Mohammad Mansha Khaki
A Gojri poet, editor and translator from the Gujjar-Bakerwal community who spent three decades building up the literature of the Gojri language.
Mohammad Mansha Khaki (named in Mann Ki Baat as Mohammad Manshah) is a poet, editor and researcher who has devoted his working life to Gojri, the language of the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities of Jammu and Kashmir. His work was highlighted in episode 110 of Mann Ki Baat in February 2024 [1][2].
Early life
Khaki comes from the Gujjar-Bakerwal tribal community [1][2]. As a child he walked about 20 km a day to get to school, and he went on to earn a master’s degree [2]. According to the writer Javaid Rahi, he was born in Kalakote in 1956, took his master’s in education from the University of Jammu, and now lives in Kachnambal in Kangan, Ganderbal district [3].
Three decades at the Academy
After starting out as a teacher in 1982, Khaki became a Gojri research assistant at the state’s Academy of Art, Culture and Languages (JKAACL) in 1983 [3]. He stayed until 2014, retiring as the senior editor and cultural officer for Gojri [3]. There he helped edit and compile the first Gojri dictionary, and edited long-running series of Gojri journals and collections of folk tales, folk songs and children’s writing [3].
Poet and translator
His own writing includes the poetry collection Lakhat-Lakhat and a Gojri grammar written with Rafiq Anjum, and several of his songs became popular among tribal listeners when well-known singers of the region recorded them [3]. He has translated widely into Gojri, including a verse translation of Waris Shah’s Heer and a Shakespeare play [3]. In Mann Ki Baat, his literary work was said to fill about 50 volumes, including poems and folk songs, alongside many books he has translated into Gojri [1][2]. He received a Jammu and Kashmir government award for his contribution to Gojri in 2024 [3].
Sources
- [1] PM's address in the 110th Episode of Mann Ki Baat — Prime Minister's Office (pmindia.gov.in). Accessed 12 October 2026.
- [2] PM Modi Praises Noted Gojri Writer Manshah Khaki — Kashmir Life. Accessed 12 October 2026.
- [3] A Gojri poet praised by PM Modi — Daily Excelsior. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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