Krutidev to Unicode Converter — Convert Krutidev Text to Mangal/Unicode

You have a document typed in Krutidev 010. You copy the text and paste it into a website or email — and it turns into gibberish. Random English characters, symbols, question marks. The text you spent hours typing is unreadable.

This is the Krutidev problem. And the solution is converting it to Unicode.

What Is the Krutidev vs Unicode Problem?

To understand why you need a converter, you need to understand what these two systems are:

Feature	Krutidev	Unicode (Mangal)
Type	Font-based encoding	Universal character encoding
How it works	Maps Hindi glyphs to English character positions	Each Hindi character has a unique code point
Copy-paste	Text becomes garbage in other fonts	Works everywhere, any font
Web compatible	No — browsers cannot render Krutidev text properly	Yes — universal web standard
File size	Larger (font must be embedded)	Smaller (standard encoding)
Government standard	Being phased out	Official standard (BIS)
Example font	Krutidev 010, 021, 055	Mangal, Noto Sans Devanagari, Arial Unicode

The core issue: Krutidev is not real Hindi text. It is English characters (a, b, c, etc.) that look like Hindi when rendered in the Krutidev font. Change the font, and you see English gibberish.

Unicode, on the other hand, stores actual Hindi characters. The text remains Hindi regardless of which font you use.

What Krutidev Text Actually Looks Like

When you type "भारत" in Krutidev, the underlying text stored in the file is something like Hkkjr. This is mapped to Devanagari glyphs only when the Krutidev font is applied.

When you type "भारत" in Unicode (Mangal), the underlying text stores the actual Unicode code points: U+092D U+093E U+0930 U+0924. This is recognized as Hindi by every computer system in the world.

When You Need to Convert

Krutidev → Unicode

• Government documents typed in Krutidev that need to go on websites
• Old reports and files that need to be shared digitally
• Krutidev text that needs to be emailed (email does not support Krutidev font)
• Documents being migrated to modern systems
• Text that needs to be searchable (Krutidev text is not searchable as Hindi)

Unicode → Krutidev

• Old government computer systems that only support Krutidev
• Printing presses that use legacy Krutidev-based DTP software
• Certain state government departments (MP, Rajasthan) that still require Krutidev format
• Matching existing document templates in Krutidev

How to Convert Krutidev to Unicode

Using Transliterate.in (Online)

The fastest method:

1. Go to transliterate.in converter tool
2. Paste your Krutidev text in the left box
3. Select Krutidev → Unicode direction
4. Click Convert
5. Copy the Unicode output from the right box

The converted text works in Word, Gmail, websites, and everywhere else.

Using Microsoft Word (Manual Method)

If you have a small amount of text:

1. Open your Krutidev document in Word
2. Select all text (Ctrl + A)
3. Copy (Ctrl + C)
4. Open the online converter
5. Paste → Convert → Copy result
6. Paste back into a new Word document with Mangal font selected

Using Batch Conversion Tools

For large documents or multiple files:

Tool	Platform	Batch Support	Cost
Krutidev to Unicode Converter (online)	Web	Paste-based	Free
Pramukh Font Converter	Web	Yes	Free
Hindi Unicode Converter	Windows	Yes — multiple files	Free
InPage to Unicode	Windows	Single document	Free
Custom scripts (Python)	Any	Unlimited	Free (code)

The Conversion Mapping

Krutidev maps English characters to Hindi in a non-intuitive way. Here is a partial mapping:

Consonants

Krutidev Key	Hindi Character	Unicode
d	क	U+0915
[k	ख	U+0916
x	ग	U+0917
?k	घ	U+0918
p	च	U+091A
N	छ	U+091B
t	ज	U+091C
>	झ	U+091D
V	ट	U+091F
B	ठ	U+0920
M	ड	U+0921
<	ढ	U+0922
r	त	U+0924
Fk	थ	U+0925
n	द	U+0926
/k	ध	U+0927
u	न	U+0928
i	प	U+092A
Q	फ	U+092B
c	ब	U+092C
Hk	भ	U+092D
e	म	U+092E
;	य	U+092F
j	र	U+0930
y	ल	U+0932
o	व	U+0935
'k	श	U+0936
"k	ष	U+0937
l	स	U+0938
g	ह	U+0939

Vowels and Matras

Krutidev	Hindi	Type
v	अ	Independent vowel
vk	आ	Independent vowel
b	इ	Independent vowel
bZ	ई	Independent vowel
m	उ	Independent vowel
Å	ऊ	Independent vowel
,	ए	Independent vowel
,s	ऐ	Independent vowel
vks	ओ	Independent vowel
vkS	औ	Independent vowel
k	ा	Matra (aa)
f	ि	Matra (i)
h	ी	Matra (ee)
q	ु	Matra (u)
w	ू	Matra (oo)

This is why you cannot simply "read" Krutidev text without the font — the mapping is arbitrary and non-phonetic.

Common Conversion Problems and Fixes

1. Conjuncts Not Converting Correctly

Krutidev represents conjuncts differently than Unicode. The converter might produce broken conjuncts.

Fix: Check these specific conjuncts after conversion:

• क्ष (ksha) — often breaks into क + ष
• त्र (tra) — may lose the halant
• ज्ञ (gya) — complex mapping
• श्र (shra) — check the ra-connection

If a conjunct is broken, manually type the correct Unicode version.

2. Numbers Not Converting

Krutidev uses English digit positions for Hindi numbers. Some converters skip number conversion.

Krutidev	Hindi Number
1	१
2	२
3	३
4	४
5	५
6	६
7	७
8	८
9	९
0	०

Fix: Use a converter that explicitly handles number conversion, or replace numbers manually.

3. Special Characters Missing

Krutidev has characters that do not have direct Unicode equivalents (decorative glyphs, special symbols).

Fix: These are typically non-standard additions by the font creator. Replace them with the closest Unicode equivalent or remove them.

4. Formatting Lost After Conversion

When you copy Krutidev text, bold/italic/underline formatting does not survive the conversion.

Fix: Convert plain text first, then re-apply formatting in the Unicode document.

5. Line Breaks and Spacing Change

Krutidev character widths differ from Unicode fonts, so text that fit perfectly in a Krutidev document may reflow in Unicode.

Fix: After conversion, review the document layout and adjust line breaks, page breaks, and margins.

Why the Government Is Moving Away from Krutidev

The Indian government has been transitioning from Krutidev to Unicode for over a decade:

Year	Development
2000	Unicode 3.0 adds comprehensive Devanagari support
2003	Government of India mandates Unicode for official websites
2009	Mangal font included in Windows by default
2011	TDIL (Technology Development for Indian Languages) pushes Unicode adoption
2015	Most central government systems migrated to Unicode
2020	State governments (MP, Rajasthan) begin phasing out Krutidev
2025	Krutidev still used in some legacy systems but declining

The writing is on the wall: Krutidev is a legacy system. If you are still creating new documents in Krutidev, consider switching to Unicode. Every new computer, phone, and website supports Unicode out of the box.

For Developers: Automated Conversion

If you need to convert Krutidev text programmatically:

Python Conversion Logic

The conversion involves a character-mapping dictionary and a state machine to handle multi-character Krutidev sequences:

# Simplified mapping (actual mapping has 200+ entries)
krutidev_to_unicode_map = {
    'v': 'अ', 'vk': 'आ', 'b': 'इ', 'bZ': 'ई',
    'd': 'क', '[k': 'ख', 'x': 'ग', 'p': 'च',
    # ... complete mapping needed
}

The challenge is that Krutidev uses variable-length sequences (1-3 English characters per Hindi character), so a simple find-and-replace does not work. You need longest-match-first parsing.

Available Libraries

Library	Language	Maintained
krutidev-unicode	Python	Active
krutidev-converter	JavaScript	Active
PramukhIME	.NET	Active

Migration Checklist: Krutidev → Unicode

If you are migrating an organization from Krutidev to Unicode:

• [ ] Inventory all Krutidev documents that need conversion
• [ ] Identify which Krutidev variant is used (010, 021, 055 — each has different mappings)
• [ ] Test the converter with sample documents before bulk conversion
• [ ] Verify conjuncts and special characters in converted output
• [ ] Update document templates to use Mangal or Noto Sans Devanagari
• [ ] Train staff on Unicode input methods (Inscript keyboard)
• [ ] Update printing systems to support Unicode fonts
• [ ] Keep Krutidev originals as backup until verification is complete

The Krutidev to Unicode conversion is a one-time migration. Once your text is in Unicode, it works everywhere — web, email, phone, any computer, any operating system. The effort is worth it.