Rajapatni.com: Surabaya (9/11/24) – The Puri Aksara Rajapatni Community continues to write articles about literacy, especially stories about the relationship between Javanese and Indian script.
Historically, both places: India and Java, did have a relationship. For example, when Brahmins from India came to the archipelago, they introduced the tradition of writing using Pallava script in Sanskrit.
Evidence of this historical facts is in the relics of the Kutai Kingdom in East Kalimantan Indonesia, in the form of the Yupa inscription from the 4th Century. Meanwhile from Java there is also an inscription, the Purnawarman Inscription, which is a relic of the Tarumanegara Kingdom from the 10th Century.
The existence of Pallava script and Sanskrit in the Purnawarman inscription caught the attention of the Indian Ambassador to Indonesia Sandeep Chakravorty. Sandeep and his entourage visited the Purnawarman inscription in Bogor to see the historical evidence up close.
Apart from archaeological history, the relationship between India and Java can also be observed genolinguistically. Genolinguistics studies the grouping of human populations, the kinship relations between them, and the historical journey experienced by these population groups and the languages they brought to other places.
Among them was when the Pallava script and Sanskrit were brought by the Brahmins to the archipelago. Furthermore, the script as a language symbol underwent changes. In Java, the Pallawa script changed into the Old Javanese script (Kawi), which then became the New Javanese script (Carakan or Hanacaraka).
So, the Javanese script is a derivative of the Pallawa script through the Old Javanese script, which above the Pallawa is the Indian Brahmi script. Meanwhile, Javanese script (Carakan) began to be used in literary works and daily writings of Javanese people from the mid-15th century to the mid-20th century before its function was replaced by Latin letters.
Re-enlightening genolinguistics from Pallawa to Javanese script not only establishes linguistic relations between India and Indonesia, but also opens and strengthens diplomatic relations between the two countries in various sectors.
India through the ITEC (The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation) Program provides opportunities for Indonesian professionals from various scientific disciplines and professional backgrounds to study in India. Through this program, in the future, it will not only provide individual benefits as a form of increasing personal and professional capacity, but also bilateral benefits between the two countries. (PAR/nng)