Devanagari, Scripts, freedom (Re: SV: Workshop )

[Yashwant Malaiya]

Lakshmi Srinivas wrote:

>True most people had their Gita and
>prayer "pothi"'s in Devanagari, but for all other
>purposes they seemed to use the Perso-Arabic aka Urdu
>script. For example, I have not seen a single Punjabi
>trader using 'Nagari even for business purposes.

I have also seen Punjabi (Sikh) traders using Urdu script.
In Punjab, Urdu script was standard, even for Hindus (and Sikhs).
It should be rememberd that undivided Punjab was a Muslim
majority region, "P" in Pakistan is said to stand for Punjab.

However in much of the rest of North India, Devanagari was
the main script for Hindus. I have seen stacks of business
correspondence (mostly postcards) from the early part of
the century in some families, almost all in some form of
Devanagari.

See: http://www.harappa.com/post/card2.html . (The script
is incorrectly identified as Modi.)

I have a book on Banpur town (Bundelkhand region) that has
photographs of letters from Rani of Jhansi to the Raja of
Banpur. They are in Devanagari. I have seen nothing to
suggest that in my region (MP) the common people ever
learned the Urdu/Farsi script. Those in the business
of writing government doucments did learn Urdu.

I think many Kayasthas (the professional writers) during
the Mughal rule and early british period often learned
Urdu script first (or at the same time as Devanagari).
It may also be true for some traders in Delhi, I have read
that at one time, they wrote mantras in Urdu script.

Swaminathan Madhuresan wrote:

>1. Is Gurmukhi script given any patronage by Punjabis?
>How are the administrative affairs conducted in print?
>Gurmukhi?

It is now the official script in Indian Punjab. I think
for quite a while it was only used for religious purposes.
It is based on Takari script, used by Khatri traders
(the Sikh Gurus were Khatri), related to Sharada script for
the hills.

>2. Does Marathi have a historic script? Or, is it the same
>as Devanagari? If there was a switch, when?

Marathi script used to be Modi. It had the special feature
that you could write one (or several) words without lifting
the tip of the pen. I think it was used until
18th century, however it it still occasionally taught.


>3. Is Maithili still used by Bihar pundits?

I have seen printed books using Devanagari.

>4. What about Kashmir? Is it made into Devanagari script now?
>Urdu or Sarada?

Kashmiri language was largely oral only. I think Urdu is the
official language & script  there. The Kashmiri Hindus sometimes
use Devanagari for writing Kashmiri. Sharada has not been in use
for quite some time.

aditya2 at MEDIAONE.NET wrote:

>My point was to state that India is one of the most repressive and
>reprehensible  state as far as freedom of speech is concerned and to claim
>otherwise and try to compare with US is hypocritical at best.  Record of
>India is no better than that of Iran or Afghanistan in this matter.

That is false. In India I have seen regular newspapers,  tabloids, and
small newspapers criticise and ridicule politicians, businessmen and
administrators etc frequently. They sometimes write offensively in a way I
have never seen in USA.

I know a popular biweekly magazine in India that regularly criticizes
various religions, specially Hindu traditions. It is hard to imagine that
happening in Pakistan, Iran or Afghanistan.

Yashwant