Takri

Takri is a family of writing systems used in the western Himalayan region of South Asia to record several languages. It developed from the Sharada script in medieval northern India and is part of the Brahmi-derived lineage. Historically, Takri was used in the hill principalities and districts of what are now Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of Jammu and Kashmir, as well as surrounding areas.

Regional varieties of Takri include Kangra Takri, Chamba Takri, and Lahuli–Spiti Takri. These scripts were employed to write languages such as Garhwali, Kumaoni, and other Western Himalayan languages. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, education and administration increasingly favored Devanagari (for many languages) and Gurmukhi, leading to a decline in Takri use. In recent decades, there have been revival efforts by scholars and communities to preserve manuscripts, signage, and cultural materials, and Takri is sometimes used in revitalization projects and cultural events.

Script features: Takri is an abugida, in which consonants carry an inherent vowel and diacritic marks modify that vowel. It uses ligatures and conjunct forms to represent consonant clusters and has distinct numerals and punctuation associated with regional varieties. The script is written left to right.

Modern status and encoding: While no longer widespread in daily administration, Takri remains important for cultural heritage and linguistic documentation. It has been encoded and supported in digital typography and input systems, enabling modern use alongside other regional scripts.