SOCIOLOGY OF NAMES

Preface

Very little attention of Indologists and historians has gone to the study of Names of ancient Indians. This obscure zone of Indology holds a fruitful promise for a dedicated and zealous investigator. Naming, though a linguistic exercise, was predominated by religious sentiments in ancient India. Hindu Law givers and other sacred texts have discussed the sacrament of Name giving in all its details. Minutest directions as to how many vowels and consonants a male name or a female name may possess. have been given. Different kinds of names have been prescribed for different 'Varnas'. Adoption of native names was strictly forbidden for Aryans and the aboriginal names were corrupted by a ruthless process of Sanskritization to conform to the imaginary etymology. Thus the non-Aryan names preserved in ancient Hindu texts do not possess any indigenous characteristics: "whatever convention the Pre-Aryans may have followed in naming their children, it is now lost, and little may be gauged from the aboriginal names that survive in the Sanskrit texts." Whatever restrictions and directions were the guiding principles for selection of a name for a Hindu child in the past, the present day Indians are no longer strictly atavistic.

The usage of surnames is a later development in India. Although a gotra system was prevalent in ancient India, yet its use as a modern surname did not prevail at all. The institution of surname developed with the coming of foreigners in India. In Kashmir, the surnames, in the form of nicknames, got fully established during Muslim and Sikh rule. They survive now as 'KRAM' names.

Kashmiris excel in the art of giving nicknames. They have exploited all sources to develop new and newer nicknames. Their ardent love for nicknames have made them to own even most repulsive and obnoxious varieties of nicknames. They have, however, used them with advantage as marks of identification and individualisation.

Efforts have been made to analyse all facets of names and nicknames of India in general and those of Kashmir in particular, in this book. References from original as well as secondary sources have been provided. Comments and suggestions from the esteemed readers would be most welcome.

R. K. Koul
Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1
Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir)