Emergence of Urdu Literature in Delhi

Few scholars are of the view that the development of Urdu poetry in north India with Delhi as its centre, where it also reached its classical stage, was closely associated with Vali Dakkani. It has been argued that his visit to Delhi in 1700 A.D and the subsequent arrival of his diwan (poem) in 1727 A.D, created a sensation in the literary circle of Delhi with far reaching consequences for both Persian and Urdu as literary mediums. Mohammad Sadiq points out that Vali and his diwan not only helped crystallize the hostility of the people of Delhi to Persian (language of the elite) but also showed them the way by revealing to them the potentialities of their own language as a vehicle for poetry. At the same time, it is also believed, Vali, after having come in to contact with literary and spiritual celebrities like Shah Gulshan, gave up Dakhini in favour of Urdu-i-Mualla, the spoken language of Delhi, imbibing the features of Persian poetry in his ghazals. Thus, Vali is considered as not only the trendsetter in Urdu ghazal in the Deccan but having his impact felt in the north also. However, critics have argued that the influence of Vali Dakkani on the origin of Urdu poetry in north India, should be accepted with a little caution in view of the fact that initially, Urdu was the language of the Imperial camp and Delhi always had a large military establishment. Moreover, as a modern scholar has pointed out that from the 14^th century Urdu was also the popular song language of the “Delhi singers”, known as qawwals.

One also has to see the growth of Urdu literature in Delhi in the context of significant political developments of north India in the 18^th century, which also had its impact on the pattern of patronage on which, medieval Indian art and literature largely subsisted. The Mughal authority, in the first half of the 18^th century, was severely challenged due to the attacks of Nadir Shah, Sikhs, Afghans, Marathas as well as the British. Wars not only decimated the population in and around Delhi but also created an atmosphere of insecurity. At the same time, the Mughal court became a stage for the intrigues of various factions of nobles who were busy protecting their own interest. There were new claimants of power and resources among the diverse group of the nobility. In the changed socio-political scenario when the court and the nobility were getting impoverished, new patrons became important. Poets had to seek patronage from new political masters and therefore had to compose poetry in the language which was spoken in the Imperial camps and in the neighborhood of Delhi.

The movement in favour of Urdu was also fed by the sneering attitude of Persian scholars towards the native poets and scholars. But the prestige of Persian was bound up with the supremacy of the Mughals and when the power of the latter was in its waning phase, the revolutionary tendencies in favour of Urdu began gradually to take shape. As the possibilities of their mother-tongue as a medium for their poetry was revealed to the poets of Delhi and as Urdu as a literary medium took roots here, the status of other languages such as Braj Bhasha and Persian got undermined. It soon entered its classical phase and continued to prosper until the great watershed of the revolt of 1857. Persian however, continued to be used for scholarly and other serious compositions in prose throughout the classical phase of Urdu wherein elitism and sophistication was maintained. Even the biographical accounts (tazkiras) of poets were written by the accomplished poets in Persian.