Dakhani language
Encyclopedia
Dakhini also spelled Dakkhani and Deccani, arose as a Muslim court language of the Deccan Plateau
ca. 1300 AD in ways similar to Urdu
. It is similar to Urdu in its mixture of Persian
with a Hindi
base, but differs in its strong influence from Marathi
and Konkani
,Kannada and Telugu. There is an extensive literature.
, Dakhini developed in Deccan plateau
quite surprisingly not from Urdu but parallel to it, due to the mixing of various Indian based languages, Arabic
and Persian
based languages. The term Dakhini is perhaps an umbrella for a group of dialect
s spoken by certain communities of Muslims in the Deccan region.
Dakhini was the lingua franca
of the Muslims of Deccan, chiefly living in Hyderabad state
, Mysore state
and the Hyderabad - Karnataka
Region, covering most of Deccan plateau except for Moplah Muslims of Kerala and the Labbewaar Muslims in Tamil Nadu in the south, to the Beary Bhashe language and Konkani speaking muslims along the western coast of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. Though, a minor Segment of Kerala Muslims do speak the Dakhini dialect and identify themself as Dakhini Muslims who follows Hanafi Mazhab(Hanafi School).
Though it is considered as a dialect of Urdu, it constitutes the traits of a different language in its own sense. Dakhini was widely spoken across the Deccan plateau peninsula with subtle changes in the dialect as you go down south away from Hyderabad, ending as a heavily Tamilized version around the middle of Tamil Nadu.
Dakhini Urdu mainly spoken by the Muslims living in these areas can also be divided into 2 dialects:
North Dakhini - Spoken in areas of Former Hyderabad State:
Mainly Hyderabad City, Telangana Region, Marathwada
, Hyderabad-Karnataka
, Gulbarga
, Bidar
& Raichur
in Present day Karnataka and minority native Goan Konkani Muslims
in North Kanara District of Karnataka with some variation.
South Dakhini - Spoken along Central Karnataka
, Bangalore
, North Tamil Nadu
, Southern Andhra Pradesh
extending up-til Chennai
and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh
. These were the areas under the Mysore and Carnatic
sultanates and a Minor Dakhini Muslim community of Kerala.
North Dakhini is spoken with an added influence of purer Urdu
and while South Dakhini draws slightly more influences from Marathi
, Kannada and Tamil
, it has quite a number of original words not to be found in Urdu or Northern Dakhini, with even a slightly varied grammar and sentence structuring. This particularly points towards possible signs that Dakhini as a language in its own sense could have evolved from the Southern parts much more than the Northern variation.
This tongue is used extensively in the spoken form; when it comes to writing and literary work, standard Urdu is used.
was introduced in the Deccan region during Alauddin Khilji
invasion inbetween 1295 AD to 1316 AD. It became more popular in deccan during and after Muhammad bin Tughluq
shifted the Sultanate
capital from Delhi
and made the kingdom capital to the city of Daulatabad
in 1327 AD. Revolting against the Sultanate
was formed Bahmani Sultanate
in 1347 AD making Daulatabad
as its sultanate capital which was later shifted to Gulbargah and in 1430 the capital atlast moved to Bidar
, Bahmani Sultanate
existed for around 150 years, and expanded almost into the entire Deccan Plateau
(which was then named as Deccan). All these circumstances of shifting of power, moving of capitals and expansion of sultanate created a growing atmosphere for the Urdu language of Delhi, which was then came to be known as Deccani and received patronage from its rulers, though it was known with other names such as Hinduastani, Zaban Hinduastani, Dehalvi and Hindawi. The sufi's during those periods were the earliest to use Deccani in written form. The earliest available manuscript record is Kadam Rao Padam Rao
a Masnavi of Fakhruddin Nizami, written during 1421-1434 AD.
When Mughals took over Deccan many notable personalities, secular and religious settled in the Deccan, have caused the language to spread through the borders that now form parts of Andhra Pradesh
, Karnataka
, Maharashtra
and Goa
. One such poet of Mughal
region was Wali Deccani (1667–1707), the first established poet to have composed Ghazal
s and compiled a divan (a collection of ghazals where the entire alphabet is used at least once as the last letter to define the rhyme pattern).
grouping of the Indo-European languages
.
South Dakhini Urdu is widely spoken by the Muslim in all parts of Tamil Nadu except may be the southern part and also in parts of Pondicherry.
A minor segment of Muslims in Kerala also speak Dakhini Urdu.
n region known as the Deccan. They inhabit the regions comprising the erstwhile Muslim kingdoms in Deccan Plateau viz. portions of the states of Maharashtra
, Karnataka
, Andhra Pradesh
and Goa
community in the Hubli-Dharwad-Gadag-Bijapur-Belgaum region.
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...
ca. 1300 AD in ways similar to Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. It is similar to Urdu in its mixture of Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
with a Hindi
Hindi languages
The Hindi languages, also known as Madhya and the Central Zone of the Indo-Aryan languages, is a subset of the varieties of Hindi spoken across northern India that descend from the Madhya prakrits, and includes the official languages of India and Pakistan, Hindi and Urdu...
base, but differs in its strong influence from Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
,Kannada and Telugu. There is an extensive literature.
Overview
Dakhini is spoken in the Deccan plateau region of India. Just as Urdu developed in LucknowLucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
, Dakhini developed in Deccan plateau
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...
quite surprisingly not from Urdu but parallel to it, due to the mixing of various Indian based languages, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
and Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
based languages. The term Dakhini is perhaps an umbrella for a group of dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s spoken by certain communities of Muslims in the Deccan region.
Dakhini was the lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
of the Muslims of Deccan, chiefly living in Hyderabad state
Hyderabad State
-After Indian independence :When India gained independence in 1947 and Pakistan came into existence in 1947, the British left the local rulers of the princely states the choice of whether to join one of the new dominions or to remain independent...
, Mysore state
Mysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
and the Hyderabad - Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
Region, covering most of Deccan plateau except for Moplah Muslims of Kerala and the Labbewaar Muslims in Tamil Nadu in the south, to the Beary Bhashe language and Konkani speaking muslims along the western coast of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. Though, a minor Segment of Kerala Muslims do speak the Dakhini dialect and identify themself as Dakhini Muslims who follows Hanafi Mazhab(Hanafi School).
Though it is considered as a dialect of Urdu, it constitutes the traits of a different language in its own sense. Dakhini was widely spoken across the Deccan plateau peninsula with subtle changes in the dialect as you go down south away from Hyderabad, ending as a heavily Tamilized version around the middle of Tamil Nadu.
Dakhini Urdu mainly spoken by the Muslims living in these areas can also be divided into 2 dialects:
North Dakhini - Spoken in areas of Former Hyderabad State:
Mainly Hyderabad City, Telangana Region, Marathwada
Marathwada
The name Marathwada identifies one of the five regions in Maharashtra state of India. The region coincides with the Aurangabad Division.-Historical highlights:...
, Hyderabad-Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Gulbarga
Gulbarga
Gulbarga is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga District. It was formerly part of Nizam's Hyderabad state...
, Bidar
Bidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
& Raichur
Raichur
Raichur , is a city municipal council in Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It was in the princely state of Mysore during the rule of Tipu Sultan...
in Present day Karnataka and minority native Goan Konkani Muslims
Konkani Muslims
Konkani / Kokani Muslims is a Muslim sub-ethnic group of Maharashtrian Muslims living in the Konkan region of India. They speak the Konkani language. A good number of them live in Mumbai...
in North Kanara District of Karnataka with some variation.
South Dakhini - Spoken along Central Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, North Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Southern Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
extending up-til Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. These were the areas under the Mysore and Carnatic
Nawab of the Carnatic
Nawabs of the Carnatic , ruled the Carnatic region of South India between about 1690 and 1801. They initially had their capital at Arcot,vellore city...
sultanates and a Minor Dakhini Muslim community of Kerala.
North Dakhini is spoken with an added influence of purer Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
and while South Dakhini draws slightly more influences from Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Kannada and Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, it has quite a number of original words not to be found in Urdu or Northern Dakhini, with even a slightly varied grammar and sentence structuring. This particularly points towards possible signs that Dakhini as a language in its own sense could have evolved from the Southern parts much more than the Northern variation.
This tongue is used extensively in the spoken form; when it comes to writing and literary work, standard Urdu is used.
History
The Urdu language from DelhiDelhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
was introduced in the Deccan region during Alauddin Khilji
Alauddin Khilji
Ali Gurshap Khan better known by his titular name as Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji was the second ruler of the Turko-Afghan Khilji dynasty in India.He was a well and capable ruler. He belonged to the Afghanized Turkic tribe of the Khiljis...
invasion inbetween 1295 AD to 1316 AD. It became more popular in deccan during and after Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq
Muhammad bin Tughluq was the Turkic Sultan of Delhi from 1325 to 1351. He was the eldest son of Ghiyas-ud-din Tughlaq.He was born in Kotla Tolay Khan in Multan. His wife was daughter of the raja of Dipalpur...
shifted the Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
capital from Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and made the kingdom capital to the city of Daulatabad
Daulatabad
Daulatabad , is a 14th century fort city in Maharashtra, India, about 16 kilometers northwest of Aurangabad...
in 1327 AD. Revolting against the Sultanate
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate is a term used to cover five short-lived, Delhi based kingdoms or sultanates, of Turkic origin in medieval India. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty...
was formed Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
in 1347 AD making Daulatabad
Daulatabad
Daulatabad , is a 14th century fort city in Maharashtra, India, about 16 kilometers northwest of Aurangabad...
as its sultanate capital which was later shifted to Gulbargah and in 1430 the capital atlast moved to Bidar
Bidar
Bidar is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the north-eastern part of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Bidar District....
, Bahmani Sultanate
Bahmani Sultanate
The Bahmani Sultanate was a Muslim state of the Deccan in southern India and one of the great medieval Indian kingdoms...
existed for around 150 years, and expanded almost into the entire Deccan Plateau
Deccan Plateau
The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in India, making up the majority of the southern part of the country. It rises a hundred meters high in the north, rising further to more than a kilometers high in the south, forming a raised triangle nested within the familiar downward-pointing triangle of...
(which was then named as Deccan). All these circumstances of shifting of power, moving of capitals and expansion of sultanate created a growing atmosphere for the Urdu language of Delhi, which was then came to be known as Deccani and received patronage from its rulers, though it was known with other names such as Hinduastani, Zaban Hinduastani, Dehalvi and Hindawi. The sufi's during those periods were the earliest to use Deccani in written form. The earliest available manuscript record is Kadam Rao Padam Rao
Kadam Rao Padam Rao
Kadam Rao Padam Rao is the earliest available manuscript in Deccani Urdu masnavi of 4000 lines, written during 1421-1434 AD, by Fakhruddin Nizami of Bidar....
a Masnavi of Fakhruddin Nizami, written during 1421-1434 AD.
When Mughals took over Deccan many notable personalities, secular and religious settled in the Deccan, have caused the language to spread through the borders that now form parts of Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. One such poet of Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
region was Wali Deccani (1667–1707), the first established poet to have composed Ghazal
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
s and compiled a divan (a collection of ghazals where the entire alphabet is used at least once as the last letter to define the rhyme pattern).
Classification
Dakhini is part of the Indo-AryanIndo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
grouping of the Indo-European languages
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
.
South Dakhini Urdu is widely spoken by the Muslim in all parts of Tamil Nadu except may be the southern part and also in parts of Pondicherry.
A minor segment of Muslims in Kerala also speak Dakhini Urdu.
Geographic distribution
Most speakers of Dakhini live in the IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n region known as the Deccan. They inhabit the regions comprising the erstwhile Muslim kingdoms in Deccan Plateau viz. portions of the states of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
and Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
Dialects
Dialects of Dakhini include Savji bhasha i.e. the language of the SavjiSavji
“Savji” or “Somavanshi Sahastrarjun Kshatriyas” are people who belong to the Kshatriya community within the Hindu caste system in India. They claim their linage to legendary puranic king Sri Sahasrārjuna also called Kartavirya Arjuna or Sahastrabahu of the Haihaya vansha...
community in the Hubli-Dharwad-Gadag-Bijapur-Belgaum region.
See also
- Hyderabadi UrduHyderabadi UrduHyderabadi Urdu is a dialect of Urdu spoken in the Indian region of Hyderabad State and its diaspora. It is also known as Deccani Urdu from its former name Hyderabad Deccan...
- Bangalori Urdu
- Urdu in AurangabadUrdu in AurangabadAurangabad is one of the historical cities of the Deccan, India. It is well-known for its literary and cultural traditions. As this city was the stronghold of the Mughals, a number of civil and military officers, men of letters, citizens, etc., from Delhi came here with the result that Aurangabad...
- Goan UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
(KumtaKumta- External links :*...
, Honnavar, BhatkalBhatkalBhatkal is also known as Batecala in some historical text especially in Portuguese history.Once ruled by Jain King Bhattakalanka and thus the name. Bhatkal is a port town in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India 126 km from Karwar. The town lies on NH-17 running between Mumbai and Mangalore...
)