By Sadaket Ali Malik

On any street in Srinagar, voices flow in different tongues. A baker calls out in Kashmiri, a student answers in Urdu, and someone nearby adds a line in Hindi.

In those few exchanges, you can hear the story of Jammu and Kashmir: diverse people, long history, and the graceful way its identities live together.

Few regions in South Asia carry such linguistic richness. From the slopes of Pir Panjal to the plains of Jammu, speech changes every few miles. Kashmiri, Dogri, Gojri, Pahari, Balti, and Ladakhi each shape local identity and memory.

Every language is a vessel of its own culture. But one tongue ties these worlds together: Urdu.

Urdu’s journey in Jammu and Kashmir began with politics but grew into something far larger.

During the Dogra rule between 1846 and

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