The
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should be congratulated for side-stepping
Urdu from the simultaneous translation in the assembly. There is hardly any
doubt that except for script, there is no difference between Hindi and Urdu.
Its syntax and numbers are the same as those in Hindi. It is only due to some
fanatical Muslims that its script is a mix of Persian and Arabic, which has no
justification whatsoever. Moreover, these fanatics made Urdu laden with Arabic
and Persian words. They saw to it that Urdu remains exclusively the language of
Muslims. It is a different matter altogether many non-Muslims have contributed
to its literature.
In
pre-partition days Aligarh Muslim University played a dirty role in driving
away the Urdu from the people and the area where it was born. This university
and the Urdu language provided the necessary arsenal for the creation of
Pakistan. It was because of the hardened communal elements that Urdu was
declared the official language of Pakistan although in no region Urdu was
spoken. It was imposed on Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Baluchi, Pasto, and Bangali and
was declared to be the lingua franca of Pakistan. It was due to the imposition
of Urdu on East Pakistan that Bengalis revolted and got a separate nation i.e. Bangladesh.
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The
days are not far away when Pakistan will again get divided due mainly to the fundamentalists
which is what Yogi Adityanath says them to be Kathmullas. Therefore, there is
no need to shed tears for a divisive language like Urdu. The only way for it to
survive is to accept the Devnagari script and eschew the obstinacy of packing
it with Arabic and Persian words.
However, it must also be stated that English ought
not to be encouraged. More importance and encouragement should be given to the
promotion of Hindi rather than dialects like Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Bundeli and Braj.
