Opinion | Review of Women’s Contribution in Gojri Literature (PART-2)

Jammu and Kashmir Academy of art culture and languages and women’s Gojri literature

Among the institutions setup for the development of languages, Jammu and Kashmir Academy of art culture and languages is the only institution which has given equal platform to the artists of India and abroad. This is the source of giving stages to language’s lover after radio.

In 1978 when gojri section established in Jammu and Kashmir academy of art, culture and languages, there has been a remarkable development in gojri language, but this institution too ignored women, because it hasn’t took any step which can develop women’s literature, the only name of a women’s literature which came through this institution is Zareena Nagmi Gorsi, daughter of renowned thinker Fathe Ali Sarvari kassana. Because she was born in a literary atmosphere that is why she is dedicated toward literature. She is the first woman from the Gujjar community to write in Gojri, Urdu, Punjabi and hindi.  She has written a lot of articles and poetry in Gojri Journals (Sheraza).

She has published her book of short stories,”Ghandhira Ka Phool” by which we can say that Zareena Nahmi Gorsi is the first woman who started writing in Gojri. One more woman, Khalida Bano Kassana wrote Stories in Magazines like “Shiraza” And Mahro Adab, Nusrat Chowdhary also wrote stories for these Magazines. Presently , Nighat Chowdhary is a big name in Gojri women’s literature. Her research is always relevant and upto the mark, which also get the shape of paper in Magazines Like Shiraza. Khalida Jabeen From Darhal .If you talked about the contribute of woman in gojri literature, the names of Zareena Nagmi, Akhtar Un-Nisa, Nikahat Chowdhary ,Safoora Zahid came on top of the list, among which Nikahat Chowdhary and Safoora Zahid are still contributing.

If the cultural academy would have done a Commendable job for women, then the status of women had been on a higher level, many women would be authors, however the academy has given opportunity to women in their many cultural programs as well.

Along with this, some women in folk singing also came forward, the credit for which goes to Dr. Javed Rahi, who was the chief editor in the Gojri department in the academy In cultural and folk singing it is important to mention some women who have introduced Gojri culture, culture and folk to the whole world Begum Jan and her colleagues; Resham Bibi and Associates; Razia Begum and Associates; Nur al-Nisaa and colleagues; Shahina and colleagues; Parveena Chaudhary and colleagues; Rukhsana Kausar and colleagues. Apart from this, some women have been introduced by the academy in modern gojri singing, including Parveena Chaudhary and Anisa Karim, Farah Chaudhary, Zulaikha Bano Rukhsana Kousar and Shabnam Naz etc. are included.

Media and women’s Gojri Literature

Among the media are electronic media, print media and social media, sources including radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, blogs and pages etc., all these sources have helped a lot in the promotion and publication of Gojri language and literature. Have they done anything for women in Gojri literature or have they provided opportunities to women with the help of which women can also make their existence in Gojri literature?

I will discuss the role of electronic media in women’s Gojri literature one by one so that the role of electronic media in women’s literature can be well understood. First of all I will talk about radio because Radio has played an important role in human life for the first time in the twentieth century, not only in Gojri literature but in the literature of every language, radio is considered as the foundation stone for its development and publication.

Radio broadcasting and women’s Gojri literature

Half-hour Gojri programs were started from Radio Kashmir Jammu in 1975 and from Radio Kashmir Srinagar in 1969. Likewise, Gojri programs were started from Radio Tarar Khal in 1965 and Radio Azad Kashmir from Muzaffarabad in 1974 across the border in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Programs were started from these stations due to the efforts of leading people of Gujjar community, but the staff of Gojri section did not have any written and collected literature to broadcast in the programs.If there was, it was very little, so first of all, the staff of broadcasting Gojri programs on these stations started collecting the scattered literature. There used to be a camp of Bakarwal nomadic families and by chance the sound of some women singing there fell into the ear of the crew and they reached their camp and recorded the voice of these women singing and broadcast it on the radio. Such women used to regularly come on the radio and started singing and recordings like Razia Bibi and Resham Bibi were introduced as folk artists by chance.

Chaudhary Gulzar Ahmed Khatana, a prominent Gujjar leader of Rajouri district, who was at the forefront of the campaign to start Gojri program, his daughter Khalida Parveen and her friends sang folk songs on the radio at a time when the women of the Gujjar community were reluctant to sing on the radio.Then Razia Begum and her friends from Gulzar’s own village Dhanur also served the program, in the same program some women who were literate started writing letters in the program, then gradually they also started singing Geet ,Bait in the program.Then gradually songs began to be sung in the program. Shabnam Akhtar Bano and Shakila Tabsum two sisters came from the hilly area of Gulabgarh and started singing songs and their interviews were also included in the program Another melodious voice Begum Jan was also introduced from Radio Kashmir Srinagar. Apart from her daughter Parveena Chaudhary, whose folk songs became very popular, Razia Begum, Noorul Nisaa, Razia Ashraf Gojri came out in singing, Bait from Radio Kashmir Jammu and the folk song in the melodious and hearty voice of Noor Jahan of rajouri. When it resonated, people started asking for it in the regions and started listening to it. Similarly, the Gojri section recorded songs in the voice of many famous female artists, including Surendra Kaur, Pushpa Hans, Narendra Kaur, Shanti Bishisht Andobala, etc. Acclaimed singers like Seema Anil Sehgal, Prof. Kailash Mehra, Ms. Anita Sharma, Anupama Sharma, Apma Sharma, Deepali Vatal, Archana Jalali, Jeetendra Kaur, Sudarshan Korkeerthy, Jasmeet Kaur are a very important part of Gojri broadcasting even though not all of these singers’ mother tongue is Gojri. However, they did for Gojri language Worked but Gujjar women were behind to compete with these singers due to backwardness and illiteracy but nowadays some melodious voices are echoing on the radio whose mother tongue is also Gojri and they are the first to compete with the rest of the artistes among them. Some of the names are Rukhsana Chaudhary, Aneesa Karim, Farah Chaudhary, Zulikha Bano Rukhsana Kausar Salima Chaudhary, Shabnam Naaz, Shabina Chaudhary Naseem Akhter and Shadiya Parveen.

Similarly, the series of mushairas was also started in Gojri programs, there was a lack of women in poetry and Ms. Uma Lakshmi Thakur participated in Gojri mushairas. (To be continued)

– The writer is Editor Gojri Magazine Rudaati Qoom, Educationist and columnist from Rajouri Jammu and Kashmir. She can be reached at shaziachoudhary799@gmail.com