Roma

When I completed the compilation of my Multilingual Romani Dictionary in 1971 in London (I was working as an Attache in the Indian High Commission at that time), few in India knew that the Roma (the so-called Gypsies of Europe etc.) have originated from the Panjab and that they still speak a language which could better be called a dialect of Panjabi. The reason was that the research on the origin of Roma, their language and culture had been done so far only by scholars other than Indians. Naturally, the foreigners, who have not got the correct and intimate knowledge of the Indian languages as spoken by the common man, the traits of the peoples inhabiting the north of India, particularly what I would call the Greater Panjab' of Alberuni's description during the Muslim invasions, could not do justice to their research work.

After the World Romani Congress in 1971 when I was able to meet Roma leaders, scholars, dancers and musicians from all over Europe, my interest in the subject continued growing. I established the Indian Institute of Romani Studies at Chandi garh, started publishing ROMA, a half-yearly journal on the subject. I wrote articles on the subject in English and Indian language papers. I gave interviews from Delhi and Amritsar TV stations. I met national leaders of India and personally acquainted them with the result of my research work. Well, the interest of scholars and national leaders of India in the subject has now been created.

In the meantime, I got a lot of original the and revealing ma terial on the subject from the scholars from the USSR, the Eastern Democracies, particularly from Yugoslavia, and other countries of Western Europe and America. In the summer of 1974, I had the good fortune to visit France, Germany, Italy,