Hindko primer published, handed to KP Textbook Board

An elementary textbook for teaching Hindko language to children has been published and handed over to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board.

According to a press release, the book has been prepared by a noted Hindko writer, poet, linguist and research scholar of international repute, Prof Dr Elahi Bakhsh Awan, who hails from Peshawar and has been living in England for the last 20 years.

The writer, who has done his doctorate from the University of London on the Hindko Phonology and has 35 books and publications to his credit, has explained various aspects of the language for the elementary learners in the 40-page primer, published by a literary, cultural and social welfare organisation, Gandhara Hindko Board.

The board has published 36 books so far including two Hindko dictionaries and versified translation of the holy Quran. It seeks preservation and promotion of the Hindko, which is sixth main regional language of the country and second widely spoken language of the KP.

The primer comprises a total of nine lessons. All the 50 alphabets of the Hindko language have been explained with great ease to the basic learners of the language with the help of colourful illustrations.

The lesson about the counting is interesting as image tool used for the learning is quite simple and selected carefully keeping in view the interest of the children. The national anthem has been preceded by a poem about Hindko language composed by a Hindko poet from Zarobi area of Swabi district, Sultan Fareedi.

The preface to the book has been written by a noted Hindko researcher and General Secretary of the Gandhara Hindko Board, Mohammad Ziauddin, who has termed the publication a pain-taking and laudable effort by the author.

The provincial government plans to introduce teaching of various native languages at both public and private sector schools. Hindko language is spoken in seven out of 25 districts of the KP — Peshawar, Nowshera, Swabi, Kohat, Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra. Under the proposed mother tongue teaching plan, Hindko language would be taught in seven districts to the children whose mother language is Hindko.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board is to ensure publication of books of five languages — Pashto, Hindko, Seraiki, Khowar and Kohistani — before introducing the new plan of mother language teaching at educational institutions.
Hindko (ہندکو, [hindkou̯]), also Hindku, or Hinko, is the sixth main regional language of Pakistan. It forms a subgroup of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by Hindkowans in Pakistan and northern India, some Pashtun tribes in Pakistan, as well as by the Hindki people of Afghanistan. Hindko, has also been interpreted to mean the language of India and most probably Indus which of course is the source of etymology for all these words. The word Hindko has also been interpreted to mean the language of India. The term is also found in Greek references to the mountainous region in eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan as Καύκασος Ινδικός (Caucasus Indicus, or Hindu Kush). The language is spoken in the areas of the North West Frontier Province (including Hazara), Punjab (including Attock), and Pakistan Administered Kashmir.

There is no generic name for these people because they belong to diverse ethnicities and tend to identify themselves by the larger families or castes. However the people of the largest group in the districts of Haripur, Abbottabad and Mansehra are sometimes recognised collectively as Hazarawal, named after the defunct Hazara Division that comprised these districts. In Peshawar city they are called Peshawari or "Kharay" by Pashtuns meaning City-dwellers.