A rich language, which worked as a bond among the people across the
country against the East India Company rule in 1857, Urdu is struggling
to survive with not many of the young generation keen to learn it as a
subject.
Urdu, born in Delhi during the Mughal period, nourished during emperor Shahjahan's rule and spread across the entire sub-continent, is dying at the very city of its birth place and there is no doubt about it, says noted writer and columnist Khushwant Singh. "Even Muslims-the younger generation - are not able to read it," he rues.
He says Urdu, which is a revolutionary language as most of the revolutionary songs have been written in this language, is fast disappearing.
"Urdu is nowadays used as spoken language. It's use in writing is declining," says Syed Ahmed, who runs Urdu Development Organisation to promote the language.
Kushwant Singh says Urdu is being absorbed by other languages and enriching them. "We have to keep the language alive," he says, adding for that the central government and state governments should incorporate Urdu as compulsory language in schools." However, experts on the language do not agree that Urdu is dying saying it is just reverse that is happening. "So many new channels are coming up in Urdu language. Lots of newspapers and magazines are there in Urdu. How can we say it is dying?" asks Bari Masood, a senior journalist and columnist. "Its simply a perception which is not correct, he says.
During periods around the 1857 uprising, Urdu was spoken in a large area of north India and some great poets of the language like Mirza Ghalib, Jauq and even the last Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar wrote few great nationalistic poems which inspired the people fighting for for the freedom. The emperor, who enjoyed the central leadership in the 1857 revolt, said in one of his poem ...Ghaziyo main boo rahegi jab talak Iman ki! Taqt-e-London par chalegi tegh Hindustan ki!! (Till the honesty and ...Will prevail in the fighters, The sword of India will reach the throne of London) Ghalib wrote in his diary that when the British captured the city from the hands of the popular army, the common people joined the soldiers and took to street fighting. Hundreds of clerics and poets who spread the revolutionary messages among masses, were executed after the uprising was crushed. Zafar was exiled to Rangoon but Ghalib continued to live in Delhi after the tumultuous events that saw Delhi changing control from the British to the sepoys and back to the British.
Kushwant Singh in the introduction to a recent book 'Celebrating the best of Urdu poetry' says the language is rich because of its mixed linguistic heritage. It evolved as an argot-a mixture of Turkish, Arabic and Persian that was spoken by the Muslim soldiers in invaders' armies, combined with the Sanskrit, Hindi, Braj and Dakhani spoken by the Indian soldiers in Mughal military encampments. He says the word 'Urdu', incidentally means 'camp.' "It was also known as 'Rekhta' during the time of Meer and Ghalib. The educated who preferred to write and speak Persian, looked upon the language with some disdain at first."
Singh says it was the same with Meer and Ghalib, right down to Mohammed Iqbal. All of them wrote in Persian till they realised that Urdu was more acceptable to the masses and gave them a wider audience. The language continued to make its impact across the region and intellectuals continued to write poems and literatures to spread the nationalistic views in the early 20th century.
Even after Independence and creation of a separate nation Pakistan, Urdu ruled over the film industry as it used to be the language of most of the movie.
Though, Urdu is a second language in few states but it is not directly related with employment and hence people prefer other language to it, says veteran columnist Mahfuz-Ur-Rehman.
But, Urdu words are used in serials, movies and newspapers.
Kushwant Singh agrees with him and says there is a great future for Urdu poetry. Most of the songs are full with Urdu words. People like listening to them, he points out.
However, the author expresses regret over absence of great poets in the country these days and says "Pakistan witnessed Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Faraz and many others but we haven't produced poets of the same caliber."
Courtesy;New Delhi, May 18 (PTI)
Urdu, born in Delhi during the Mughal period, nourished during emperor Shahjahan's rule and spread across the entire sub-continent, is dying at the very city of its birth place and there is no doubt about it, says noted writer and columnist Khushwant Singh. "Even Muslims-the younger generation - are not able to read it," he rues.
He says Urdu, which is a revolutionary language as most of the revolutionary songs have been written in this language, is fast disappearing.
"Urdu is nowadays used as spoken language. It's use in writing is declining," says Syed Ahmed, who runs Urdu Development Organisation to promote the language.
Kushwant Singh says Urdu is being absorbed by other languages and enriching them. "We have to keep the language alive," he says, adding for that the central government and state governments should incorporate Urdu as compulsory language in schools." However, experts on the language do not agree that Urdu is dying saying it is just reverse that is happening. "So many new channels are coming up in Urdu language. Lots of newspapers and magazines are there in Urdu. How can we say it is dying?" asks Bari Masood, a senior journalist and columnist. "Its simply a perception which is not correct, he says.
During periods around the 1857 uprising, Urdu was spoken in a large area of north India and some great poets of the language like Mirza Ghalib, Jauq and even the last Mughal ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar wrote few great nationalistic poems which inspired the people fighting for for the freedom. The emperor, who enjoyed the central leadership in the 1857 revolt, said in one of his poem ...Ghaziyo main boo rahegi jab talak Iman ki! Taqt-e-London par chalegi tegh Hindustan ki!! (Till the honesty and ...Will prevail in the fighters, The sword of India will reach the throne of London) Ghalib wrote in his diary that when the British captured the city from the hands of the popular army, the common people joined the soldiers and took to street fighting. Hundreds of clerics and poets who spread the revolutionary messages among masses, were executed after the uprising was crushed. Zafar was exiled to Rangoon but Ghalib continued to live in Delhi after the tumultuous events that saw Delhi changing control from the British to the sepoys and back to the British.
Kushwant Singh in the introduction to a recent book 'Celebrating the best of Urdu poetry' says the language is rich because of its mixed linguistic heritage. It evolved as an argot-a mixture of Turkish, Arabic and Persian that was spoken by the Muslim soldiers in invaders' armies, combined with the Sanskrit, Hindi, Braj and Dakhani spoken by the Indian soldiers in Mughal military encampments. He says the word 'Urdu', incidentally means 'camp.' "It was also known as 'Rekhta' during the time of Meer and Ghalib. The educated who preferred to write and speak Persian, looked upon the language with some disdain at first."
Singh says it was the same with Meer and Ghalib, right down to Mohammed Iqbal. All of them wrote in Persian till they realised that Urdu was more acceptable to the masses and gave them a wider audience. The language continued to make its impact across the region and intellectuals continued to write poems and literatures to spread the nationalistic views in the early 20th century.
Even after Independence and creation of a separate nation Pakistan, Urdu ruled over the film industry as it used to be the language of most of the movie.
Though, Urdu is a second language in few states but it is not directly related with employment and hence people prefer other language to it, says veteran columnist Mahfuz-Ur-Rehman.
But, Urdu words are used in serials, movies and newspapers.
Kushwant Singh agrees with him and says there is a great future for Urdu poetry. Most of the songs are full with Urdu words. People like listening to them, he points out.
However, the author expresses regret over absence of great poets in the country these days and says "Pakistan witnessed Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Ahmed Faraz and many others but we haven't produced poets of the same caliber."
Courtesy;New Delhi, May 18 (PTI)
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