View source for Takri script

{{Short description|Writing system for some Indic languages}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Redirect|Takri|The Korean Kingdom|Takri Kingdom}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Takri
| altname     = {{Script|Takr|𑚔𑚭𑚊𑚤𑚯}}
| sample      = Shukla Takri T.svg
| caption     = The word 'Takri' written in Chamba Takri
| imagesize   = 
| type        = Abugida
| languages   = [[Social:Dogri language|Dogri]], Kangri, Chambeali, Mandeali, [[Social:Bilaspuri|Bilaspuri]], Kullui, Bhateali, Churahi, [[Social:Kishtwari|Kishtwari]], Gaddi, [[Social:Mahasu Pahari|Mahasui]], Sirmauri, Pangwali, Bhadarwahi, [[Social:Sanskrit|Sanskrit]]
| time        = {{circa|16th century}} CE to present
| region      = India, Pakistan
| fam1        = [[Social:Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian]]
| fam2        = Proto-Sinaitic
| fam3        = [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]]
| fam4        = [[Social:Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]]
| fam5        = [[Social:Brahmi script|Brahmi]]
| fam6        = Gupta
| fam7        = Sharada
| fam8        = Devashesha-Tankri
| sisters     = Landa
| children    = [[Dogri script|Dogri]]
| unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U11680.pdf U+11680&ndash;U+116CF]
| iso15924    = Takr
| footnotes   = 
}}
{{Brahmic}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
The '''Tākri script''' (Takri (Chamba): {{Script|Takr|𑚔𑚭𑚊𑚤𑚯}}; Takri (Jammu/[[Dogri script|Dogra]]): {{Script|Dogr|𑠔𑠬𑠊𑠤𑠮}}; sometimes called '''Tankri''' {{Script|Takr|𑚔𑚭𑚫𑚊𑚤𑚯}}) is an abugida writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts. It is derived from the Sharada script formerly employed for [[Social:Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]. It is the sister script of '''Laṇḍā scripts.''' It has another variant [[Dogri script|Dogra Takri]]<ref>{{Cite book|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TPgAAAAAYAAJ&q=Jammu+Takri&pg=PA67|title=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland|date=1904|language=en |page=67 |chapter=On the Modern Indo-Aryan Alphabets of North-Western India |first=George A. |last=Grierson}}</ref> (also known as Dogra Akkhar) employed in Jammu region. There are numerous varieties present throughout Himachal Pradesh.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Proposal to Encode the Takri Script in ISO/IEC 10646 |first=Anshuman |last=Pandey|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2009/09111-takri.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2|date=6 April 2009}}</ref> Until the late 1940s, the adapted version of the script (called '''[[Dogri script|Dogri]]''', '''Dogra''' or '''Dogra Akkhar''') was the official script for writing Punjabi in the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Throughout the history, different kingdoms of what now forms Himachal Pradesh used their own variety to maintain their records. The Takri script used in Sirmour in Himachal Pradesh and in the adjacent region of Jaunsar-Bawar in Uttarakhand has some distinction.

==History==
The Takri alphabet developed through the ''Devāśeṣa'' stage of the Sharada script from the 14th-18th centuries<ref name=sharada>{{cite web | url=https://unicode.org/L2/L2009/09074r-n3595-sharada.pdf| title=N3545: Proposal to Encode the Sharada Script in ISO/IEC 10646 | first1=Anshuman | last1=Pandey | publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=25 March 2009 |access-date=11 March 2024}}</ref> and was found mainly in the Hill States such as Chamba<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/sadh/045/0146 |title=A Comparative analysis for identification and classification of text segmentation challenges in Takri Script |first1=Shika |last1=Magotra |first2=Baijnath |last2=Kaushik |first3=Ajay |last3= Kaul |date=2020 |journal=Sādhanā |volume=45 |issue=146 |doi=10.1007/s12046-020-01384-4|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and surrounding areas. The local Takri variants got the status of official scripts in some of the Punjab Hill States, and were used for both administrative and literary purposes until the 19th century.<ref name=sharada/> After 1948, when Himachal Pradesh was established as an administrative unit, the local ''Takri'' variants were replaced by Devanagari.
[[File:Book written in tankri script which was used till mid 20th century.jpg|thumb|Book written in tankri script signifying certain matras used for ritual proposes ]]
Takri itself has historically been used to write a number of Western Pahari Languages  in the [[Place:Western Himalaya|Western Himalaya]], such as Gaddi or Gaddki (the language of the Gaddi ethnic group), [[Social:Kishtwari|Kishtwari]] (a language, or possibly a highly idiosyncratic dialect of [[Social:Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]], spoken in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir) and Chambeali (the language of the Chamba region of Himachal Pradesh). Takri used to be most prevalent script for business records and communication in various parts of Himachal Pradesh including the regions of Kangra and Bilaspur.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/india-interior/himachal-pradeshs-lipis-breathing-new-life-into-forgotten-scripts/article28725663.ece|title=Breathing new life into forgotten scripts |work=The Hindu Business Line |first=Sarita |last=Brara |date=26 July 2019}}</ref> The shift to Devanagari can be traced to the early days of Indian independence (1950s−80s).

[[File:tkalp.png|thumb|center|250px|Alphabet of standardised Takri]]

==Revival movement==
Since Takri fell into disuse,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-982214571.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202021135/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-982214571.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 February 2017|title=Tankri once the language of royals, is now dying in Himachal Pradesh |work=Hindustan Times|access-date=25 January 2017|date=27 January 2006}}</ref> there have been sporadic attempts to revive the script in Himachal Pradesh. Recent efforts have been made to teach the script to Himachali Paharis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://zeenews.india.com/home/ancient-script-of-indian-mountains-fights-for-survival_275913.html|title=Ancient scripts of Indian Mountains fights for survival|website=Zee News|date=16 February 2006|access-date=9 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109190123/https://zeenews.india.com/home/ancient-script-of-indian-mountains-fights-for-survival_275913.html|archive-date=9 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Takri (Tankri) script was also used in cinema. The first film in Pahari called Saanjh directed by Ajay K Saklani released in April 2017 used Takri script in its title and beginning credits. Workshops are being conducted in small scale in the state of Himachal Pradesh, in districts like Chamba<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachaltribune/reviving-takri-script-of-the-yore-37869 |title=Reviving 'Takri' script of the yore |access-date=11 March 2024 |work=The Tribune (India) |date=8 February 2020 |archive-date=27 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127022503/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachaltribune/reviving-takri-script-of-the-yore-37869 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Kullu, Kangra and Shimla.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.namami.gov.in/|title=Workshop at Shimla}}</ref>{{verification failed |date=March 2024}} An organisation named ''Sambh'' (Devanagari: सांभ) based at Dharamshala has decided to develop fonts for this script.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/ancient-delight-heritage-enthusiasts-develop-fonts-for-fading-takri-script/story-2wyd1I4EMraq3C1NNSeeaP.html|title=Ancient delight: Heritage enthusiasts develop fonts for fading 'Takri' script |work=Hindustan Times |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=11 March 2024 |first=Naresh K |last=Thakur}}</ref>

A Pahari Corridor from Shimla to Murree has also been proposed under the Aman ki Asha initiative to link the similar Western Pahari language-based regions of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Azad Kashmir and Pothohar Plateau and revive the script.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://amankiasha.com/dreaming-of-peace-dividends-revival-of-shimla-murree-linkages/|title=Dreaming of peace dividends: Revival of Shimla-Murree linkages |website=Aman Ki Asha |access-date=11 March 2024 |date=14 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://thewire.in/culture/india-pakistan-peace-shimla-murree-corridor/|title=Dreaming of peace dividends: Revival of Shimla-Murree linkages |work=The Wire |access-date=11 March 2024 |date=7 June 2019 |first=Vishal |last=Sharma}}</ref>

The Himachal Pradesh government under the National Manuscript Mission Yojana has set up a Manuscript Resource Centre and so far 1.26 lakh (1,26,000) manuscripts, including those in Takri, have been catalogued and has decided to be digitised.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/shimla/Himachal-makes-efforts-to-save-its-cultural-heritage/articleshow/53794457.cms|title=Himachal makes efforts to save its cultural heritage|date=21 August 2016|first=Anand|last=Bodh|work=Times of India |access-date=11 March 2024}}</ref>

== Varieties ==
There are several regional varieties of Takri, with each Hill State/District or tract having its own style. There is considerable variation in the spellings of the names of the regional forms and the languages they represent. The names of languages have also changed, so that the names used in Grierson and other sources differ from current practices. In order to assist in the identification of languages and the forms of Takri associated with them, the language names below are denoted using ISO639-3 codes. Specimens of Takri representative of the regional form is also indicated.

* Bhattiyali [bht]: Bhateali, Bhatiali 
* Chambeali [cdh]: Chambiali, Chameali, Chamiali 
* Dogra [dgo], [doi]: Dogri 
* Gaddi [gbk]: Bharmauri, Gadi
* Gahri [bfu]: Bunan 
* Jaunsari [jns]
* Kangri [xnr]: Kangri
* Kinnauri [kjo]: Kanauri 
* [[Social:Kishtwari|Kishtwari]] [kas]: Kashtwari
* Kulvi [kfx]: Kullu, Kului, Kullvi 
* [[Social:Mahasu Pahari language|Mahasu]] [bfz]: Kochi, Kiunthali 
* Mandeali [mjl]: Himachali, Mandi 
* [[Social:Sirmauri language|Sirmauri]] [srx]
The Chambeali version was selected to be the standard for the Unicode.

A variety of Takri which was used for Sirmauri and Jaunsari has been proposed to be encoded in the Unicode.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Preliminary proposal to encode Sirmauri in Unicode|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2018/18085-sirmauri.pdf |access-date=11 March 2024 |first=Anshuman |last=Pandey |date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

== Numerals ==
{| class="wikitable"
![[Arabic numerals]]
|0
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|9
|-
!Takri numerals
|𑛀
|𑛁
|𑛂
|𑛃
|𑛄
|𑛅
|𑛆
|𑛇
|𑛈
|𑛉
|}

== In Unicode ==
{{Main|Takri (Unicode block)}}
Takri script was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in 2012 (version 6.1).

{{Unicode chart Takri}}

==References==
<references />

==External resources==
* [https://aksharamukha.appspot.com/describe/Takri Takri at Aksharamukha]
* [https://omniglot.com/writing/takri.htm Takri at Omniglot]
* [http://www.proel.org/index.php?pagina=alfabetos/takri Comparative examples of Takri and related scripts (Spanish language website)]
* [https://www.npr.org/2006/08/08/5625318/the-gaddi-people-of-dharamsala A discussion of the Gaddi, with a reference to Takri] 
* {{YouTube|id=zTRSVsjEwp4|title=Information about ancient Takri script}} 
* {{YouTube|id=K93yE3EbYdE|title=Efforts to sustain Takri script}}

{{list of writing systems}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Takri Script}}
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]

{{Sourceattribution|Takri script}}