No one can deny the fact that the new generation popularly known as Gen Z has largely been disconnected with the cultural legacy of the region and often many of these young people feel shy when asked to speak the regional languages like Dogri, Gojri, Poonchi, Pahari, etc. There are many factors behind this new trend whereby the young generation has been alienated from the rich culture of the region, especially the local languages. One of the most common reason behind this change in attitude towards the languages is hidden desire of the new generation parents, who somehow wanted their offspring to speak English or Hindi, again for various reasons including the requirement in jobs in modern day world where there is cut throat competition and English and Hindi languages are preferred over the local and regional modes of communication.
In this context, there are certain segments in the society, which have been constantly struggling to sustain the vitality of local languages especially Dogri, which is the storehouse of vast and vibrant Dogra Culture, spread and used across many parts of J&K, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh besides a few belts in the Pok as well. In this regard, reportedly the efforts by the Duggar Biradari, an offshoot of Team Jammu by organizing a sit-in hunger strike at Jammu urging the Government to introduce Dogri as a compulsory subject up to the primary level across the Jammu region from the upcoming academic session beginning March 2026 seem to be the right step in the right direction. This demand should be seen as a desperate move by the civil society members looking at the government to help the society in sustaining the Dogri language and the rich cultural legacy associated with it as making this language compulsory in schools will surely help in reviving it at local level, which is the need of the hour. It is a stark reality that Dogri language is losing its foothold among the youth because children are not being introduced to their mother tongue during their early learning stages. All said and done, the people sitting at helm especially those belonging to Jammu region should consider the urgency of this demand and take appropriate stand in the matter by introducing Dogri at Primary School level to ensure that Dogra cultural should not face irreversible loss with no takers of Dogri remaining in the region in the coming time. The issue is of prime importance and the people, especially the mother fraternity should also ponder over it and start speaking Dogri with their children besides the government paying heed towards this demand through introducing the language at primary school level to prevent the irreparable cultural loss.
