Dogri is an Indo-Aryan language of the Western Pahari group, primarily spoken in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir, India, with smaller groups of speakers in the adjoining regions of western Himachal Pradesh, northern Punjab, and north-eastern Pakistani Punjab. It is the ethnic language of the Dogras, and was spoken in the historical region of Duggar. It is currently spoken in the districts of Kathua, Jammu, Samba, Udhampur, and Reasi, Unusually for an Indo-European language, Dogri is tonal, a trait it shares with other Western Pahari languages and Punjabi. It has several varieties, all with greater than 80% lexical similarity.
Gopinath Kaviraj was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, Indologist and philosopher. First appointed in 1914 a librarian, he was the Principal of Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi from 1923 to 1937. He was also the editor of the Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala during that period.
Ved Rahi is an Indian author predominantly writing in Dogri language. He directed well received mythological serial Meerabai for Doordarshan in 1996 under UTV productions. He is also credited for screenplay and dialogues of various Hindi Bollywood films and TV serials. He directed the Hindi film Veer Savarkar (2001), a bio-epic on the life of Indian revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.
Bhabendra Nath Saikia was a novelist, short-story writer, editor and film director from Assam, India. Dr. Saikia received his doctorate in physics from the University of London. He began his career as a reader in the Department of Physics, University of Guwahati. He later played an important role in the publication of college level textbooks in the Assamese language during his tenure as the Secretary of the Co-ordination Committee for production of textbooks in regional languages.
Satya Vrat Shastri was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, writer, grammarian and poet. He wrote three Mahakavyas, three Khandakavyas, one Prabandhakavyas and one Patrakavya and five works in critical writing in Sanskrit. His important works are Ramakirtimahakavyam, Brahattaram Bharatam, Sribodhisattvacharitam, Vaidika Vyakarana, Sarmanyadesah Sutram Vibhati, and "Discovery of Sanskrit Treasures" in seven volumes.
Krishna Kanta Handique was a Sanskrit scholar, an Indologist and philanthropist from Assam. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
Abdur Rehman Rahi was an Kashmiri poet, translator and critic. He was awarded the Indian Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for his poetry collection Nawroz-i-Saba, the Padma Shri in 2000, and India's highest literary award, the Jnanpith Award in 2007. He is the first Kashmiri writer to be awarded the Jnanpith, India's highest literary award for his poetic collection Siyah Rood Jaeren Manz. He was honoured with Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2000 by Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra is a Sanskrit author, poet, lyricist, playwright and a former Vice-Chancellor of the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.
Padma Sachdev was an Indian poet and novelist. She was the first modern woman poet of the Dogri language. She also wrote in Hindi. She published several poetry collections, including Meri Kavita Mere Geet, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971. She also received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award in 2001, and the Kabir Samman for poetry for the year 2007-08 given by Government of Madhya Pradesh, Saraswati Samman for the year 2015, Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2019.
Balwant Thakur is an Indian theatre personality and scholar, known for bringing Dogri theatre to international notice. He was honoured by the Government of India, in 2013, by bestowing on him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of theatre.
Jitendra Udhampuri is an Indian writer of Dogri, Hindi and Urdu literature. He is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1981. The Government of India honored him in 2010, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Nilamber Dev Sharma was an Indian scholar and writer of Dogri and English literature, best known for his work, An Introduction to Modern Dogri Literature, the first publication in English about Dogri literature. The Government of India honored Sharma in 2011, with the fourth highest civilian award of Padma Shri.
Lala Mulk Raj Saraf was an Indian journalist and writer, with over seventy years of a distinguished career in journalism and social service. With several firsts to his name, he is most renowned for overcoming all odds to lay the foundation of journalism in J&K, setting up the first printing press, and publishing the region's first newspaper, Ranbir. For his pioneering efforts in enabling a free press in J&K, he is known as the "Father of Journalism in Jammu and Kashmir". A freedom fighter, social reformer, and much loved public figure, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976. Saraf established the JDGD Saraf Trust for promoting conscientious journalism in 1985. The Trust has emerged as a highly prestigious institution in the realm of journalism. It has played a crucial role in encouraging the growth of a healthy press by periodically venerating the veterans and decorating the youngsters for their distinctive achievements in the line.
Siddheshwar Varma (1887–1985) was an Indian linguist, phonetician, grammarian and scholar, known for his knowledge of over 30 languages. He was the secretary of the International Moral Education Congress for India (1923) and the author of such books as The Bhalesī dialect, A Glossary of the Khāsī : a north-western Himalayan dialect of Jammu and Kashmir, Siddha-Bhāratī; The rosary of Indology and Pahari dictionary of 27-north-western Himalayan dialects. The Government of India awarded him the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 1957, for his contributions to literature and education.
Kunwar Viyogi, born Randhir Singh Jamwal, was a poet, and the only Indian Air Force officer to have received the Sahitya Akademi Award, which was awarded in 1980 for his long Dogri language poem "Ghar." He used "Ghar" [Home] as a peg and strung together 238 four-lines verses embracing a wide variety of subjects and ideas and feelings into a long poem. He is also the youngest poet in the history of Sahitya Akademi to have received this honour. Viyogi is noted for introducing the sonnet, a relatively new and unexplored genre for Dogri writers, into Dogri literature.
Prof. Champa Sharma is a noted Dogri author and poet known for her contributions to the promotion and preservation of Dogri language in Jammu and Kashmir as well as other Dogri speaking regions of Himachal Pradesh.
Digamber Hansda was an Indian academic and tribal activist who worked for the social and economic advancement of the underprivileged communities in West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Odisha. He was a founding member of the Santhal Sahitya Akademi and was considered a pioneer of Santhali language literature.
Narsingh Dev Jamwal is an Indian writer and playwright from Jammu, who has authored 48 books, including Sanjhi Dharti Bakhle Mahnu (novel), which won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978. He received India's fourth highest civilian award, Padma Shri (2019) for his contribution in the field of literature and education.
