About Kashmiri Language: –
Kashmiri language is spoken in the Vale of Kashmir and the surrounding hills. By origin it is a Dardic language, but it has become predominantly Indo-Aryan in character.
Religious differences are evident in vocabulary and choice of alphabet. Muslims employ Persian and Arabic words freely; they also use the Persian form of the alphabet to write Kashmiri, although the Persian alphabet is not truly suited to the task, because it lacks symbols for the many Kashmiri vowel sounds. Kashmiri Hindus favour words derived from Sanskrit and write Kashmiri in the Sarada alphabet, a script of Indian origin. In printed books, the Devanagari character is used. There is a small amount of Kashmiri literature. The only important spoken dialects are Kishtwari, Poguli, and Rambani.
Kashmiri Syllabus Subject For UPSC
Kashmiri is the language provided as a Literature Optional which focuses on the candidates’ understanding of the basic concepts of literature. Candidates who have studied the Kashmiri literature can opt for it as an optional subject in the IAS (UPSC CSE) Mains Exam. Analytical and unconventional questions are appearing in previous papers so while preparing students should keep IAS Mains Kashmiri Syllabus and previous papers for reference. The aspirants who are well versed with the Kashmiri language and are familiar with the grammatical aspects can easily score high marks in this optional.
Kashmiri Syllabus Exam Pattern: –
The Kashmiri language is one of the optional subjects offered for the 2 optional papers in the IAS (UPSC CSE) Main Exam. Each Kashmiri optional paper consists of 250 marks. Duration for each Kashmiri mains paper is 3 hours. With well-planned strategies, you can easily score well in the Kashmiri literature. Interest should be the prime criteria for choosing any optional. The aspirants have to answer the questions from both the papers in Kashmiri language.
Advantages of choosing Kashmiri
· Well defined syllabus and Less subjectivity
- Direct and straightforward questions
- Ample scope to score marks with diagrams
- The inquiries in this subject are immediate and crucial.
- Room for interpretation in the written answers
- Quality of answers as there is no limitation to different kinds of answers.
- Updation in the syllabus is rare
Disadvantages of choosing Kashmiri
- Subjective Nature of the answers can lead to less scoring at times if your views do not match with the evaluator.
- Lack of resources
- No syllabus overlaps with GS papers
- Essay writing and interviews won’t pose much of a problem as the amount of reading will help with these.
Paper-I
Answers must be written in Kashmiri.
Section-: A
1. Genealogical relationship of the Kashmiri language: various theories.
2. Areas of occurrence and dialects (geographical/social)
3. Phonology and grammar:
i. Vowel and consonant system;
ii. Nouns and pronouns with various case inflections;
iii. Verbs: various types and tenses.
4. Syntactic structure:
i. Simple , active and declarative statements;
ii. Coordination;
iii. Relativisation.
Section-B
1. Kashmiri literature in the 14th century (Socio-cultural and intellectual background with special reference to Lal Dyad and Sheikhul Alam)
2. Nineteenth century Kashmiri literature (development of various genres: vatsun; ghazal; and mathnavi).
3. Kashmiri literature in the first half of the twentieth century (with special reference to Mahjoor and Azad; various literary influences).
4. Modern Kashmiri literature (with special refernece to the development of the short story, drama, novel and nazm).
Paper-II
Answers must be written in Kashmiri.
Section-A
1. Intensive study of Kashmiri poetry upto the nineteenth century:
i) Lal Dyad
ii) Sheikhul Aalam
iii) Habba Khatoon
2. Kashmiri poetry: 19th Century
i) Mahmood Gami (Vatsans)
ii) Maqbool Shah (Gulrez)
iii) Rasool Mir (Ghazals)
iv) Abdul Ahad Nadim (N’at)
v) Krishanjoo Razdan (Shiv Lagun)vi) Sufi Poets (Text in Sanglaab, published by the Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir)
3. Twentieth Century Kashmiri poetry (text in Azich Kashir Shairi, published by the Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir)
4. Literary criticism and research work: development and various trends.
Section-B
1. An analytical study of the short story in Kashmiri.
i) Afsana Majmu’a, published by the Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir.
ii) Kashur Afsana Az, published by the Sahitya Akademi
iii) Hamasar Kashur Afsana, published by the Sahitya Akademi
The following short story writers only: Akhtar Mohi-ud-Din, Kamil, Hari Krishan Kaul, Hraday Kaul Bharti, Bansi Nirdosh, Gulshan Majid.
2. Novel in Kashmiri:
i) Mujrim by G.N. Gowhar
ii) Marun-Ivan Ilyichun, (Kashmiri version of Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Iiyich (Published by Kashmiri Deptt).
3. Drama in Kashmiri
i) Natuk Kariv Band, by Hari Krishan Kaul
ii) OK Angy Natuk, ed. Motilal Keemu. published by Sahitya Akademi.
iii) Razi Oedipus, tr. Naji Munawar, published by Sahitya Akademi.
4. Kashmiri Folk Literature:
i) Kashur Luki Theatre by Mohammad Subhan Bhagat, published by Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir.
ii) Kashiry Luki Beeth (all volumes) published by the J & K Cultural Academy.