By Santokh Singh Bains | Opinion |
Nepali (also known as Nepalese, Gorkhali, Gurkhali, and Khas Kura) actually belongs to the Indo-European language family. It originated from the group of Pahari languages. The written form of Nepali was recognized in the 12th century AD; that was in the Devanagari alphabet derived from the Brahmi script (11th century AD).
Nepali became the national language of Nepal after a royal proclamation by King Mahendra. In fact a week before the Himalayan country’s parliamentary elections in 1959, King Mahendra unilaterally proclaimed a new constitution for the country. One of the last and short articles was as follows: “ The national language of Nepal shall be Nepali in the Devanagari script.”
Now Nepali is the mother tongue of almost two third of the Himalayan country’s population. The central government as well as the provincial governments of the country use Nepali as a day-to-day language.
In India, West Bengal has the maximum number of Nepali-speaking people; they are concentrated in Darjeeling district. Sikkim, however, has the highest density as 63% people of this state speak Nepali. As regards Assam, there are more than 5 lakh Nepali-speaking people in this North Eastern province. Also, there are many Nepali speakers in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Uttarakhand.
In 1992, Nepali language was included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian constitution. Hence, National Book Trust, which is an Indian publishing house functioning as an autonomous body under the Indian Government’s Ministry of Education, has been publishing Nepali books for almost three decades. The NBT had published excellent English books on Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh which were authored by Dr. Gopal Singh. In spite of repeated requests, the NBT did not agree to publish Nepali versions of these two outstanding books.
Amongst India’s neighbouring countries, Nepali is widely spoken in Bhutan as well as in some parts of Myanmar (Burma).
Among the early Sikh writers in Nepali language, the name of Hardayal Singh (1936-2006), who was an engineer in Nepal’s Roads Department, is quite significant. He was also known as Hardayal Singh Gupta, Hardayal Singh Nepali, and Engineer Hardayal Singh.
His first Nepali book titled Guru Nanak Ra Char Mahapurush Ko Charitra (22 pages) was published in 1975. This interesting book provided brief descriptions of five religious leaders – Guru Nanak, Guru Gobind Singh, Guru Tegh Bahadur, Shri Krishna, and Gautam Buddha.
His next Nepali book titled Sikh Dharma Ko Roop Rekha (61 pages) was brought out in 1994; it was a suitable introduction to the Sikh religion for Nepali readers.
Hardayal Singh’s third book titled Hindu Dharma Ra Sikh Itihas (78 pages) was published in 1999; it threw light on the Sikh history from a Hindu religious perspective.
Trying his hand at translation from Punjabi to Nepali, Hardayal Singh came forward to translate the entire Nitnem into Nepali; this Nepali book titled Niyamit Niyam (194 pages) was published in 2002.
Thereafter, the Sikh writer translated Sukhmani Sahib into Nepali; this book of 168 pages was published in 2004. These two translations were quite important because they provided a great opportunity to Nepalese people to read the Sikh scriptures in their own language.
Besides authoring the above-mentioned five unique books in Nepali language, Hardayal Singh used to frequently write Nepali articles on the Sikh Gurus and the Sikh religion. His first Nepali article titled Hindu Dharma Ka Sanrakshak — Guru Nanak was published in Gorkha Patra, a prestigious Nepali daily newspaper published from Kathmandu, on 15 January 1968. Another significant Nepali article on Guru Nanak penned by him was published in Bharat Samachar on 10 November 1971; it was titled Yug Purush Guru Nanak. A brief introduction to the Sikh religion was provided by Hardayal Singh in his article titled Sikh Dharma Kay Ho; this informative Nepali article was published in Gorkha Patra in its issue dated 28 August 2002. Nepal Samachar Patra published his article captioned Guru Nanak Ko Sewa Ra Samarpan Bhav on 20 September 2004.
Hardayal Singh’s numerous articles were published from time to time in Nepali newspapers and magazines like Gorkha Patra, Kantipur, Bharat Samachar, Nepal Samachar Patra and Yuwa Manch. At the time of Gurpurabs (particularly the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak and Baisakhi), his appropriate Nepali articles on Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind Singh were usually published in in Kathmandu-based Nepali newspapers.
Before Hardayal Singh passed away on 12 November 2006, he wrote scores of Nepali articles on the Sikh Gurus as well as on the Sikh religion and the Sikh history. It may be mentioned here that Nepal was a Hindu kingdom at that time. Hence, many of Hardayal Singh’s Nepali articles were written in such a way that they would appeal to devout Hindu Nepalis of the Himalayan country.
Way back in 1975, Kathmandu Gurdwara Committee had published an informative Nepali book on the founder of Sikhism. This 55-page book titled Ek Parmeshwar Pravartak – Shri Jagatguru Guru Nanak was authored by Prakash Gauchan.
In 1986, a small Nepali book titled Sikh Dharma Ra Jiwan was published by Sri Guru Singh Sabha, Siliguri (Siliguri Gurdwara). This appealing book, which was written by Prof. Haren Ghosh, briefly explained the basic aspects of Sikhism for Nepali readers.
Dr. Mahesh Raj Pant, a Kathmandu-based scholar, has been writing outstanding Nepali articles on diverse topics from time to time for various Nepali publications. His unique article titled Us Jamana Ko Sikh Dharma was published on 24 November 2018 in Annapurna, a daily Nepali newspaper published from Kathmandu. Dr. Pant’s new Nepali book provides authentic information on lands donated by different kings for spreading Guru Nanak’s mission in the Himalayan country.
Jaspal Singh, a Birgunj-based enthusiastic activist and prolific writer who is also the President of Shree Guru Nanak Service Foundation, has been writing captivating Nepali articles on the Sikh Gurus and the Sikh faith. Through his effective writings, he has also been highlighting genuine problems being faced by the country’s minority communities like the Sikhs. From time to time, his numerous articles have appeared in Nepali publications like Prateek, Nagrik, and Sarokar Today.
In 2022, an illustrated Nepali book titled Mahan Guru – Guru Nanak Dev Ji was published by New Delhi-based Sikh Foundation. Originally published in English, Punjabi and Hindi, the book was rendered into Nepali by Matrika Prasad Lamsal who is a Kathmandu-based teacher and writer.
In the present year, the Sikh Foundation published another gripping illustrated book in Nepali language; this excellent book is titled Mahan Sant Sipahi – Guru Gobind Singh Ji. The Foundation is now planning to publish an illustrated Nepali book on Guru Tegh Bahadur in near future.
It is quite possible that there may be some old Nepali records concerning the Sikh Gurus (particularly Guru Nanak), Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Rani Jind Kaur, and earliest Sikh settlers in Nepal. Some dedicated researcher(s) need to come forward to dig into the archives in Nepal. Also, it is possible that some very old Nepali books lying in Kathmandu’s oldest library can throw light on the above-mentioned topics. Some eminent university of Punjab like Patiala-based Punjabi University or Amritsar-based Guru Nanak Dev University should undertake the much needed research as soon as possible. Otherwise some Nepal-based scholar should be persuaded and financially supported to undertake such a worthy project.
Santokh Singh Bains is a Chicago based writer and free lance journalist. His debut book titled Sikhs, Sikhism and the World was published in 2019. He can be reached at santokhbains713@gmail.com
* This is the opinion of the writers, organisation or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Asia Samachar.
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