The return of Takri: How Jammu is reclaiming its lost script

For decades, the streets of Jammu have borne signboards in Devanagari, Urdu, and English—languages that spoke of administration, commerce, and modernity. But something has changed. Drive through the city's prominent chowks today, and you will notice signboards in an unfamiliar yet deeply significant script. This is Takri, the original script of Dogri, returning to the public eye after nearly eight decades of obscurity.

The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), in partnership with the Siyana NagrikMuddad Seva Sanstha, has launched a citywide initiative to install Dogri signboards in the traditional Takri script at more than 24 prominent locations, including the Jammu Airport, Railway Station, bus stand, and major intersections. Another 40 localities, including markets and residential colonies, have been identified for similar installations. “The JMC has launched an initiative to promote Dogri and the traditional Takri script by installing signboards at prominent chowks, intersections and public places across the city,” said Joint Commissioner Kulbhushan Khajuria.

The move, officials say, seeks to increase the visibility of Dogri and reconnect the younger generation with the linguistic heritage of the Duggar heartland. “When we promote Dogri culture, we strengthen our identity. If we want to preserve our identity, we have to promote our culture, and to promote Dogri culture, we must promote our own language,” said a representative of the organisation.

What is Takri?

Takri—also called Tankri—is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. It is derived from the Sharada script formerly employed for Kashmiri and is closely related to the Landa and Gurmukhi scripts. The Takri alphabet emerged as a distinct script during the 16th century and flourished between the 16th and 18th centuries.

What makes Takri unique is its remarkable diversity. It is the only regional script of India known to have the largest number of variations—as many as 13 distinct forms used for writing numerous languages across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. These include Dogri, Kangri, Chambeali, Mandeali, Kullui, Kishtwari, Gaddi, and several others. The version used in Jammu is known as Dogra Akkhar or Dogri Takri.

The Origins: A Script of Kings and Commoners

Takri's roots run deep in the soil of northwestern India. It was patronised by Dogra rulers of Jammu and Kashmir in the 17th century and employed extensively by them for official purposes. For centuries, Takri was the script of administration, commerce, and culture. It was used for keeping business records, writing administrative documents such as letters, copperplate land grants, and official decrees. It appeared on postage stamps and postmarks from Jammu and Kashmir in the 19th century, in temple inscriptions, and on the borders of Pahari miniature paintings—a distinctive feature of the Basohli school of art.

The script reached its zenith under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, who ruled from 1856 to 1885. In 1860, he made Takri the official script for Dogri. All government officials were required to learn it, and the Maharaja himself signed his decrees in Takri. Every court decree and official correspondence was written in the script. The famous Ranbir Penal Code, which remained applicable in Jammu and Kashmir until the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, was written in Takri. Other significant publications in Takri included the Ranbir Chikisa, Vyavhar Gita, Lilavati, and Ranbir Dand Vidhi.

It was during Maharaja Ranbir Singh's rule that Takri in Jammu was refined and standardised. Before his time, the script was imperfect—vowel combinations were absent, and matras were not used. The Maharaja's administration developed metal fonts and established the Ranbir Prakash Press in Jammu for printing in Takri. The script was modified and renamed namayakkhar during this period. The political, mythological, and literary books published at that time are still preserved in the Raghunath Library in Jammu and the SPS Library in Srinagar.

The Fall: How Takri Lost Its Place

Despite its rich history and official patronage, Takri's decline was swift and devastating. The turning point came in 1944, when the Dogri Sanstha made a fateful decision to adopt Devanagari as the official script for the Dogri language. The move was part of a broader trend across India, where Devanagari was promoted as the standard script for multiple languages.

By the late 1940s, Takri had ceased to be the official script for writing Dogri in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Urdu also began to overshadow many ancient scripts and languages of the region. The script that had once been the medium of royal decrees, legal codes, business records, and literary works was gradually pushed into oblivion.

The consequences were profound. Takri ceased to be taught in schools, and no new literature was developed in the script. Most Dogras living in Jammu today do not even know that Takri was the script of their mother tongue just a century ago. Today, fewer than ten people are believed to be able to read and write in the script. The vast treasure of knowledge contained in Takri manuscripts—from revenue records to historical documents—now gathers dust, inaccessible to most.

The script's decline was compounded by its complexity. With numerous regional variations, Takri was difficult to standardise. The distinction between its two main forms—Chambeali Takri and Jammu Dogri Takri—has begun to diminish, with some in Jammu even accepting the Chambeali form as their own, a development that concerns cultural preservationists.

The Revival: Bringing Takri Back

The revival of Takri has been a slow but persistent movement, gaining momentum over the past two decades. The official recognition of Dogri as a scheduled language by the Government of India in 2004 provided a crucial boost, guaranteeing a degree of official recognition and support.

In February 2006, a workshop was held in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, to provide training in the Takri script used for writing Kulvi. In January 2009, the Himachal Pradesh government established a program in association with Indira Gandhi National Open University to train specialists in Takri under the guidance of the National Manuscripts Mission.

A significant milestone came in 2012, when the Takri block (U+11680–U+116CF) was added to the Unicode Standard with the release of version 6.1. This enabled the digital representation of Takri script for the first time. In 2015, after two years of research into inscriptions, old account books, and letters preserved in museums and revenue records, a team of enthusiasts produced two Takri fonts. Today, Noto Sans Dogra has also been released, making the script accessible in digital formats.

The current signage initiative in Jammu represents the most visible revival effort to date. The project was undertaken under the guidance of JMC Commissioner Devansh Yadav following a request from the Siyana NagrikMuddad Seva Sanstha. The letters on the signboards are written in the Takri called nayahdograakhar.

Dogri J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages Editor, Reeta Khadyal, expressed her happiness at the initiative: “We are happy to see the signboards in Dogri language in Takri script. It is a great initiative for the entire people of Jammu. It will promote language and culture”. She emphasised that the initiative is not merely about putting a regional language on public signboards but about bringing Dogri into the everyday visual landscape of Jammu, enabling residents—particularly young people—as well as visitors to recognise and understand the language and its cultural significance.

The revival has also found international recognition. In November 2019, as part of the United Nations International Year for Cultural Excellence, a Dogri poem written by poet Heena Mahajan and transcribed into Takri script was recited by Manu Khajuria, Founder of Voice of Dogras, at the House of Lords in London.

The Road Ahead

While the signage initiative has been widely welcomed, many believe it is only the beginning. Shiv Sena (UBT) Jammu and Kashmir unit has welcomed the administration's decision but said the initiative would remain incomplete unless the script is introduced in the education system. There have been calls for Takri to be taught in schools and for training camps to be organised.

“Displaying the Takri script on signboards is a welcome step,” said party president Manish Sahni, while urging further action. The challenge now is to ensure that the script moves beyond public signage and into classrooms, literature, and everyday use.

The revival of Takri is more than a linguistic exercise—it is an act of cultural reclamation. For the Dogra people, the script represents a connection to their ancestors, their history, and their identity. As one Dogra blogger wrote upon seeing Takri signage at the Jammu railway station: “Set on top of the signage, it is enough to fill any Dogra heart with pride and a sense of relief”.

The question now is whether this revival can be sustained. Will the younger generation learn to read and write in Takri? Will new literature be produced in the script? Will the treasure of historical documents written in Takri be made accessible to scholars and the public? These are challenges that lie ahead.

But for now, as you drive through the streets of Jammu and see the elegant curves of Takri script on signboards at the city's busiest intersections, you are witnessing a script returning from the brink of extinction. After nearly eight decades of silence, Takri is speaking again—and the people of Jammu are listening.