KNOW HERE: Gurmukhi script, Sacred heritage of Sikhs in Punjab

The rich Punjabi Culture of Punjab is deeply rooted in its beautiful language and scripts. The modern Punjabi language emerged from the Mediaeval Punjabi stage in the 19th century in Punjab and is spoken in many dialects. The Majha dialect in Punjab has been adopted as the standard Punjabi language in India for Education and mass media.

The Punjabi Language comes with two Primary scripts, including Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi. In India, the Punjabi language is written in the Gurmukhi script in offices, schools and media and is the official standard script for Punjabi. The Gurmukhi is the official standard script for Punjabi. However, it is often unofficially written in Latin scripts due to the influence of English, one of India’s two primary official languages at the Union level.

The Gurmukhi script of Punjabi has significant importance in Punjab. The people widely use Gurmukhi Punjabi for all of their Purposes. The Gurmukhi script is also known as the Translation from the Guru’s Mouth and has its roots in the Brahmo script.

Unlike other complex languages, the Gurmukhi script is written simply and understandably and is also most commonly used due to its adequate accessibility to people. The Sikhs in India developed the Gumukhi system in India for their sacred literature. The Gurmukhi script has been modified from the Lahnda script, which is used to write Punjabi, Sindhi, and Lahnda.

According to Sikh tradition, the Gurmukhi script translates as “from the mouth of the Guru” and was invented in the mid-16th century by the 2nd most Guru of Sikhs, Shri Guru Angad Dev Ji, who was also the head of the Sikh religion, to correct specific inadequacies in the Lahnda script so that sacred literature might be accurately recorded. However, the writing is known to have existed before Angad’s time, and he is now considered the popularizer or standardizer of Gurmukhi rather than its originator.

Notably, The Punjabi Gurmukhi script holds a very special space inside the heart of Sikhs. The Gurmukhi script is believed to enrich the sacred writings of the Sikh Religion