Syllabus for Kashmiri Literature Optional

UPSC offers Kashmiri as an optional subject in the UPSC Civil Services Mains Exam. Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, Kashmiri has been given the status of an official language of the Union of India. Persian script is used to write Kashmiri in the UPSC IAS Mains Exam. UPSC IAS Mains optional includes two optional papers of 250 marks each. Candidates who have studied Kashmiri throughout school and college or have learned it as their native language should opt for this subject. Below is the detailed syllabus of both papers of Kashmiri literature optional subject. 

PAPER-I (Answers must be written in Kashmiri)

Section-A

• Genealogical relationship of the Kashmiri language: various theories.
•  Areas of occurrence and dialects (geographical/social)
• Phonology and grammar:
  • Vowel and consonant system;
  • Nouns and pronouns with various case inflections;
  • Verbs: various types and tenses.
• Syntactic structure:
  • Simple, active, and declarative statements;
  • Coordination;
  • Relativisation.

Section-B

•  Kashmiri literature in the 14th century (Socio-cultural and intellectual background with special reference to Lal Dyad and Sheikhul Alam)
• Nineteenth-century Kashmiri literature (development of various genres: Datsun; ghazal; and mathnavi).
• Kashmiri literature in the first half of the twentieth century (with special reference to Mahjoor and Azad; various literary influences).
• Modern Kashmiri literature (with special reference to the development of the short story, drama, novel, and nazm).

PAPER-II (Answers must be written in Kashmiri)

Section-A

• Intensive study of Kashmiri poetry up to the nineteenth century:
  • Lal Dyad
  • Sheikhul Aalam
  • Habba Khatoon
• Kashmiri poetry: 19th Century:
  • Mahmood Gami (Vatsans)
  • Maqbool Shah (Gulrez)
  • Rasool Mir (Ghazals)
  • Abdul Ahad Nadim (N’at)
  • Krishanjoo Razdan (Shiv Lagun)
  • Sufi Poets (Text in Sanglaab, published by the Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir)
• Twentieth Century Kashmiri poetry (text in Azich Kashir Shairi, published by the Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir)
• Literary criticism and research work: development and various trends.

Section-B

• An analytical study of the short story in Kashmiri.
• Afsana Majmu’a, published by the Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir.
• Kashur Afsana Az, published by the Sahitya Akademi
• Hamasar Kashur Afsana, published by the Sahitya Akademi. The following short story writers only:
• Akhtar Mohi-ud-Din, Kamil, Hari Krishan Kaul, Hraday Kaul Bharti, Bansi Nirdosh, Gulshan Majid.
• Novel in Kashmiri:
  • Mujrim by G.N. Gowhar
  • Marun-Ivan Ilyichun, (Kashmiri version of Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Iiyich (Published by Kashmiri Deptt).
• Drama in Kashmiri
  • Natuk Kariv Band, by Hari Krishan Kaul
  • Qk Angy Natuk, ed. Motilal Keemu published by Sahitya Akademi.
  • Razi Oedipus, tr. Naji Munawar, published by Sahitya Akademi.
• Kashmiri Folk Literature:
  • Kashur Luki Theatre by Mohammad Subhan Bhagat, published by Deptt. of Kashmiri, University of Kashmir.
  • Kashiry Luki Beeth (all volumes) published by the J & K Cultural Academy.