56%. That is the share of respondents who said they speak Dogri regularly in an independent survey of Jammu district, reported by The Tribune on October 20. The more telling number is smaller: in urban areas, about 45% of respondents could speak Dogri and only around 4% could write it.
What the survey is, and isn't
The survey was carried out by Rohan Qurashi, a Jammu-born political science graduate of St Stephen's College, Delhi, across urban and rural parts of Jammu district. It is an individual effort, not an official study, and the report does not give its sample size or method, so treat the percentages as a pointer rather than a census.
Its main finding is a generational split: older respondents were more at ease with spoken Dogri, while younger ones had weaker links to both the spoken and written forms. The Tribune notes the worry is less that Dogri is vanishing and more that it is not being passed on, with some parents choosing Hindi or English at home.
Why French?
The same report points to a rise in interest in French. French instructor Arun Sharma ties it to unemployment and the search for better prospects: "Many foreign countries give preference to those who know French, and the youth want to learn the language." He calls proficiency "a practical investment" in young people's future.
Where this leaves a young reader
The two trends are not in conflict. What the survey suggests is that writing, rather than speaking, is where Dogri is thinnest. Community efforts are trying to close that gap; see our reports on a Dogri Ramlila in Jammu and the first Dogri Ramayana staged in Samba.
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