Endangered Kumaoni Language and It's Upliftment for Cultural Heritage.

The Kumaon region is the part of Uttarakhand state also known as “Dev Bhoomi” (Land of Gods). This region is known for its colorfulness, cultural legacy, customs, rituals and magnificient beauty. Kumaoni language belongs to the Indo Aryan group and having many regional dialects such as Johari of the Johar Valley, Askoti of Askot, Bhabri of Ramnagar, Khasrahparjiya of Almora, Pachhai of Ranikhet and Dwarahat etc.

It  is one of the 325 recognised Indian languages and spoken over by 2.0 million people (2011 census)  .UNESCO’s atlas of the world’s languages in danger categorized  kumaoni language into  the “unsafe” category .There are famous writers in kumaoni like Lok Ratna Pant (Gumani), Kunwar Singh Bhandari, Jeevan Chandra Joshi etc.The folk song ‘Bedu Pako Bara Massa’ is world famous and was choosen as the best folk song among the other participants from India at Teen Murti Bhavan at a international gathering  by Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

 Kumaoni language has a rich literary legacy which includes mythological stories, Jaagar (a literary form used for evocation of Gods), love story of Rajula Malushahi (a ballad form) etc. Although having a rich tradition of oral form the speakers of kumaoni language are decreasing steadily which becomes the major issue of concern. This paper will discuss the reasons behind the deteriorating condition of the language and what can be the suggestive measures through which the advancement can be done.