GURMUKHI ALPHABET

writing system developed by the Sikhs in India for their sacred literature. It seems to have been modified from the Landa script, which is used to write the Punjabi, Lahnda, and Sindhi languages. Landa, Gurmukhi, and two other scripts used in northwestern India, Sarada and Takri, make up a related group that is probably descended from a common ancestor. According to Sikh tradition, Gurmukhi was invented in the mid-16th century by Angad, the second Sikh Guru (head of the Sikh religion), in order to correct certain inadequacies in the Landa script so that sacred literature might be accurately recorded. The alphabet has 42 letters, 32 consonantal signs and 10 vowel signs.