Poguli is spoken in Pogul-Paristan area (Pīr Panjāl ) of tehsil Banihal, district Ramban of Jammu and Kashmir. Ramban District was carved-out of the erstwhile District Doda keeping in view the backwardness, remoteness and aspiration of people of the area. District Ramban started functioning as independent unit on April 01, 2007. District Ramban shares its boundary with Reasi, Udhampur, Doda, Anantnag and Kulgam. About 95 kilometers of National highway NH 1A connecting Jammu and Srinagar run through District Ramban. Ramban is located at 33°14’ N and 75°017’E longitudes with an altitude of 1000 meters from sea level.Ramban is comprised of two tehsils-Ramban and Banihal, and four CD blocks, namely Ramban, Banihal, Ramsoo and Gool. As per the 2011 Census, the total population of District Ramban is 2,83,713 . Banihal is geographically located at latitude (33.42 degrees) 33° 25' 12" North of the Equator and longitude (75.2 degrees) 75° 12' 0" East of the Prime Meridian. Located at the foothills of Pir Panjal range, it finds mention in many ancient and medieval writings. Rajtarangini mentions this place, a very narrow mountain valley, as Visalta.
This region, in King Uccalas time, was an escape route from Kashmir for unwanted or disgruntled elements of the Valley. In Jaysimha's time (1128-49) a small fort is said to have existed just below the old Banihal Pass, called by the name of Bansalla which literally meant a jungle or grove of trees. As of 2001 India census, Banihal Tehsil has a total population of 94,487 . Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Banihal town has fewer Poguli speaking people than the upper areas where more Poguli speakers can be found. Poguli is spoken throughout Ramsoo Block and more than 80% of the population of Poguli speakers in Ramsoo is permanent residents.Poguli has been classified as a dialect of Kashmiri (Grierson 1919). Poguli has no written tradition and no published literature other than some folk songs printed locally. After the early sketches published by Bailey (1908), Grierson (1919) and Hook (1987), Poguli has received very little attention from linguists. Poguli is bordered on the east by Kishtawari, on the south by Rambani and Siraji, and on the west by mixed dialects of Lahanda and Pahari. The speakers of Poguli are found mainly to the south, south-east and south-west of Banihal. Poguli shares many linguistic features with Kashmiri, including approximately70% of the vocabulary (Koul and Schmidt 1984). Both Muslims and Hindus of this region speak Poguli. In main Pogal-Paristan area, the majority of population is of Muslims, however in the outlying areas where Poguli is spoken, the ratio of Muslims and Hindus is almost the same.
Poguli is the language used in household domain whereas Urdu/ Hindi, Dogri, Siraji etc. are used as languages of communication across cultures. As per the local narratives of Pogal- Paristan area, Poguli is simply the language of a people who live in an area covered by ‘poh’ trees - a local species. So this area came to be known as poh gully- the alleyway of Poh trees and the speech variety became as Poguli. According to another narration made by the natives of Pogal-Paristan, the dialect acquired its name from one of the months of a year called ‘Poh’ which literally means the month of spring, thus the valley got the name likewise as Pogal and came into existence. The mother tongue is referent of the community name. The Poguli people are settled in the region from generations. Their socio-economic status is low and their living standards are very simple. One important socio-political feature of the area is that due to Reserved Backward Area (RBA) provisions, government employment is sought in most of the familes. The general literacy rate of the community is not high but the youth of this community have positive attitudes towards education. These people prefer marriages by way of negotiation within the community but inter community marriages have also social acceptance. The speakers of Poguli are both followers of Islam and Hinduism. Due to two different religions, their rituals and customs vary from one another but they take part in one another’s customs and rituals.

Neelofer Hussain Wani

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