Gurjars in the northern parts of India and Pakistan, as well as in eastern parts of Afghanistan. Gujari is the second most widely spoken language in Azad Kashmir, after Pahari, and third most widely spoken language in Jammu and Kashmir, after Kashmiri and Dogri. It is mostly spoken in the northern Pakistan, including Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Azad Kashmir, and northern Indian states, including Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Haryana and also in the eastern parts of Afghanistan. Gujari has strong linguistic similarities to Rajasthani, Punjabi, Haryanvi, Gujarati, Dogri, and Pahari, especially in phonology and morphology, indicating the bond between it and these various Indo-Aryan languages.
It is spoken by 19% of population in Azad Kashmir and by 9.5% population in Jammu and Kashmir as the mother tongue. Gujari is written mainly in the Perso-Arabic script in Pakistan, but in India it is written in both the Perso-Arabic script and Devanagari.
In 1999 the Government of Jammu and Kashmir recognized Gujari by including the language in the sixth schedule of the state constitution. In March 2025 the Government of Azad Kashmir included the Gujari an optional subject in the course curriculum for grades 6 and 8. On 27 October 2025 the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa made Gujari the sixth officially recognized language in the provincial assembly.
Origin and history
Origin
Some scholars have linked the Gujari language's origins and characteristics to the Gurjar Apabhraṃśa, a language form described by ancient Sanskrit grammarians.In the Indian subcontinent, the language known as "Indik" eventually evolved into Sanskrit and became the language of the elite. As Sanskrit spread, it branched out into various regional languages, known as Prakrit or Indo-Aryan languages. Some researchers believe Gujari is one of these Prakrit, while others argue it's even older than Sanskrit, suggesting Gurjars spoke it when they arrived in India with the Aryans. This view posits that Gujari, with its regional variations, diverged slightly from Sanskrit.
Rita Kothari noted that Gurjar Apabhramsa was used as a literary language by the 12th century, with references in poet Bhoja's work. Ancient Indian philosopher Patanjali's classification described Apabhramsa as languages spoken in northern India. However, as per Shapiro & Michael, the term Apabhramsa is broadly applied in Indology, making it unlikely that Gujari was specifically known as Apabhramsa or directly descended from Gurjar Apabhraṃśa.
History
In this regard Gujari language has a special place among the ancient languages of India.Gujarat Sultans also encouraged Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit literature. It has been noted that the people of Gujarat promoted a ‘Gujari’ lingua franca whose forms were distinctly Gujarati. They also used Gujari as both an expression of literary work and, like other forms of communication in the empire, to connect the court of Gujarat with other Indo-Muslim courts in north India and the Deccan.
Significant progress has been made in standardising Gujari writing notably with the publication of "Gojri Grammar" by Graham Bailey in 1905 and with the publication of a six volume book of Gujari dictionary by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages in 1992 which was put together over a period of ten years.
Also notable publications published by the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages include Sheeraza and Awaz-e-Gurjar Journals published with Gujari literature.
In 1992 Hallberg and O'Leary carried out a comprehensive study of the Gujari dialects spoken by Gujjars in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir and classified them into Eastern and Western dialect groups on the basis of lexical similarity and intelligibility.
In 1997 Hugoniot and Polster also examined the Eastern Gujari dialect of Dodhi Gujjars of the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
It was also officially declared as a mother tongue in 2006 with the admission of Gujari as a mother tongue by the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education.
According to Bukhari's observations, Gujari has been significantly shaped by other Indo-Aryan languages, including Urdu, Hindko and Pahari.
In March 2023, a Gujjar organisation Gujjar Qaumi Movement petitioned the Peshawar High Court for included Gujari in the census of 2023.
In March 2025 Government of Azad Kashmir included Gujari language as an optional subject in the curriculum of Classes 6 and 8.
In May 2025 Gojri language books by Professor Muhammad Naseer Miskeen in the Gojri language were republished by Gandhara Hindko Academy in Peshawar and Gojri short stories in Urdu in "Gojri Afsaaney" and "Sheesho", comedy poetry.
Gujari was admitted as a local language at the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 27 October 2025 becoming the sixth language of the provincial legislative assembly.
Literary traditions
Gujari folklore is very large, including songs, ballads and folktales, known as Dastans. Hundreds of folk songs have been recorded and published, including "Nooro", "Tajo", "Nura Beguma", "Shupiya", "Kunjhdi", "Mariyan".File:OpenSpeaks-Gju-Maari Jaban Maari Birsa-Taukeer Alam-Story.webm|thumb|Taukeer Alam narrating a folklore in Van Gujjari
A modern tradition of creative writing encompasses poets such as Sain Qadar Bakhsh, Noon Poonchi, and others. Others such as Mian Nizam ud Din, Khuda Bakhsh Zar, Zabih Rajourvi, Shams ud Din Mehjoor Poonchi, Mian Bashir Ahmed, Javaid Rahi, Rafiq Anjum, Milki Ram Kushan, Sarwari Kassana, Naseem Poonchi have also made remarkable contributions to Gujari through poetry, prose and criticism.
Dialects
The Gujari language have two major dialects Eastern Gujari and Western Gujari. Both of these two dialects spoken in Pakistan: in the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir. These two dialects share approximately 64% to 94% lexical similarities.Western Gujari
Western Gujari is mainly spoken by the Gurjars in the Hazara region and other districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These districts include Battagram, Swat, Dir, Haripur, Mansehra, and Black Mountain. It is also spoken in many areas of eastern Afghanistan. Western Gujari is easily understand for the speaker of eastern Gujari.Eastern Gujari
Eastern Gujari is mostly spoken in the Shinkari area of eastern Mansehra and also in Nagaki, Kakul, and Sarban union councils located near Abottabad district of Hazara region. It is also mixed with northern Hindko and Pahari languages.Other dialects
Van Gujari
is a variety of the Gujari language spoken by the Van Gujjars of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.Bakerwali
Bakerwali Gujari is mainly spoken by the Bakarwal Gujjars in Indian administrated Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.Banihari
Banihari Gujari is mainly spoken by the Dhodhi or Banihara Gujjars of Jammu and Kashmir. It is closely related to Dogri, Kashmiri and Gujari spoken in various villages of Kashmir.Regional dialects
- Kunar Gujari: Kunar or Kunari Gujari is mainly spoken by the Gujjars of Kunar province in Afghanistan.
- Chitral Gujari: Chitrali Gujari is mainly Gujari spoken in the Chitral valley and Ashriki area of Chitral.
- Swat Gujari: It is spoken by the Gujjars of Peshmal and Raguhu valleys of Swat district.
- Gilgit Gujari: It is spoken in Naltar valley and Bala in Gilgit-Baltistan.
- Kaghan Gujari: It is poken mainly in Mittikot village in Kaghan valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
- Poonch Gujari: Mainly spoken in Mendhar and Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, India.
- Gujaranwala Gujari: It is mainly spoken by the Gujjars migrated from Agra district of Uttar Pradesh, India.
- Dir Gujari: Mainly spoken in Sheringal area in the Dir region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
- Southern Hazara Gujari: It is spoken in Tarchatti in the Hazara region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
- Central Azad Kashmir Gujari: Mainly spoken in Trarkheli area of Azad Kashmir.
- Southern Azad Kashmir Gujari: Mainly spoken in the Kotli district of Azad Kashmir.
Classification
Colin Paul Masica and Sir George Abraham Grierson argued that the language Gujari is closely related to the group of Rajasthani languages. Grieson argued that either Rajasthani was the dialect of Gujari or vice versa. He found that it is indeed evident that Gujari has been rehashed to Rajasthani – because there are strong similarities between it and Marwari and even stronger similarities between it and Mewati. Ethnologue, however, lists the language as not classed as in the Marwari branch of the Rajasthani languages, but has three distinct dialects of Gujari in existence: Western Gujari, Eastern Gujari and Dhed Gujari. Khandeshi is spoken mainly in some parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Additionally, in the linguistics Survey of India George Abraham Grierson placed Gujari within the Western Pahari language family.
As noted by Jagdish Chandra Sharma, psychological aspects of Gujari are similar to those of Punjabi language.
Prior to the partition of India Gujari was enumerated in census reports as a dialect of Rajasthani by the State Government of Rajasthan Some scholars argue that Gujari is closely related to the Marwari language.
Frederick Drew wrote in 1875 that Gujari is a type of Pahari language, but his conclusion was later disputed by the Indian Census of 1911. The Indian Census of 1941 states that although Gujari has been classified as Pahari language since Drew's writing, that label may not be more reliable than that earlier given to it as Rajasthani.
Wanye E. Losey disagreed with the classification of Indo-Aryan languages and submitted that observation of Gujari language in the Phonological and Morphological sense in no way seems to implicate any relation between it and Rajasthani or Punjabi language.