Origin As a predecessor of modern
Hindustani, Deccani has its origins in the
contact dialect spoken around Delhi then known as
Dehlavi and now called
Old Hindi. In the early 14th century, this dialect was introduced in the
Deccan region through the military exploits of
Alauddin Khalji. In 1327 AD,
Muhammad bin Tughluq shifted his
Sultanate's capital from
Delhi to
Daulatabad (near present-day
Aurangabad, Maharashtra), causing a mass migration; governors, soldiers and common people moved south, bringing the dialect with them. At this time (and for the next few centuries) the cultural centres of the northern Indian subcontinent were under
Persian linguistic hegemony. The
Bahmani Sultanate was formed in 1347 AD with
Daulatabad as its capital. This was later moved to
Gulbarga and once again, in 1430, to
Bidar. By this time, the dialect had acquired the name
Dakhni, from the name of the region itself, and had become a
lingua franca for the linguistically diverse people of the region, primarily where the Muslims had settled permanently. The Bahmanids greatly promoted Persian, and did not show any notable patronage for Deccani. However, their 150-year rule saw the burgeoning of a local Deccani literary culture outside the court, as religious texts were made in the language. The
Sufis in the region (such as Shah Miranji) were an important vehicle of Deccani; they used it in their preachings since regional languages were more accessible (than Persian) to the general population. This era also saw production of the
masnavi Kadam Rao Padam Rao by Fakhruddin Nizami in the region around Bidar. It is the earliest available manuscript of the Hindavi/Dehlavi/Deccani language, and contains loanwords from local languages such as Telugu and Marathi. Digby suggests that it was not produced in courtly settings.
Growth , depicted here seated on a throne. In the early 16th century, the Bahmani Sultanate splintered into more assimilated
Deccan Sultanates such as the
Golconda and
Bijapur Sultanates, which sponsored, blended and developed humanistic disciplines of local languages into
Indo-Persian culture. According to Shaheen and Shahid, Golconda was the literary home of Asadullah Wajhi (author of
Sab Ras), ibn-e-Nishati (
Phulban), and Ghwasi (
Tutinama)
. Bijapur played host to Hashmi Bijapuri, San‘ati, and Mohammed Nusrati over the years. The rulers themselves participated in these cultural developments.
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of the
Golconda Sultanate wrote poetry in Deccani, which was compiled into a
kulliyyāt. It is widely considered to be the earliest Urdu poetry of a secular nature.
Ibrahim Adil Shah II of the
Bijapur Sultanate produced
Kitab-e-Navras (Book of the Nine
Rasas), a work of musical poetry written entirely in Deccani. The
mathnawi Pem Nem was also compiled during his reign. Although the poets of this era were well-versed in Persian, they were characterised by a preference for indigenous cultures, and a drive to stay independent of esoteric language. As a result, the language they cultivated emphasised the
Sanskritic roots of Deccani without overshadowing it, and borrowed from neighbouring languages (especially Marathi; Matthews states that Dravidian influence was much less). In this regard, Shaheen and Shahid note that literary Deccani has historically been very close to spoken Deccani, unlike the northern tradition that has always exhibited
diglossia. Poet San'ati is a particular example of such conscious efforts to retain simplicity: As the language of court and culture, Persian nevertheless served as the model for poetic forms, and a good amount of Persian and Arabic vocabulary was present in the works of these writers. Hence Deccani attempted to strike a balance between Indian and Persian influences, though it did always retain mutual intelligibility with the northern Dehlavi. This contributed to the cultivation of a distinct Deccani identity, separate from the rulers from the north; many poets proudly extolled the Deccan region and its culture. Hence, Deccani experienced cultivation into a literary language under the Sultanates, alongside its usage as a common vernacular. It also continued to be used by saints and Sufis for preaching. However, the Sultanates did not use Deccani for official purposes, preferring the prestige language Persian as well as regional languages like Marathi, Kannada, and Telugu.
Decline The Mughal conquest of the Deccan by
Aurangzeb in the 17th century connected the southern regions of the subcontinent to the north, and introduced a hegemony of northern tastes. This began the decline of Deccani poetry, as literary patronage in the region decreased. The sociopolitical context of the period is reflected in Hashmi Bijapuri's poem, composed two years after the fall of Bijapur, in a time when many southern poets were pressured to change their language and style for patronage: The literary centres of the Deccan had been replaced by the capital of the Mughals, so poets migrated to Delhi for better opportunities. A notable example is that of
Wali Deccani (1667–1707), who adapted his Deccani sensibilities to the northern style and produced a
divan in this variety. His work inspired the Persianate poets of the north to compose in the local dialect, which in their hands became an intermediate predecessor of Hindustani known as
Rekhta. This accelerated the downfall of Deccani literature, as Rekhta came to dominate the competing dialects of Mughal Hindustan. The advent of the
Asaf Jahis slowed this down, but despite their patronage of regional culture, Deccani’s literary tradition died. However, the spoken variety has lived on in the Deccani Muslims, retaining some of its historical features and continuing to be influenced by the neighbouring Dravidian languages. == Phonology ==