Urdu's journey from the top to bottom of pedestal
Mahatma Gandhi sensed the danger of communalisation of the language issue and political twist given to it by the British. He supported the composite concept of Hindustani as a common variant of the colloquial usage written in both the scripts.
THE NUMBER of Urdu speaking people in India stood at 44 million (Census of India, 1991) with the largest population in the states of UP, Bihar Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra having 85 percent Urdu speaking population. Delhi has played a major role in promotion of Urdu from old times and still remains a major centre of Urdu literature and publishing.
According to the SIL Ethnologue (1999 data), Urdu is the fifth most spoken language in the world and according to George Weber’s article Top Languages: The World’s ten most influential languages (Language Today), Urdu is the fourth most spoken language in the world, with 4.7 percent of the world's population, after Mandarin, English, and Spanish.
A big number of newspapers, books and magazines are published in Urdu in India.
India has more than 3,000 Urdu publications including 405 daily Urdu newspapers like Sahara Urdu, Daily Salar, Hindustan Express, Daily Pasban, Siasat Daily, The Munsif Daily and Inquilab are published and distributed in whole of India.
Urdu is written in Persian–Arabic script. The word Urdu came from the persianised Turkish world (Ordu) which meant ‘the camp of Turkish army’.
Urdu is written in Persian–Arabic script. The word Urdu came from the persianised Turkish world (Ordu) which meant ‘the camp of Turkish army’.
Literally, the word ‘Urdu’ means camp, or the royal camp. When north Indians moved to south and central India and settled among the Telugus, Marathas and Kannadigas. Later, north Indians that came with Aurangzeb for his conquests down south and some Dakhni writers saw the possibility of evolving a new language. This language was to be based on the literary traditions of Dakhni and have the Persian script along with generous usage of Perso-Arabic words and ideas. Shamsuddin Waliullah a famous poet of the Dakhni actually started the north Indian Urdu.
Thus, Urdu literature made its beginnings away from Delhi in 15th to 17th century. The people of Delhi adapted this language with great eagerness and by the end of the 18th century the Mughal Empire turned to Urdu and after that the whole India accepted Urdu language.
Thus, Urdu literature made its beginnings away from Delhi in 15th to 17th century. The people of Delhi adapted this language with great eagerness and by the end of the 18th century the Mughal Empire turned to Urdu and after that the whole India accepted Urdu language.
The 18th and 19th centuries were the golden period of the Urdu poetry. In this period some great poets emerged like Mir Taqi Mir, Khawaja Mir Dard, Insha, Mushafi, Aatish, Zauq, Mir Hasan and Nawab Mirza Shauq carried Urdu to new heights and language reached its highest degree of sophistication and excellence.
Urdu literature can never be complete without mentioning Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869). Ghalib wrote both in Urdu and Persian and his letters set the standard for modern prose. His sufi sentiments, simplicity of his lines and human feelings made him greatest Urdu and Persian poet. Urdu have had not only Muslims writers, it has some great Hindu writers who made rich contribution to Urdu like Rajinder Singh Bedi, Prem Chand, Krishan Chander and Kanhaiyalal Kapur.
Later, with the India’s freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi sensed the danger of communalisation of the Urdu language and political twist given to it by the British. He supported the composite concept of Hindustani as a common variant of the colloquial usage written in both the scripts as the national language of the country.
Urdu literature can never be complete without mentioning Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797-1869). Ghalib wrote both in Urdu and Persian and his letters set the standard for modern prose. His sufi sentiments, simplicity of his lines and human feelings made him greatest Urdu and Persian poet. Urdu have had not only Muslims writers, it has some great Hindu writers who made rich contribution to Urdu like Rajinder Singh Bedi, Prem Chand, Krishan Chander and Kanhaiyalal Kapur.
Later, with the India’s freedom struggle, Mahatma Gandhi sensed the danger of communalisation of the Urdu language and political twist given to it by the British. He supported the composite concept of Hindustani as a common variant of the colloquial usage written in both the scripts as the national language of the country.
Before Independence, Urdu has been the language of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs also. But after Partition, when conditions changed and some political parties began to identity Urdu with only Muslims. After that there was not much place for Urdu speakers in government and non-government organisations. This was the major cause for the declining interest to learn Urdu among Muslims and Hindus. Urdu today is increasingly seen as a language of Muslims only.
The Government of India appointed a Committee for Promotion of Urdu under the Chairmanship of I K Gujral. The final Report was submitted to the Government in 1990.
The Government of India appointed a Committee for Promotion of Urdu under the Chairmanship of I K Gujral. The final Report was submitted to the Government in 1990.
The Gujral Committee Report is a landmark in history of Urdu in free India. The non-implementation of its major recommendations and the tardy implementation of others has been the greatest regret of the Urdu speaking population. The result is that Government's own credibility has suffered.
Accordingly, Gujral Committee's recommendations should be implemented within a time frame on priority basis. The Government should also remove, through a well organised mass media campaign, misgivings about Urdu being a foreign language. Urdu forms an integral part of nation's heritage and has vastly contributed to the enrichment of Indian culture. The injustice done to Urdu in our educational system must end. Urdu must become a language of administration for specific purposes in areas where 10 percent of the population is Urdu speaking.
Urdu's Indian character must be brought out effectively in our books as well as our text books and immediate measures be taken for the teaching of Urdu and in Urdu. Urdu should occupy a pride of place in the country's Three Language Formula. The Committee accepted the recommendations of the Gujral Committee on training of Urdu teachers and observed that there was tremendous paucity of trained Urdu teachers in primary as well as secondary schools in the country. The Gujral Committee has also recommended appointment of teachers who can teach in the language of the majority and also in Urdu.
Urdu is still flourishing in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. Today the government is running so many programmes and distributing funds under the various scheme for promoting Urdu language and literature through government organisations and NGOs. Some important voluntary organizations across the India like Aiwan-e-Ghalib, Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Urdu, Abul kalam Azad Oriental Research Institute and Ghalib Academy are working for the promotion of the Urdu language and literature in India. It is unfortunate and tragic that a lyrical language like Urdu has been thrown off the pedestal over the decades.
Urdu's Indian character must be brought out effectively in our books as well as our text books and immediate measures be taken for the teaching of Urdu and in Urdu. Urdu should occupy a pride of place in the country's Three Language Formula. The Committee accepted the recommendations of the Gujral Committee on training of Urdu teachers and observed that there was tremendous paucity of trained Urdu teachers in primary as well as secondary schools in the country. The Gujral Committee has also recommended appointment of teachers who can teach in the language of the majority and also in Urdu.
Urdu is still flourishing in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. Today the government is running so many programmes and distributing funds under the various scheme for promoting Urdu language and literature through government organisations and NGOs. Some important voluntary organizations across the India like Aiwan-e-Ghalib, Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Urdu, Abul kalam Azad Oriental Research Institute and Ghalib Academy are working for the promotion of the Urdu language and literature in India. It is unfortunate and tragic that a lyrical language like Urdu has been thrown off the pedestal over the decades.
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