Mother Tongue Nearing Silence

Urban parents increasingly raise children in Urdu and English, leaving Kashmiri to fade from daily conversation.

- Dr. Rashid Manzoor Bhat

Fewer than 25 percent of schoolchildren in Srinagar speak Kashmiri fluently at home.

Among Kashmiri families living abroad in Jizan, Saudi Arabia, 69.8 percent of children speak Urdu with their parents, 26.4 percent speak Kashmiri, and 3.8 percent use English.

These numbers, from studies by the University of Kashmir and researchers A. Ganai and I. Naikoo, reveal a pattern: the mother tongue is retreating from domestic life, replaced by Urdu and English even where Kashmiri is the native language.

Parents often explain the shift pragmatically.

English signals academic success and future career opportunities. Urdu connects children to religious instruction and formal correspondence. Kashmiri is seen as informal, even rural.

In many urban households, children understand only basic Kashmiri, responding instead in Urdu or English when grandparents speak to them.

Oral traditions, like folk tales, lullabies, proverbs and seasonal songs fade as fewer children grasp the language. The cultural bond that once flowed through storytelling is shrinking.

Urban schools accelerate the decline. Private institutions discourage native-language use, framing Kashmiri as unrefined.

The language is seldom taught beyond primary grades. Reading and writing skills remain minimal, while Urdu and English proficiency strengthens.