Hindko and Gujari. c - SIL International

64
Calvin R. Rensch
Respondents in Singo Di Garhi, Sherpur and Balakot were
asked to name the language(s) of radio broadcasts to which they
customarily listen. Responses are summarized in figure (5.1). 25
25 After these language use data were collected, the following information
was obtained which affects the interpretation of the data relating to Hindko
radio-listening in Hazara:
According to information given by officials at Radio Pakistan in
Peshawar on 2 June 1988, one and one-half hours of community service
programming in Hindko is broadcast each day covering topics such as health,
education, music, etc. At present these programs are mainly broadcast for the
people of Peshawar because broadcasts from the radio station in Peshawar are
not able to reach Hazara easily. There was no other radio station in June 1988
that was broadcasting Hindko programs. One official at Radio Pakistan said
that there would be a new station in Abbottabad which would be operational in
two to three months time. It was his opinion that Hindko programs would then
be broadcast from there into the Hazara area. In answer to a question about
which dialects of Hindko are used in broadcasting, this same official said that
they have broadcasters from both Hazara and Peshawar. Any dialect differences
between the two did not appear to him to be significant for broadcasting
purposes.
It is not known whether those respondents who say that they listen to
Hindko radio broadcasts do so only when they visit in the Peshawar area or
whether some broadcasts emanating from Peshawar do indeed reach (some
parts of) Hazara.
According to television program listings in the Frontier Post newspaper
in 1988, Pakistan television dedicated approximately 25 to 50 minutes of
broadcast time each week to Hindko programming. An official at Pakistan
Television said that these programs are mainly dramas and community service
broadcasts. He said further that these programs are first broadcast from
Peshawar and then two or three days later are broadcast again from Islamabad.
Presently, Peshawar and Islamabad are the only places that broadcast Hindko
programs. When asked which dialects of Hindko are used for television, this
same official said that the actors/speakers on the programs are from Hazara,
Peshawar, and D.I. Khan.