Gujari

Gujari (English: GUU-JAH-REE; گُجری, गुर्जरी) is an Indo-Aryan language. It is classified as part of the Rajasthani languages under the Western Indo-Aryan language subfamily. It is spoken by Gurjars in the northern parts of India and Pakistan, as well as in the eastern parts of Afghanistan. Gujari is written in the Perso-Arabic script and Devanagari, both are used in India while Perso-Arabic is used in Pakistan. Gujari is the second most widely spoken language in both India-administered Jammu and Kashmir (after Kashmiri), and Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir (after Pahari-Pothwari). It is spoken by 19% of the population in Azad Kashmir and by 9.5% of the population in Jammu and Kashmir. It is also spoken in other areas of northern Pakistan including the northern half of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (where it ranks after Pashto, Hindko, and Saraiki in number of speakers) and in Gilgit-Baltistan; and northern and western India including, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In 1999 the government of India-administered Jammu and Kashmir recognized Gujari by including the language in the sixth schedule of the former state constitution. On 27 October 2025 the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa made Gujari the sixth officially recognized language in the provincial assembly. In March 2025 the government of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir included Gujari an optional subject in the course curriculum for grades sixth and eight.